Estero, Fla. – December 20, 2017 – Suffolk recently received Gold awards in three categories at the 2017 Chief Learning Officer Learning In Practice awards.
Since 2003, the Chief Learning Officer Learning In Practice awards have recognized learning leaders who demonstrate excellence in the design and delivery of employee development programs through a combination of qualities such as leadership, vision, business acumen and strategic alignment.
This year’s list of award global winners included companies representing dozens of industries such as manufacturing, professional services, retail and higher education and featured well-known brand names like General Motors and GE alongside technology companies like Dell EMC and financial giants like MetLife and Mastercard. The list also includes government agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection, international groups like the United Nations Development Programme and nonprofits like the Boy Scouts of America.
Suffolk representatives took home top honors in the Talent Management, Trailblazer and Innovation categories. Suffolk’s David DeFilippo, Chief Learning Officer; Elizabeth Collins, Director, Career Start; and Josh Gilliam, Director, Curriculum Design & Development were recognized as learning leaders.
“It’s quite an honor for a construction company to be recognized for its passion for innovation and educational initiatives that align our work to the company’s goals,” said Robbie Tiedeman, learning and development project manager for Suffolk’s southeast region. “Internally, we are always striving to challenge the process and improve upon it, and these awards demonstrate our forward thinking.”
Tiedeman is an example of Suffolk’s talent management. He recently moved from his role overseeing day-to-day construction operations for Suffolk’s University Village project in Estero to spearheading all learning and development for the company’s southeast region. In his new role, he is leveraging his 15 years of industry experience in construction technology to train Suffolk teams on the company’s Build Smart principles.
“Suffolk is very thoughtful about who we select for our learning and development department, and we purposely utilize operational staff as trainers,” said Josh Christensen, vice president of Suffolk. “Robbie’s move into this role is ideal because he not only has the expertise but also a mentoring relationship with staff.”
Tiedeman said in the past year Suffolk has improved and standardized its leadership training and aligned employee performance reviews with the company’s goals. He added that they are pushing technology not just on the project side, but at all levels of the company.
“Unveiling the Touchplan technology at University Village is a perfect example of how we are increasing collaboration with trade partners and developing more accurate and efficient schedules in construction field planning and management,” he said. “With the success in Estero, we’ve rolled it out to other projects in the region and throughout the company.”
Touchplan is utilized to help teams implement lean construction principles and enhance collaboration. The software program expedites schedules, supports budget tracking and allows everyone on a project from executives, architects and owners to superintendents, trade partners and project managers to interface with each other at all aspects of a project to provide the best experience possible.
“We all need to talk to each other consistently and with a standardized language,” Tiedeman said. “Technology like Touchplan is allowing us to collect data that can be used for all our existing and upcoming programs, not just our projects. This data also allows us to see trends, both locally and nationally, to support how we best focus our resources. We can take our processes anywhere Suffolk is doing business and see that we are all performing at the same level.”
About Suffolk
Suffolk is a national building contractor with $2.7 billion in annual revenue and offices in Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Estero, Dallas, Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. We service clients in every major industry sector, including healthcare, science and technology, education, federal government, gaming, aviation and commercial. The southeast region of the company was established in 1994 and was recently recognized as Engineering News Record’s 2016 Southeast Contractor of the Year.
Suffolk’s vision is to “transform the construction experience by building smart.” We believe in the power of innovation and people, and we empower our teams to think differently, work collaboratively and executive flawlessly on the most complex and sophisticated projects in the country. Our strong culture of innovation, combined with the most advanced tools such as virtual design and construction (VDC), virtual reality technologies and lean construction principles, is revolutionizing our industry and redefining what it means to be a builder.
Suffolk is a community-conscious organization dedicated to sustainable business practices and making a positive impact in the communities where we build. For more information, visit www.suffolk.com and/or follow Suffolk on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube and Instagram.
Contact: Melinda Isley, APR, m.creativepr, 239-274-7736, cell: 239-565-1630, melinda@mcreativepr.com
