Growing from a startup to nearly 100 employees, this firm thrives through agility, teamwork, and delivering high-quality solutions at the core of its business.
I have been reflecting on my journey with MKN a lot lately. Maybe it’s because we’re approaching a pivotal point in our growth – nearing 100 employees. MKN & Associates is a rapidly growing water/wastewater engineering consulting firm in California. I joined MKN in 2013 and am thoroughly grateful to be part of this company. I love the people and the work, and I gain a lot of satisfaction in working on water and wastewater projects in our local communities. However, it hasn’t always been easy.
Here’s a glimpse into some of the challenges and the rewards:
- Being part of MKN from the beginning. It’s exhilarating to be part of a brand-new company. Watching the growth year after year, developing systems and procedures from the ground up, and celebrating our successes together has been a rewarding experience. Newly back from maternity leave with my first child, I made the leap from a global 30,000-employee engineering firm to brand new MKN. I felt a little crazy, often stopping to do a gut-check (Is this the right choice when I’m now providing for a family?), but I had worked with our CEO previously and I had faith in his ability to build a great engineering firm. Indeed, it was the two of us for only a few months, then four, soon six, and within four years, we were three offices strong. Eleven years later, now with nine offices, we’ve consistently grown by 30 percent year-over-year. Exciting as it was in the beginning, it was a lot of work. We did every part of the project in those early days, from the engineering to the drafting, exhibits, and formatting, to the administrative and billing. The saying, “Learn by doing!” was true.
- Working together toward high-quality water solutions. One of the things I really enjoy about our work is also one of the things that can get frustrating at times: every project is a challenge. There is no easy project. Whether it’s an engineering challenge, a tight budget and/or schedule, or difficult stakeholders, something always has us on our toes. We lean on each other for support. Across the company, we’ve fostered a cooperative, supportive culture and we often collaborate on issues and come up with ideas together. By pooling knowledge and skills, we arrive at more efficient and effective solutions and support internal growth. Through it all, we’re driving all our projects toward the goal, and ultimate reward, of delivering high-quality water solutions for our clients and communities.
- Finding our agility: crafting roles and systems. We are constantly working to improve; or we’re trying to. While balancing our workload with projects and proposals, we’re simultaneously revamping company systems. What once worked for a company of 30 to 40, needs to be updated at 70. Whether it’s overhauling our mentorship program, reassessing our project management software, streamlining letter and report templates, or developing new project management tools, there is always something to update. As a dynamic, growing company, we encourage everyone to speak up if something isn’t working. If you’re lucky, you may be selected for a committee tasked with finding the solution! We sometimes invest significant time into developing solutions that don’t always work. However, one of our core values is agility; it drives us forward. Staying agile in our internal systems and our external projects is key to our continued growth and success.
Looking ahead with optimism. Looking forward, I am excited about the future of MKN. Partnering with clients on water solutions for our communities and contributing to California’s sustainable future motivates me every day. I am proud of our achievements thus far and look forward to continuing our journey of growth and leadership in water/wastewater engineering consulting.
Eileen Shields is an operations manager and principal engineer at MKN. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
