Deborah Jasper, HR manager: “The sun never sets on Parsons Brinckerhoff.”

Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), founded in 1885, is one of the oldest continuously operating engineering firms in the world. It works in consulting, planning, engineering, program management, construction management and operations and maintenance for all types of infrastructure.

The employee-owned company has more than 250 offices on six continents. In addition to designing highways, buildings, bridges and tunnels around the world, PB designed New York City’s first subway line in the early twentieth century, helped build the first railroad across China in the 1890s, and recently developed the Tararua Wind Farm in New Zealand, the largest in the southern hemisphere.

“Because PB is a global company, the opportunity for international assignments can be part of the attraction of joining the PB team,” explains human resources manager Deborah Jasper. “The sun never sets on PB; we always have engineers at work somewhere in the world.”

Parsons Brinckerhoff www.pbworld.com Headquarters: New York, NY Employees: 9,000 Revenues: $1.3 billion Business: Infrastructure planning, engineering and construction management

Open positions at PB are advertised internally, Jasper says, so that employees can develop their careers within the company. “Promoting from within supports our affirmative action efforts,” she emphasizes.

It’s not only possible for engineers to change career paths within PB; it’s highly supported by the company. Twice a year, each employee participates in a development and appraisal process to establish personal goals and assess performance.

If training is part of the plan, professional development programs are available in both technical and nontechnical areas. Along with tuition reimbursement for continuing ed, PB offers project management training and certification, professional recognition programs and a variety of technical training opportunities.

PB is building its database of qualified potential hires, Jasper says. Its main interest is in civil and structural engineers with experience in highway and bridge design, along with traffic, transportation, water and geotechnical engineers. There are also many planning, construction management and architectural positions.

In 1997, PB established a diversity oversight committee (DOC) at the corporate level. “The DOC provides PB with a forum to coordinate diversity efforts and communicate recommendations to senior management,” says committee chair John Ryan, corporate director of human resources.

The DOC works with three employee networks: the Women’s Focus Group, the Black Professionals Network and the Hispanic Resource Network. In each network, committees work on recruitment, retention, career development, networking and mentoring. The Women’s Focus Group, for example, was instrumental in expanding the company’s U.S. sick leave policy to include caring for family members.

Engineers at the construction site of the Fuller Warren Bridge in Florida.

PB works with organizations like the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers and the Women’s Transportation Seminar, a national group for women in the transportation industry. “We support them by listing our job openings with each organization, providing job opportunities to minority and women engineers,” Jasper says.

Jasper notes that PB employees are committed to helping educate the next generation of engineers. Many have connections with high schools or independent mentoring programs.

On the corporate level, the firm awards scholarships with an engineering focus to talented women and minorities. “The numbers of engineering students in college are diminishing, especially minority students,” explains Jasper. “We need to work with middle school classes to help kids get interested in math and science.”

As HR director Ryan sees it, “Making the firm attractive to women and minorities enhances our reputation, and that improves our ability to retain highly skilled employees from a variety of different backgrounds.

“Diversity of our global employee population is, and will continue to be, a source of great strength to PB,” he declares.

D/C