NM Business Weekly - Best Places 2010

New Mexico Business Weekly
Best Places to Work 2010
#2 Small Sized Company
HB Construction Inc.

HB Builds Morale with Team Efforts
By: Katie Councilor | Special to NMBW
December 2010

NMBW: How would you describe the company culture?

JH: The first word that comes to mind is teamwork. We're a project-oriented company, and it's a real team atmosphere where everyone gives everyone else support.

What are your company's most popular perks?

Our SEP IRA, a profit-sharing plan different than a 401(k). The company (not the employee) contributes up to 20 percent of each employee's salary to an IRA. And there are Lobo football and basketball tickets and Isotopes tickets.

How have you kept employee morale strong during the recession?

It's my most challenging job right now. We show appreciation for their hard work and remind them how talented they are. We built a new headquarters, invested in employees and technology, anything we can do to make their jobs easier.

How do you communicate with your staff about what's going on with the company and foster communication among employees?

Being a small company, we spend a lot of time talking to each other one-on-one and in small groups, keeping one another informed. We have lots of sit-down meetings to make sure we're on the same page.

What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud at work?

Our last staff meeting wasn't starting out too positively. I asked the project manager  if he had any good news, and he said, "Well, the Raiders finally won a game."

Are you hiring next year or do you plan to hire in the next year?

No, we are not hiring. We're not looking to cut back either.