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Professional Excellence

Professional Excellence is an integral part of the Hatch Mott MacDonald corporate culture.  It is based on the notion that there is an intertwined relationship between successful consulting firms and a highly skilled staff.  It works like this.  Firms with the most highly qualified staff win the most (and best) projects.  In order to attract the best staff, a firm must have challenging projects assignments which are important in an individual’s learning and career advancement. 

Professional Excellence supports both sides of this relationship because it encourages the development of technical skills which help the firm compete for challenging projects and helps individual staff develop their personal skills and advance their careers.  Moreover, Hatch Mott MacDonald’s belief in the important of Professional Excellence is a reflection of the value that the firm places on technical staff development. 

Here are some examples of how Hatch Mott MacDonald drives a culture of Professional Excellence within the firm:

  • Learning and Development – This program consists of a series of training and development programs designed to achieve multiple development objectives, from on-boarding to technical skills development to leadership training, to personal effectiveness training.  Our Learning and Development training consists of e-learning courses, technical seminars, and off-site intensive formal programs.  This program seeks to “continuously engage” staff at all stages of their career.

  • Practice Culture – One of HMM’s unique characteristics is the importance of the firm’s Practices.  Each technical practice is driven by a national practice leader who is responsible for the growth of that segment of the firm’s practice and the development of the staff resources necessary to support it.  The Practices organize internal Knowledge Centers and organize technical symposia, designed to achieve staff development and help win new projects.

  • Mentoring – For interested staff, the firm supports a mentoring program, designed to provide one-on-one career development advice by  senior members of the firm.
  • Internal Technical Excellence Awards – Each year, HMM organizes and supports internal technical competitions to recognize outstanding achievements in project management, client care, authoring technical papers, and making technical presentations.  Awards are given to superior examples of technical and management excellence.  Individuals are recognized and publicized within the firm. 
  • External Technical Excellence Awards – The firm actively supports submission of completed projects in external award competitions, where it has been  very successful in achieving the highest levels of distinction by organizations within the engineering community.  
  • Tuition Support – The firm reimburses staff for courses taken in matriculated degree programs, encouraging the attainment of advanced degrees by our staff.
  • Industry Certifications – When relevant, the firm will provide or support specialized staff training in order to secure technical licenses or certifications.
  • Special Events – Events and programs are organized to engage staff at various levels of their development.  Examples include the annual Graduate Weekend, the Young Professionals Organization, the Sustainability Steering Committee, and the Diversity Committee. 
  • Communities of Practice – The firm has a number of active communities which driven by individual staff and practice leaders.  These include knowledge centers and discussion boards. 
  • Knowledge Management – The firm’s Intranet is highly developed and permits individuals to locate other individuals with specialized skills and experience, regardless of geographic location.  This encourages collaboration and utilization of technical skills by members of the firm.

At Hatch Mott MacDonald, we are committed to developing our staff to their highest potential.  We believe that this is essential in staff retention and development of a level of staff expertise that is competitive with the best and largest firms in North America.