One Client’s Perspective: How Atwell-Hicks Has Effectively Managed Growth
Universal Advisor, 2007 Issue No. 1

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Atwell-Hicks provides civil engineering, land planning, surveying, environmental services, and water and wastewater services to clients in the real estate/land development industry. They currently employ more than 400 staff in 9 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Brian Wenzel, President of Atwell-Hicks, recently discussed the company’s amazing growth and the challenges that come along with it.

On average, Atwell-Hicks has grown at a rate of 25 percent for the last 15 years. To what do you attribute that level of growth?

Our commitment to strategic and business planning. We’re an organization that spends a lot of time understanding where we’re at and where we’re trying to go; we make sure we have the resources to accomplish our goals, and then we measure to determine if we’re moving toward achieving them. Another key factor is that we’re committed to growth; it hasn’t happened by chance. At the same time, we never sat down and said, “Let’s grow by 15 percent.” Instead, we created new opportunities for staff, whether new leadership roles, service offerings, offices, locations, or project opportunities. When you make that commitment, and subsequently invest in technology and new disciplines, the outcome is growth.

Atwell-Hicks specializes in private land development for residential and commercial properties and does not handle government contracting. How does that exclusive focus give your company an advantage?

It gives us clarity, and it allows us to become very specialized in our knowledge. Our people know as much about private land development and real estate consulting as most real estate developers. We realized a long time ago that we couldn’t be all things to all people; trying to do so only results in fragmenting your focus. We saw tremendous opportunity in residential and commercial real estate within and outside of Michigan and simply said, “Here’s what we’re going to do, and we’ll do it as well as anyone.”

What challenges do you face as you continue to grow?

Growth requires constant change. I still tell everyone I interview, “If you don’t like change, you’re probably at the wrong company.” We’ve strived to build a culture that realizes that change isn’t bad. Good things can happen, and our people have seen that.

You also need to have the right policies and procedures in place for things like training and development and quality management. We have an internal product quality committee dedicated to ensuring a consistent process and deliverable, informing the staff of new regulations and guidelines, and overseeing quality-control efforts.

Communication can also be a challenge. We’ve learned to over communicate. Communication is easy when you have 40 employees in 1 office. But when you have nine offices in five states, you don’t have the luxury of talking to every person face to face, so you make investments in technology. That said, occasional face-to-face communication is still essential. We recently had a strategic planning session, after which we visited each office, communicated planning initiatives for the coming year, and solicited staff feedback. This way, our people can both contribute to the process and understand that they have an important role in the organization.

Atwell-Hicks has won numerous best-place-to-work awards. How important are your staff to your organization?

We really are a people-first organization. These days, you hear a lot of companies stressing that “People are our best asset,” but a lot those companies actually have other assets. Atwell-Hicks doesn’t have manufacturing processes, inventory, or factories — all we have is people. So that means they’re our only asset. We do what we can to ensure their happiness and success: provide appropriate compensation and benefits, emphasize a work/life balance, and give them opportunities for training and development and advancement.

Is that why you formed Atwell-Hicks University?

Yes. About three-and-a-half years ago, we formed the university, and it has since evolved into a methodical approach to career evaluation at Atwell-Hicks. The program provides each employee with a career path and educates and trains them accordingly. The National Society of Professional Engineers has recognized Atwell-Hicks University as one of the industry’s best training programs in the country; that’s particularly neat when you realize we’re a $70 million company, and the company ranked second was a billion-dollar company. It’s a real testament to what the previous leaders in our organization have done.

What’s your outlook for the future of the service industry in general and for Atwell-Hicks specifically?

I think there’s tremendous upside potential in the industry and at Atwell. The real estate industry is becoming more sophisticated and not only growing, but growing in a consolidated manner. These new consolidations end up looking for partners like Atwell-Hicks.

I can also tell you that I feel there’s upside potential in the Great Lakes Region as a whole. As a company with offices within and outside of the Midwest, there are certainly struggles here, but there are also tangible assets that, unfortunately, don’t receive appropriate focus. We have an extremely dedicated and strong workforce with true Midwest values. The creativity and intellectual capital here is tremendous — this is one of the true high-tech places outside of Silicon Valley, yet it never gets a mention because that technology is in the adaptation and implementation associated with manufacturing. There is opportunity for growth and evolution within different industries while the more traditional ones go through an adjustment. I even believe there’s opportunity within the struggling industries — that they’ll come back. Maybe not bigger, but certainly stronger than they were before.