TAKING ACTION Through adaptation, optimization and expansion, Firmo continues to find new innovative ways to collaborate and succeed. “As Firmo grew last year, we decided to get together and firm up who we are, what our values are and what we were going to move forward and focus on,” says Heather Gilpatric, Business Development Manager. “Then all of this happened, so it was a really huge team effort and great timing to bring it all together. I think that really helped us prepare and get to where we are today. That cohesiveness just blended into the way that Firmo was moving while keeping our values at the forefront.” One of these values is the health and safety of everyone working alongside Firmo is the first priority, pandemic or no pandemic. “Eric and the team really rose up to the occasion, managing to keep staff and subcontractors up-to-date on health and safety policies on construction sites, and continually keeping an open line of communication with vendors, partners and clients on the business fulfillment process,” shares Stefan Baron, Vice President of Operations. “It’s made us a stronger team even though we’re all working remotely and separately. We’ve not only been able to maintain customer service to our clients, but we’ve elevated our skills throughout this adaptation to a new normal.” Busier than ever, and tackling multiple projects at a time, the team behind Firmo have found themselves in the exciting upward motion—requiring additional help to handle their daily operations and inquiries. Firmo has not only been able to provide job security and responsive resources for its existing members, but new employment opportunities for three individuals to join their growing team. In June, they filled positions by hiring a Superintendent, Construction Estimator, Assistant Project Manager and a Director of Marketing & Communications. “As our team grows through all this and adds more people, we’ve found the perfect combination that has encouraged us to operate and communicate in new, better ways,”
Office Remodels In Progress
says Ochoa. “And with a team member now solely focused on invigorating our communications, we’re able to create more accessible and engaging correspondence as we shift to a more digital focus that aligns with our growth.” In addition to external newsletters to clients, third party contacts and contractors, Firmo now sends out internal newsletters to keep everyone in the company connected. Firmo also recently integrated virtual walkthroughs on job sites so clients can see the progress of what’s happening even if they’re on another coast. “They don’t have to get on the plane or take a crazy four-hour road trip just to see what’s going on now. We want to work smart, use the tools that we have and make everything more efficient.” In addition, the team has been working the last year on integrating a breakthrough virtual reality program to create building designs from scratch to finish. “It now identifies construction mistakes before they happen, minimizes construction delays, designs more efficiently and allows us to guarantee a set price without any change orders,” says Baron. In the business development aspect, Firmo has managed to virtually reach and establish relationships with people they hadn’t been able to before and start projects together, without even meeting face to face. “As the world has been putting up barriers, we feel we’ve been able to break down barriers—not only within the company to communicate with each other, but with current clients and potential clients that maybe we wouldn’t have been able to meet in person before all this,” says Ochoa. And while reaching out and finding new clients is different now, there is a lot more sharing of information that wasn’t there before. “Everyone’s a little more softer, a little more understanding. They want to brainstorm and put in an effort to make a conversation happen. At the end of the day, we want to keep business going, keep projects going, and get the economy moving.”
Tru Hotel | In Progress
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