EllisDon CEO: ‘The definition of value has changed’

Now in its 75th year of doing business, it’s a massive understatement to call EllisDon a builder. 

Its vast workforce, diverse departments and service offerings touch on almost every sector there is in Canada and beyond. They are in every major city in the country, employ around 10,000 workers and did $10 billion in business in Canada alone last year. They have a significant facilities maintenance business which maintains about 27 to 28 million square feet across the country. 

They also maintain more than 40 facilities in Ireland, and have been operating in the Middle East for more than 20 years. They boast a significant capital infrastructure business which spawned out of the P3 world.

“EllisDon is much more than a builder today,” said Kieran Hawe, EllisDon CEO, when he was interviewed by Site CEO Andrew Hansen for this year’s SiteSummit conference in Toronto. “We have a lot of different, unique kinds of divisions.”

For them, it’s a massive advantage. With unprecedented challenges, Hawe believes that rethinking what a construction company is will separate success from failure. He noted that the builder is no longer the end of the line executor. They are sometimes the co-creator and co-owner of initiatives. 

“I think the definition of value has changed, too. It’s not just a cost-driven response. It’s how we look at the full life cycle outcomes,” said Hawe. “What’s the quality of our product? What kind of services do we offer? I think a traditional builder will get left behind if they’re not thinking outside of the box, to be quite honest.

Hawe says that the organizations that will define the future are those that think beyond projects—those that integrate innovation and take responsibility for the outcomes.

“That’s what the future builder of this country must be built for,” he said. 

Control your destiny

How does one reach the level of diversity and sophistication of an EllisDon? There’s no shortcut. They launched their internal “Create the Wave” strategy out of necessity decades ago in the early 2000s during the dawn of P3s. EllisDon was a constructor, design manager, and had an external third party who provided financing. 

“On bid day, on closing day, quite often our appetite for risk was different than the others,” said Hawe. “And I think sometimes there was a level of conservatism in the bid that we would not agree with, but we didn’t have much choice because we were a consortium.”

Their long-term goal was to obtain full care and custody of their own destiny. This meant growing all of their services. Then the entire company could attack work alignment on risk profiles and profit margin expectations, creating a major competitive advantage.

“It takes a while,” said Hawe. “You have to be so intentional. It’s not just going to happen without investment and without the intentions. You have to, in good times and bad, be prepared to get outside your comfort zone and be a bit more diverse.”

A huge piece of the puzzle is having diversity of people.

EllisDon has no mission statement or vision statement. Their commitment is to deliver great careers to one another. The scope of that effort is massive. 

For their 10,000 employees, around 930 different titles exist and only about 100 of those relate to being on a job site. About 800 or so roles are not even directly construction related.  

“We’ve got graphic designers, video technicians, scrum masters, network engineers, a locksmith—a senior locksmith, mind you—water park specialist, registered nurse, food services provider,” said Hawe. “These are all roles you would never think to find at a construction services company.”

Embrace challenges

What does Hawe think about the current market difficulties? Challenges are opportunities, so don’t get distracted and don’t sit on the sidelines. 

Hawe noted the last 24 months have seen significant shifts in what is driving the Canadian economy. While the housing market has been hit hard recently, defence work, infrastructure work and other major projects are booming. Through it all, EllisDon has continued to grow. 

“A lot of people are talking about the challenges that we have,” said Hawe “We’ve got to stop looking at them as challenges and look at them as opportunities. Like, these are significant opportunities when industry comes together.”

His message to others in the industry is simple: Lots of procurement agencies and arms of different agencies are doing market calls, take the call. Share your opinion. Don’t sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

“Think about unsolicited proposals,” added Hawe. “We’ve had a few, some have gotten legs, some don’t. But if you don’t try, you’re sitting on the sidelines. Get out there and do something about it, own it, drive it, create it. I’m talking about defense work, I’m talking about infrastructure work, there are opportunities. But you’ve got to get off your ass and do something about it and just stop complaining about it.”

He also encouraged subcontractors, consultants and suppliers to the time to go talk to their peers in the industry. 

“You never know what a meeting or a coffee will spawn, some sort of an idea about what, how they can participate,” he said. “The heavy lifting cannot happen by one group in the sector alone, right? It’s got to be all of us together.”

Refining the employee experience

How does one of Canada’s biggest construction employers take care of its workers? Hawe explained that changes are employee-led and based on direct feedback. One thing that’s top of mind for the leadership team is well-being and mental health. Another other thing they are intentional about is diversity and inclusion. 

“We need a more diverse workforce, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because at EllisDon, our employees deserve it and demand it,” said Hawe, “So despite what’s happening down south or around us, we’re, we’re not taking our foot off the gas.”

The COVID 19 pandemic had a significant impact on the employee experience. It prompted a sweeping review of benefits plans and compensation. The past two years saw major changes and a three-year program is underway to enhance them further. 

“I wouldn’t say we’re leaps and bounds ahead of anybody else, but we’re listening to the feedback from the employees,” said Hawe. 

He’s personally seen the attitude of employees shift over the past few years from taking pride in building a project to taking pride in addressing the nation’s biggest challenges. 

“They really want to help solve the housing crisis, infrastructure projects,” said Hawe. “They want to enable the community and economic growth. They’re taking pride in their communities. That’s, I think that’s been a big shift I’ve certainly seen in the 27 years I’ve been here, is that the employees really give a shit about what they’re doing. They’re just not here for a paycheck.” 

Hawe himself tries to keep his mondays free from travel so he can personally onboard some new employees. He believes it’s important they know the CEO and gives him the opportunity to share his three most important points: Safety is the top priority, learn everything you can, and if you aren’t happy you should go somewhere else. 

Stay focused on what matters

With so many employees, projects and divisions, it’s easy to get distracted. It’s something Hawe diligently works to combat. 

“The model at EllisDon for the last couple of years has been to get rid of distractions and focus on execution,” said Hawe. “There’s a lot of white noise out there. If you’re on social media and you’re opening your phone every day, it is so easy to get distracted by something somebody down south said, or something that happened in the Middle East. You have to be intentional to park that and not get caught up in the BS.”

Instead, Hawe offered this advice: Build a great team, excel at making tough decisions, be open to receiving constructive feedback and invest in your employees. 

“Give your employees all the tools they deserve to make them successful, because if you do, it’ll pay ten-fold,” he said.