“Our people are passionate about technical projects of all sizes and levels of complexity” is one of 16 practices defined in the DPR Operating Code that helps employees understand the underlying strategy in all that DPR Construction does. It’s important to not only be a technical builder but to also understand how different roles come together to create a building.
Builder Bootcamp is a new, national DPR training initiative to support its project engineers (PEs). Its mission? To inspire people to be better builders, and expose them to the many aspects of the building process and deeper integration into the DPR culture. It helps PEs be more well-rounded with field knowledge and technical skills to understand the challenges in the everyday field and, most importantly, appreciation for craftspeople who are actually building DPR structures.
Program Details
The training involves a weeklong commitment, with project engineers representing various regions who meet in a DPR region for the week. The week entails long days of actual physical building, as well as evening events for teambuilding, lessons learned, and DPR culture storytelling.
During the day, teams of project engineers represent their regions to plan and physically build a chicken coop. Each team physically builds every aspect of the project, from digging foundations to installing exterior sheathing. In a recent Builder Bootcamp, participants built chicken coops that they donated to local schools.
Beyond hands-on experience and field training, each team learns about teamwork. There have been two sessions so far in Phoenix and San Diego, with a total of 30 participants.
Results
Level 1: Reaction
Some 100 percent of participants from a recent session strongly agreed or agreed with the following statements:
- “I believe the program is valuable in terms of time and resources invested.”
- “I believe the program is relevant to my job.”
DPR hosted the participants in a single house where they created bonds with both those inside and outside of their regions. These participants made new friendships and relationships that will last beyond this one-week training and into their long DPR careers.
Level 2: Learning
Some 100 percent of participants from a recent session strongly agreed or agreed with the following statement:
- “I am a better builder because of this experience.”
One participant noted: “I have never been through a training as rewarding as this bootcamp was. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, and it has significantly changed the way I perform my job on a daily basis.”
Level 3: Application
Some 80 percent of participants’ managers strongly agreed or agreed with the following statement:
- “I believe the PE is a better builder because of this experience.”
Level 4: Business Impact
Part of DPR’s Talent Management startegy is to ensure project engineers are engaged, inspired, and have the tools they need for success. This ensures that the queue for future leaders remains strong. In an employee satisfaction survey, overall satisfaction among project engineers across the company rose by 13.24 percent.
