While she does “a little of everything”, as the Chief Operating Officer at McSteen, Maureen Feller spends much of her time managing the day-to-day operations of the company. She works closely with the mortgage and inspections teams and is responsible for administrative duties including recruiting and managing employee benefits.
Managing the Growth of McSteen
Although the past two years have been a bit different for McSteen, the company has continued to grow during the pandemic as the housing market continues to be a strong economic driver. In addition to providing land surveying services throughout all 88 counties of Ohio, McSteen has added construction draw inspections and utility locating to its service areas. This makes recruiting and developing an attractive benefits package for employees even more important, tasks that Maureen embraces.
The pandemic has made the company re-evaluate what is important to its employees, including flexibility, technical support, benefits, and administrative support, which is a primary reason that McSteen has redone the benefits package offered to its employees. “In a competitive market, when recruiting is a challenge, differentiating your company is of the utmost importance,” Maureen admits. “Sure, an interviewee needs to make a good first impression, but so do you.”
Taking the Guess Work Out of Recruiting
As far as recruiting, the pandemic has made it a bit harder but has not really forced a change in how Maureen goes about recruiting. “We have always hired throughout the state, without always having face-to-face interaction with potential candidates,” she notes. At McSteen, it starts with the interview process and a partnership with the Predictive Index (PI), which is software that “allows us to align the right people with the right roles and to help ensure they’ll be set up for success before we even extend an offer.”
While Maureen admits that they are getting fewer applications right now as part of a tight labor market, she says that the applicants are actually stronger. “Once we are able to engage with people, it tends to make the decision easier because we are offering strong benefits when many others in our field are not.” McSteen also prides itself on hiring individuals from outside of the industry and offering the education and training necessary. “We have seen some employees move onto other things, but usually once people are with us for a year or so they stick with us.”
Educational and Training Opportunities
It is the willingness to train and the educational opportunities available within the company, Maureen says, that really sets McSteen apart from the competition. “We are willing to take on people who have no knowledge of the industry and train them. We also recognize that we can always improve upon our training – that openness to improvement also sets us apart.”
The Importance of Company Culture
In addition, Maureen notes, “I truly believe that we have the best culture of any surveying company. We have heard that from those who have come to work for us or those who have left.” In addition to the culture, it is the commitment to customer service at McSteen that sets it apart. “We truly are like a family-owned business – in a good way, “ she clarifies. “Our employees care about the company and the company cares about them.”
Surveying is a unique industry, Maureen admits. In many instances, people tend to follow their family members into the industry, and sometimes because of that, there is a resistance to change. McSteen recognizes this, along with the fact that there is a general shortage of land surveying professionals, and is taking steps to address this both within the company and as a leader in the industry.
“We make every decision with two things in mind,” Maureen explains, “are we doing something to better the service for our clients, and are we doing something to better things for our employees?” She admits that there will always be give-and-take on those two things, but it’s always front of mind. We are excited to build upon our 50+ year history and continue to grow and innovate both within our company and the industry as a whole. We are always looking for team members to help us meet the needs of our clients. Check out our Careers page or contact us if you are interested in learning more about how McSteen is adapting and innovating to meet the current and future needs of the land surveying industry.
