President/CEO Message – March 2018

“Here Comes the Sun…”

While Oregon just got it’s first ‘snow day’ of the year, we can be thankful that spring really is just around the corner. As Oregonians, we know the seasons seem to change with a jump rather than a gradual shift. For all of us at Ausland, this means the cold, wet slog of winter work is soon going to come to an end, and hot sunny days are soon ahead (and I for one, am ready).

We are hitting this spring running. Through the winter we had nearly twenty projects in construction, and in the next six months we look to start ten new projects. Spring throws us all into another gear. The soil is ready for it, the days get longer and more importantly, our clients and partners are all ready to take on new challenges.

We are embarking together on a vision to be a company delivering world-class development services in our communities, delivering exceptional results to our clients. To achieve this, we need a team who is firing on all cylinders. This means we are focused on investing in you – our people. To accomplish this, there are several new tools for you on the immediate horizon:

• BambooHR, your personal Ausland Employee Portal: Launching April 1st, you will be able to download an app on your phone (or PC) to request vacation time, sign paperwork, manage your goals, and work with your supervisor to develop your own “Career Development Plan.” This will be a great place to communicate with your colleagues, watch training videos, and read great news about Ausland.
• Career Development Plans: You rarely get any place great by accident. Every epic journey has a map or a flight plan (or at least a wizard for guidance). HR Specialist Lynsey Turek, is working to develop Career Maps, such as from Laborer to Carpenter to Foreman, or CAD Tech to Engineer. Wherever you are going, go there on purpose and we want to help you. You can talk with your manager about your career goals and how you can use Ausland to build your career.
• Project Quality Control: Quality is a journey, not a destination. We are making the implementation of systems and innovations that support high-performing teams a priority this year. With this, you will see increased involvement from Aaron Ausland in Construction Operations. Bill McMillan’s role is focused in the launching of our new projects this Spring.   New teams and systems are being added to allow us to consistently deliver excellence on all of our projects. Todd Powell, PE, put it extremely well at our Ausland Celebration on February 2nd when he said, “We want for our construction team to only want to build from Ausland’s design team plans…. And we want our design team to know that every Ausland construction team is the best to build their project.” Consistent execution of quality and extraordinary results will lead us to a successful future for generations to come.

More than any time since the Great Recession, we are seeing the pent-up excitement for building. 2018 is looking to be a record year for Ausland in many ways, but the most important will be the growth of our team. Winter is past, spring is coming, say goodbye to the groundhog; hello Easter Bunny. Let’s shake off the snow and get ready for a booming spring.

Cheers,

Kelsy and Aaron