Interns Experience Culture of Care

After a brief hiatus, our business technology team brought back our internship program in 2023. Our class this year has done some amazing things, and we have been thrilled with how the program has developed this year. The interns have toured several of our facilities, learned about our business, learned Agile and other techniques to collaborate as a team and had a lot of fun along the way.

I was recently asked to present FTI’s Culture of Care to our class of interns. With some help from my fellow Culture of Care Committee members and our Communications team, I was able to give them a solid overview of the history of Culture of Care, along with some of the amazing benefits our team members have realized as part of this commitment.

FTI understands that safety and productivity begin with our team members. Culture of Care is designed to support the well-being of our own team members and change the conversation around mental health in the construction industry. Our Culture of Care program is centered around creating a safe, supportive environment and developing team members who are respectful and empathetic. FTI provides the resources and learning opportunities for empowering everyone to be Culture of Care stewards. We ask our team members to live out the four pillars of our program and build a culture where everyone feels safe, respected, valued and accepted.

What does Culture of Care mean to me?  We are a team that genuinely cares about each other, and I have felt that from the very first day with the organization. As a dad, our PTO policy and flexible working arrangements take away the stress of getting my kids to school, soccer, softball, appointments and everything else that comes our way. Our technology team has used regular team building days to ensure that even those who work remote are able to participate in activities that help build relationships across the department. Nearly every team member uses our monthly recharge time benefit, which provides us with two hours paid leave every month to use for self-care. Weekly check-ins are also a fun and effective way to learn more about the headspace of our peers. Team members are encouraged to tell stories about fellow team members who demonstrate our core values, and everyone is invited to use a simple emoji or gif to share how they are feeling on that day. It is a great mechanism to highlight accomplishments or have a conversation with a peer who might be struggling with things in their personal lives. We share laughs, learn interesting facts about each other and create stronger bonds that help us be more effective in our roles here at FTI.

The discussion with our intern program participants was something I really enjoyed. I hope that their positive experiences over the summer resonated with the stories I shared about the program. One of the comments during the question-and-answer session afterwards summarized much of why I feel Culture of Care separates us from other organizations; “If I don’t end up with a full-time role here at FTI, I’m going to be really disappointed if my next firm doesn’t offer recharge time!”.

Our leadership team has started a LinkedIn series showcasing some awesome examples of Culture of Care and what it means to them. The stories have been amazing, and it makes me proud to be a member of this team. Follow FTI on LinkedIn to see these examples and learn more!