We sat down with Hoar Construction’s president, Turner Burton, to talk through the company’s philosophy on career development and their strategy to recruit and retain the best and brightest in the industry.
Q: When you say, Building People First, what does that mean?
Turner: At the end of the day, we’re a service company. Yes, we build buildings, but there are a lot of very capable general contractors across the country who can build a quality building. What sets us apart, and what makes us successful, is the service we provide clients by managing their projects in a trustworthy, and efficient way. The relationships we build and the service we provide — that’s where our company excels. You can’t provide great service without having great people.
So, our focus has always been, how do we build people first? How do we go out and find the best and brightest, the hardest working, the people that just really fit our culture to come on board and have a long, successful career here with us. In recent years, we’ve doubled down on that investment in our people and expanded our resources to help people not only build on their own capabilities but to build great careers. We’ve created a training and development program called PATH that allows our employees to pursue any training or educational opportunities to help them grow. For example, we have a development tract from an assistant superintendent to a superintendent, to a general superintendent, and ultimately take on a larger operational role with the company.
Q: What can employees expect if they join Hoar? What will the promise of Building People First look like for them?
Turner: I think the biggest part of that promise is investment. We promise to invest in you with training and development. We will also invest in the people around you so you can expect to work with a capable, driven team. We still have a smaller company feel, we are a family. We’re all working together to build some of the best projects in the country and doing that requires a lot of support. So, our whole focus is gearing everything up to be as efficient and process driven as possible so that you can come in on day one and really understand our expectations. Once you understand that, and you’ve been equipped with the training, tools, and support to do your job, our next focus is pushing you as far as you can go in your career. We’ve always had a real entrepreneurial spirit here, and we’ll give people the opportunity to step up because it’s not based on age, it’s not based on tenure, it’s not based on anything else other than how hard you’re willing to work and what you can accomplish as an individual within the team structure that we have.
Q: How does focusing on Building People First make Hoar more successful?
If we have people who are thriving in their roles leading our teams, that is going to make us successful. But it’s not enough to develop talented leaders, we have to maintain a culture where people want to come and stay. If we only focus on the training and development, but not people’s long-term growth and happiness, we will lose them to competitors. That’s why I think part of Building People First has to include building that camaraderie, the spirit between the teams, the divisions, the regions, so that we’re all working together for the same goal, which at the end of the day is achieving our envisioned future. We want to be the most respected and admired company in our industry and in our communities. I think it’s an ongoing cycle of investing in our people, building a sense of ownership in our envisioned future for every team member, and then working together to achieve our goals.
To be successful, we must continue to grow at a pace that creates opportunities for our people. Our focus has never been to be the biggest company in the country. We just want to be great at what we do. We want to grow and expand in a way that is creating new opportunities for the people working in our company to grow their own careers. The exciting part about growth is not to climb the rankings, it’s to go out and give people an incredible career and to give them the reason to stay here and to continue to build something special at Hoar. One of the best markers of success to me is seeing the milestone anniversaries people achieve because they’ve chosen to build their careers at Hoar for 5, 10, or 20-plus years.
Q: What does the future hold for employees and how does the changing industry impact this mission of Building People First?
Turner: It is exciting to see the way technology is expanding and improving constantly. AI is making its way into our daily lives. We are constantly looking for new ways to use technology to lighten the load of our teams, whether it is using robots for layout and site documentation or AI to streamline our processes. We embrace technology when it helps our teams work smarter, leaner, and with less waste, technology will never replace the service we provide. Our people are our greatest asset. Technology, equipment, even our processes are all just tools in our toolbelt — but will never be a replacement for a person our clients can count on and trust. I have heard so many stories from clients and trade partners about how when something went wrong or a challenge popped up, they picked up the phone and immediately called one of our superintendents or project managers. In a crisis, our clients know they can rely on our people, their experience and expertise to work through issues and find a solution. That’s why I know Building People First is a solid investment, because talented, hardworking people have always been and will always be the foundation of our industry and the key to our own company’s continued success.
