During a Leadership Academy training event in late 2019, a problem-solving process uncovered an impending need to prepare existing assistant project managers at electrical construction services company Rosendin to take on projects at any given time. Due to volume increases projected for the company in 2020, it was clear Rosendin needed to develop talent to manage the numerous projects on the horizon. In response, in 2021, the company made the second cycle of its Surge program—which focuses on building both the technical skills and the leadership skills necessary to move into project management—available to all employees, including those not currently in a project management role.
Program Details
Surge uses a combination of academic study, practical application on the project, and live instructor-led leadership classes to guide learners through completing a project management competency map. Participants learn to self-advocate as they engage with their immediate supervisors to develop the skills necessary to build their career within Rosendin. Engagement with team leaders means that mentorship is a key aspect of the Surge program, and team leaders help guide and encourage participants.
The program is divided into four main parts:
- Self-assessment. Using a scale of 1-5, participants are asked to rate themselves on 46 skills necessary to be a competent project manager. These abilities include processes and procedures such as project start-up procedures, project execution, and customer billing, as well as professional skills such as communication, problem solving and critical thinking.
- Curriculum creation. Using the input received from the self-assessments, the program facilitators craft instruction where the weakest performance is indicated.
- Competency map. Completing the self-assessment unlocks a competency map that lists 96 skills necessary to be an effective project manager. This map contains hyperlinks to existing training and allows the learner to pursue LinkedIn Learning and instructor-led classes to help them overcome any weaknesses uncovered in the self-assessment.
- Management sign-off. To ensure the learner is proficient in the necessary skills listed on the competency map, they must practice and demonstrate that skill to a manager to obtain sign-off of the learned skill.
Instructor-led courses include:
- Tactical Leadership
- Lean Concepts
- Goal Setting
- Electrical Fundamentals
- Leadership Presentation Skills
- Building Customer Relationships
- Building Information Modeling (BIM) Fundamentals
At the end of the program, participants are enrolled in a Project Management Bootcamp, which is required to successfully complete the program.
Surge is open to all employees company-wide, allowing those not currently in project management roles to enroll and explore other career paths. Because of the division between field and office employees, this program provides an opportunity for field electricians to explore alternate career paths and helps build a bridge between the two silos. Including employees from different backgrounds within the company has encouraged sharing of diverse perspectives and knowledge bases.
Surge participants from the first program cycle were elected as mentors for the second group, making the Surge program the first to offer peer-to-peer mentorship and training opportunities. Surge also is the first program to be launched in a 100 percent virtual setting.
Results
Prior to the implementation of the Surge program, promotion from assistant project manager to project manager was inconsistent. In the 2019 Employee Engagement Survey, Rosendin received a score of 69 percent on the question relating to acquiring the training necessary to advance the employee’s career. Through programs such as Surge, that score improved to 80 percent in 2020.
Some 8 percent of those enrolled in the program were promoted to project manager within five months of starting the program, and another 22 percent of those enrolled were promoted to project manager upon completion of the program. The number of women enrolled in the Surge program improved to 43.56 percent.
