Throughout the month of August, I Build America – Ohio will feature the stories of ‘families’ within construction. This is a great opportunity to showcase the loyalty in our profession. There’s one twist: ‘family’ is being used to mean both actual related family members as well as crews and teams that have bonded to form families of their own. In the past, we have featured multi-generational families within construction teams (moms, dads, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc.) and teams, departments, and project crews.
Name: Sam Tunnacliffe
Role: Director of Business Development
Company: Shook Construction
Years in Construction: 10 years
Do you have a specific family connection to construction? If yes, tell us about that connection. If not, have you found other ways to make strong bonds and connections during your career in construction?
My family connection to construction starts back with my great-grandfather who was a home builder in Glenshaw, PA. His son (my grandfather) worked in the commercial construction industry his entire life, and his grandsons (my uncles) continue to work in the industry. One owns a residential remodeling business (which I worked for in high school) and the other owns a site/excavation company. All these men have had an impact on my life and my career, the most notable being my grandfather, Clarence Bittner. He graduated from the University of Dayton in 1960 with a Civil Engineering degree and began working for Shook Construction right out of college. Almost 60 years later, I graduated from the same school with the same major and have been working for the same company since my graduation, first as a Project Engineer/Project Manager and now in Business Development.
How do you think a family-like environment contributes to the overall success of your organization?
As we all know, construction can be a stressful industry at times. There is always a deadline to meet or a problem to fix. Being surrounded by people you enjoy working with is important for the success of the business. People want to work alongside others who value their well-being, can work together as a team, and truly want to make a difference in the communities we all serve. I think the family-like environment at Shook has made us successful because leads to increased employee retention and a higher quality of work. When you show up to work every day next to people you respect and appreciate, you are more likely to stick around for a while and work hard while you are there.
Can you share any examples of how the feeling of family or belonging has positively impacted your work or your crew’s work in construction?
I believe this family-like culture positively impacts our company through retention and growth. At Shook, it is very common for folks to stay for the entirety of their career. Most of our company’s CEOs and other senior leadership started at Shook as a co-op or shortly after. I believe it’s because we have this continuous cycle of people who truly care about the organization and the people that make it up. Company culture starts at the top of the organization. We have also had record growth in recent years, and I believe a portion of that is contributed to the culture we have at Shook. It helps us to find, hire, and keep talented people, which allows us to grow. For example, in conversations with new hires over the past two years, I have heard many times that Shook’s community service and mission trip work drew them in. At Shook we are not just in the business of building things. It is our mission to dramatically improve the communities we serve, and we truly do act on this mission. Our outreach work has brought Shook teammates closer together, contributing to that family-like environment. I think potential candidates see this through the hiring process and want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
What can the next generation of the construction workforce look forward to?
Every construction company I know is looking to hire (and retain) quality individuals. As older generations retire and phase out of the industry, companies are figuring out ways to draw in the younger generations. So, I think as a general statement, the next generation of the construction workforce can look forward to an industry that has open ears. Construction companies will continue figuring out how to appeal to younger generations so that they can keep up with demand. Specifically, I think this will likely include things like having a strong training/onboarding/mentorship component to the company, being transparent from the very beginning about what a long-term career path could look like and how to get there, and putting an emphasis on genuine relationships.
