This year marks a milestone for Henley Construction—60 years of building together! To celebrate, we hosted our first-ever company summit this September, which brought all our teams together, fostering a sense of unity and togetherness. It was a unique opportunity to reflect on our past, strengthen our present, and build for the future with everyone across the organization, from the office to the field.
The summit focused on celebrating, learning, growing, and connecting. We hosted various engaging breakout sessions designed to offer valuable training and skills development, reinforcing our commitment to the professional growth of our employees. Here’s a snapshot of the key sessions:
- Safety and Total Human Health: Our commitment to safety goes beyond physical protection—it’s about the whole person’s well-being. We reinforced this with training focused on the latest safety protocols and total human health initiatives, promoting mental and physical wellness on and off the job.
- How to Approach the Inevitable Difficult Conversation: Communication is key in construction, especially when tough topics arise. This session equipped our teams with practical tools for handling difficult conversations with professionalism, empathy, and confidence. Navigating these situations improves team dynamics and strengthens our relationships with clients and partners.
- Field Technical Training in Spanish: To support our diverse workforce, we offered specialized training in Spanish led by a recently retired community college professor. This session focused on field-specific skills to support our self-perform tasks and capabilities, ensuring our Spanish-speaking team members have the technical knowledge to excel.
- Scope Gap Discussions: One of the biggest challenges in construction is avoiding misunderstandings and miscommunication around project scopes. In this session, we tackled ways to bridge scope gaps, improve coordination, and address every detail before work begins. This will help us avoid costly errors and keep our projects on track.
- Scheduling and Pull Planning Training: To further enhance our team’s ability to deliver projects on time, we partnered with an outside scheduling company to provide in-depth conversation and training on scheduling and pull planning techniques. This session focused on improving project flow, optimizing resources, and ensuring we stay ahead of deadlines. Learning from industry experts helped our teams gain new insights into project management and reinforced the importance of detailed, proactive scheduling.
- Team Build Challenge: Finally, we capped off the summit with a Team Build Challenge—a fun and competitive exercise that allowed our employees to celebrate their teamwork, solve problems, and show off their construction skills. It was a great way to recognize and appreciate the creativity and hands-on expertise that define Henley Construction.
The energy at the summit was fantastic, as everyone left feeling inspired, connected, and ready to tackle new challenges. As we celebrate six decades of success, we look forward to continuing to grow, innovate, and lead in the construction industry with the same dedication that brought us here.
Here’s to 60 years—and many more to come!
