HNTB’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan allows employees to invest in company success.

When Christian Vila interned at HNTB, one of the largest 100% employee-owned engineering and architecture firms, the company culture stood out early on. He was most impressed by his teammates’ commitment to taking personal responsibility for making success happen. “The culture was prevalent throughout the firm. People cared about their work,” Vila said. “And I think that stemmed directly from HNTB's employee ownership culture.”

Seven years later, Vila is now a traffic engineer and a local champion for the HNTB Ownership Plan in the New Jersey office. In his role as champion, Vila serves as a resource for employee-owners, helping them better understand the plan and take advantage of all its benefits. Below, he shares the unique aspects of the HNTB Ownership Plan, how it impacts the firm’s culture and supports employee-owners.

 

How is the HNTB Ownership Plan unique?

Participation in the HNTB Ownership Plan is available to all employees on their first day of employment. This unique aspect of the plan helps to instill an increased sense of responsibility from the very beginning, and that only grows as your career at HNTB progresses. The tangible feeling of ownership is one of the main reasons I chose to begin my career at HNTB and why I’m still here.

When you have ownership, you take ownership. There is accountability, initiative, a sense of pride and increased productivity – our firm benefits from all that.

– Christian Vila
Traffic Engineer

How does the HNTB Ownership Plan influence company culture and the work environment?

There are so many cultural benefits of the HNTB Ownership Plan and many of them are directly tied to the established connection between employees and the firm’s long-term success. As employee-owners, we all take greater personal interest in and responsibility for making success happen. When you have ownership, you take ownership. There is accountability, initiative, a sense of pride and increased productivity – our firm benefits from all that.

I personally experience a greater sense of teamwork and cohesiveness every day. People at HNTB are more willing to step in and support each other because we know we’re all on the same team, working toward the same goal: HNTB’s success.

Explain your role as an HNTB Ownership Plan champion.

First, my job isn’t to convince anyone to participate. My role as a champion is to inform and educate people about the details of the plan. I meet with new and existing employees to make sure they understand the plan and have the information they need to make informed decisions. Ultimately, my goal is to help people understand that ownership is available to them and a key benefit of being an HNTB employee.

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