Creating a Healthy Culture at i2 Construction

In this blog post, we will review the culture at i2 Construction, a successful general contractor that has experienced tremendous growth and success. We plan to follow this blog post with two additional posts dedicated to how the company leveraged its culture to grow and prosper, and how and why the company leaders created the culture that launched its success.

I2 Construction was founded in 1999 by Allan Fries. He was joined by Scott Farrell a year later.  Together, these two visionaries created a strong culture based on a simple metaphor. As told by Farrell, who considers his role to be i2’s “Chief Culture Officer,” “the company is a vehicle for everyone in it. The role of top leadership is to keep fuel in the tank. The role of employees is to drive the vehicle toward its goals.” This is an interesting metaphor because it clearly articulates how i2 empowers its employees to do what is necessary to accomplish the goals of the company and its clients. It is also a rare philosophy for a company in the construction industry, which is known for its dictatorial management of employees. 

So, what is the company culture like at i2 Construction? Farrell describes it as employee centric.  Employees are hired not just on their competency but on whether they fit the company culture. Once hired, each new employee goes through an orientation process that includes meeting with each department and learning the tasks they are expected to perform. 

Being open about company performance and listening to employees are integrated into the everyday practices of management. The company developed its own set of KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, to measure how it is performing. At monthly meetings with all employees, leadership communicates these KPIs, acknowledging top performers and sharing job experiences, both good and bad. These meetings are designed to be learning experiences, with open communication and sharing of information related to the success of the company. Farrell offered an example of how the company acknowledges behaviors that represent its culture. He told a story about the child of a project manager (PM) who was born prematurely and required intensive care in a hospital incubator. The supervisor of the PM, on his own initiative, decided to take over the job responsibilities of the PM, allowing him to be with his wife and child at the hospital. This unselfish behavior by the supervisor was acknowledged at a company meeting as an example of how the company relates to employees who experience personal hardship.

To encourage open communication, the company developed a no-fault attitude when mistakes are made, which often happens on construction projects. When a mistake is identified, it is shared openly. There is no blame assigned as long as the mistake was made with good intentions.  In addressing mistakes, leadership always asks two questions: 1) what was learned from the mistake, and 2) what will be done differently as a result of what was learned?  

Here is an example. A strong value of the company is for its employees to balance their work and personal lives. After several years of double-digit growth, leadership observed that workers were overworked, spending long hours on their projects. An analysis of the company organization found its flat structure was no longer effective and the likely cause of understaffing on projects. This led to long hours and stress on its workforce. At a company meeting, Farrell took personal responsibility and apologized for what he considered his failure to consider the personal sacrifices that employees were making as a result of understaffing. In response, a vertical layer was added to the organizational structure to alleviate the problem. While costly, the company felt the additional management layer was the right thing to do for its employees, relieving them of the work/life imbalance that had been created in their lives. 

The company is aware of the need to continually invest resources into maintaining its culture.  To further integration between departments, cross-departmental teams were created. Every leader goes through leadership development and coaching. Several executives are members of a Vistage group of peers from different companies. These groups are dedicated to improving leadership and business excellence.

I2 has a rather unique program that uses the reward points earned on its company-issued credit cards to help support its employees. As each card earns reward points that can be turned into free travel or gifts, the company places these points into a pool and allocates them to support employees when they have a special need or family emergency.  

In sum, a strong belief and trust in its employees and a culture of mutual respect are clearly evident at i2 Construction. We have described some of the company practices that support these values. They are the basis for the healthy culture at the company. Like other companies with healthy cultures that we have analyzed, i2 Construction engages its employees in the first stage of what we have described as the Golden Rule of Management. The company believes in its people, trusts them to perform their jobs at a high level, and encourages a mutual respect toward each other through listening, responding, and being sensitive to the needs of its employees.