President and CEO of Vierbicher (Reedsburg, WI), a community planning and engineering firm that is a proven partner for thriving Wisconsin communities.
By Liisa Andreassen
Correspondent
In 2024, Vierbicher was once again name a Best Firm To Work For by Zweig Group and Zubella most attributes this to being a firm that inspires its team to perform at a high level. As a whole, the company has created an environment where staff feel valued and like they can make a difference.
“We’re a very open book here,” Zubella says. “We share financial data and always ask staff for input. I surround myself with smart people.”
Assess and analyze. When Zubella reflects on the firm’s history, he’s reminded of how important it is to learn from mistakes, correct them and move on. For instance, prior to the Great Recession, he says the company had far too many corporate initiatives; not many were getting accomplished.
“Our financial performance was subpar,” he says. “So, in 2011, we deliberately stepped back and examined our entire operation and stopped doing things that weren’t producing value.”
They went through the 80/20 program with a consultant and analyzed their complete client list. They took steps that allowed them to place focus on their best clients and to simplify their business practices. For example, Zubella asked his accounting manager to come up with a list of how she was spending her time. They learned that a surprising amount was spent on invoicing. As a result, they eliminated non-productive activities and overall, streamlined the system.
Zubella says the results have been amazing.
“Business simplification and a focus on clients and priorities that move the needle have been guiding principles for us ever since,” he shares. “We constantly remind ourselves that our current and future success is due to a clear focus on priorities. And, while we have a great client list, a large range of experience, and a well-rounded and talented staff, we don’t plan to be everything to everybody.”
Since then, the company has seen its highest profitability.
Adapt to growth. As it’s continued to grow, a need to hire additional resources for teams arose. They hired a human resources manager and a quality assurance manager to help take some of the training and recruiting responsibilities off the department managers. The human resources manager helps the leadership team recognize that managers need to focus more on their teams and staff to increase efficiency.
In April 2023, significant strategic organizational changes included a shift from geography-based service to sector-based service, and adding more managers.
“These changes have allowed managers to focus more on our people and their individual career development goals and to better shift work between teams,” he says.
Now, Vierbicher has teams working across office locations to help better balance the workload and to increase collaboration between offices.
The greatest challenge is finding staff to fuel this growth and being proactive in recruitment is key. Referral bonuses have led to a few hires.
“We recognize that traditional recruiting isn’t good enough anymore,” he says. “We’ve significantly stepped up our investment in training for staff at all levels and are developing leaders from within.”
Training initiatives encompass a broad spectrum and include CAD design, project management, and leadership development to ensure the team remains equipped to tackle evolving challenges and to drive progress toward its shared vision – One Team for a Better Today.
Vierbicher has also engaged Zweig Group to develop a project management program.
“We’re just getting started with the program,” he says. “In the past, we sent folks out for training, so this will be a game changer.”
And, in leadership development, they’re updating their “Career Ladder” program. Zubella is happy to start succession planning now as he plans to retire in about eight years.
The next chapter. Last year, Vierbicher merged with Mau & Associates and that’s already proven to be a success with a rapid expansion and presence in Green Bay and Northeastern Wisconsin. This quick success is mostly due to a positive cultural alignment and complementary services between the two.
The strategic plan for the next five years is to stay committed to growth because to date, they’ve embraced the benefits growth can bring and have started implementing a variety of initiatives to facilitate it (e.g., evaluating and expanding service lines, geographic markets, and staffing mix).
They also plan to hire more entry-level staff to create a pool of future leaders and delegates.
“Expansion not only opens up avenues for our staff’s advancement, but also spurs innovation, and increases the potential for more interesting and high-profile projects,” Zubella says.
One such project that springs to mind for Zubella is the Community of Bishops Bay. This project is a 780-acre master plan community that stretches across two municipalities. One issue that arose during the project’s fifth phase of planning was how to serve it with utilities. This phase was separated from the existing utilities by a corporate boundary and a private golf course which the developer didn’t control.
“We thought outside the box and provided the developer with a solution to obtain an easement from the golf course for the utilities and have one municipality sell their water to the other,” Zubella says.
This was a complex undertaking, but the team’s wide range of experience combined with its trusted relationships made the solution a reality. Intergovernmental agreement amendments and coordination with various other public and private entities were all needed.
“Maintaining open communication and fostering strong client relationships has always been a key in allowing us to navigate through uncharted territory with confidence,” Zubella says.
