Culture
Core Values
Like many companies, AES seeks to deliver exceptional client service. We provide this high level of care by taking care of the two key groups at the center of our business – employees and clients. By putting employees first, we work to ensure employees are well-motivated, well-compensated and receive the best training, mentorship, and access to a variety of project experience. Employees are expected to pass along this same level of care and commitment to clients in the form of exceptional client service.
Critical elements serving each group include:
- Outstanding Teamwork through collaboration, responsibility, and accountability to each other
- Clear and Open Communication within AES teams and offices as well as with clients
- Dedication to Quality by investing in training and committing to providing the highest standard of service
- Creating Wealth through profits at AES and creating quality constructible projects for clients
Each of these elements serve the balanced priorities of commitment to employees and providing exceptional client service.
To put it simply, AES seeks to “take care” of its employees with the understanding and expectation that those employees will pass along this level of commitment to “take care” of our clients.
Workplace Environment
While our typical workdays last from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, it’s the feel and atmosphere of the workplace that impacts our daily lives. Overall, AES blends a casual work atmosphere with the understanding that we must provide exceptional client service. There are many indicators of our ability to create this kind of “work-flow”.
- Collaboration – While there are titles and roles at AES, creating the best results for our clients is the priority. From Project Manager to entry-level engineer, surveyor, or landscape architect, out teams work together to solve problems, often with creative solutions.
- Communication – At AES communication is Open, Often, and Optimized! All levels of staff are welcomed and encouraged to ask questions to keep efforts moving forward. Teams are empowered to communicate in an ongoing way as problems are solved. Our technology infrastructure and culture support the many ways we communicate in today’s workplace . . . email, text, messaging, phone calls, virtual video chats, and in-person meetings and discussions.
- Flexibility – One of our founders would often say something like, “you should be at that piano recital, graduation, or family gathering. Just work with your supervisor on when you are taking PTO or making up that time.” This simple sentiment remains the guidepost of schedule flexibility at AES.
- Remote Working – In recent years, AES rolled out a hybrid-remote program. Essentially it combines two forms of flexibility, each levering remote technology. First, employees select one standing day a week (other than Friday) to be their “work-from-home” day. This allows for less commuting days, fuel savings, flexible schedules on that day for personal appointments . . . and just the comfort of a day working from home. Second, for those unavoidable situations like home maintenance or caring for ailing loved-ones, longer remote engagements can be set up.
- Mutual Respect & Camaraderie – AES is a place where folks from various walks of life come together to take care of each other so that we can serve our clients. Our employees come from across the nation, the world, from different age-groups, and from different family backgrounds. A walk around our office will reveal many forms of positive interactions that often include quiet focus, laughter, playful chiding, and engaged discussions.
Employee Recognition
Employees are recognized with positive feedback throughout the year for their hard work and dedication. From employee spotlights via emails, to spot-bonuses, to receiving logoed AES SWAG, our team recognizes and promotes good work.
Employees are annually recognized in a number of categories including outstanding teamwork, profitability, team efficiency, and revenue generation.
The Iron Man Award is a unique honor given by the previous year’s winner to a new recipient who they believe best exemplifies the effort to take care of the two groups at the center of our business. . . our employees and our clients.
Our team also recognizes years of service milestones for all employees, honoring the dedication our staff displays, year-after-year.
Employee Ownership
AES is an employee-owned company. While we are not an ESOP, the corporation is owned by shareholders who are employed by AES. These owners acquired stock in a number of ways including purchasing it from AES through open stock offerings, purchasing it from other stockholders, and through a variety of stock bonus and incentive plans.
Each year, all owners come together for the annual shareholders meeting. After a presentation on the overall performance and financial health of AES, a vote is held. As a result of this process the company selects its Board of Directors, President, Vice President, Stock Ownership and Eligibility Committee, and Executive Compensation Committee. The Board of Directors and its committees are not intended to run the day-to-day activities of the company. The president forms a Senior Management Team to manage daily operations.
The advantages of ownership are simple and significant.
- First, our ability to take care of each other and our clients is greatly enhanced by our individual investment and pride in the stewardship and ownership of AES.
- Second, employee ownership ensures that we remain true to our employees and their needs.
- Third, employee-owners are eligible to receive distributions (dividends). Based on the performance of AES, these can result in significant compensation from profit sharing… in addition to the company bonus program.
Outside the Office
All work and no play makes for a dull day. At AES we don’t play every day, but we do take time to relax and recharge. From knocking off early for a gathering outside on our patio on a Friday afternoon, to having “Burn Out” parties for each team, to celebrating the fall season with festive cakes, to a company-wide breakfast of Chick-fil-A biscuits, to a summer bash at a local brewery and our annual holiday party… we definitely have fun times together.
- Annual Summer Party
- Annual Holiday Party
- Burnout Events
- Patio Parties
- AES Movie Nights
- Fantasy Drafts
- Prayer Groups
- Annual AES Ryder Cup
- Recognition Breakfast
The connections made by many folks at AES extend beyond the office in the form of friendships, social activities, church groups, charitable causes, and much more. Whether it’s a few families camping together or a couple folks meeting up at the local ball park or meeting up at the local pub after hours, each of these are evidence to the lasting connections and relationships formed at AES.
Technology
Each year, AES invests significant staff time and resources into the company’s technology infrastructure. From hardware including, but not limited to, PC’s, laptops, desktop phones, servers, survey stations, receivers and field tablets, AES is constantly evaluating the most effective and highest-value technology assets. From software including, Microsoft Office, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Photoshop, and Deltek-Vision, AES evaluates and deploys the best organizational and design tools offering the highest-value to AES and its many clients.
AES has a dedicated CAD Manager / IT Coordinator who spends time maintaining our hardware infrastructure, optimizing our access to design and production software, ensuring our efficient use of AutoCAD, and optimizing our communication technologies for best connection to each other and out clients.
