During its recent strategic planning process, Garmann Miller placed an emphasis on the professional development of team members. The firm identified culture as one of its three key priority issues to complement efficiency and strategic growth. This investment in people has led to learning new skills, earning certifications, gaining experience and other career aspirations.
“We have a lot of room to flex our creative muscles at GM, and I love it,” said a GM employee in the 2023 Zweig Group Best Firms to Work For survey.
GM’s culture committee developed a plan with future goals and targets centered on three areas:
- Professional certification
- Educational content
- Performance reviews/check-ins
Professional certification: At first glance, you’d think you’re looking at a bowl of alphabet soup when it comes to the number of industry professional certifications and licensures—NCIDQ, PLA, PE and CPSM just name a few. GM has compiled a list of 32 certifications across each of its design, planning, marketing and construction disciplines for its team to achieve with bonus and salary increase incentives.
Most recently, Ryan Heitkamp passed his Architecture Registration Exams, Kate Pfriem became a National Council of Interior Design Qualifications certified interior designer, Becky Baumer earned the designation of Accredited Learning Environment Planner and Doug Rentz earned the Certified Professional Services Marketer certification through SMPS. To learn more about these individuals, click here.
“It has been a goal of mine ever since I was little to become a licensed architect,” Heitkamp said.
Educational content: The culture team took providing educational programming to another level when it combined learning opportunities with a popular weekday lunch—Taco Tuesday. One day a month, a topic focused on leadership, teamwork, communication, customer service and other self-help topics is presented through video or live presentation with a Mexican-themed lunch.
Performance reviews: GM’s leadership adopted a new method to performance reviews in 2023 by making the bi-annual program more goal-focused on the individual. It also introduced a team of developers, who once a month, do a check-in with three team members to generate fresh, inquiring discussions. The brief, 15-minute conversations center on immediate goals, what’s currently going well and what can be improved, and how GM can help.
Through this team-first approach and commitment to professional growth, Garmann Miller has achieved Best Firms to Work for in the U.S. status by Zweig Group five consecutive years.
To learn more about these individuals, visit creategm.com/team.