Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/699963
Hansen knew from his family's business the boss was testing his work ethic rather than his skills. A few years later, when Hansen put in his two-week notice, the boss thought so well of him he threw in an extra $200 on top his pay in gratitude. He returned to the fam- ily business in California in 1995 and started back working with the company's crews. He eventually moved up to superintendent, then construction manager in 2009 and finally took the reins as president of the company in 2014. Today his mom, an aunt and cousin work there every day. But when Hansen says the company is like a big family, he means much more than his relatives. Even though he's running a large compa- ny with multiple divisions, Hansen says: "If you work here and you haven't seen me in a while, you better at least stick your head in the door and say 'hi.' That's been the company mentality forever." Sky is the limit The Hansen family's work ethic has become a template for the careers of many of his top employees, many of whom came to the com- pany with little or no experience in construction. "Our philosophy – and this goes all the way back to my grandfather's days – is if a guy has the right work ethic and integrity; if he's safety conscious and enjoys what he is doing, he deserves the opportunity to move up when the opportunity is avail- able," Hansen says. "If you are willing to put in the time and learn, the sky is the limit," Hansen continues. "We tell every- body, 'you are in charge of your destiny here. In the years to come you can pretty much be who you want to be.' That doesn't mean we have the person we want on the day we want him, but for the most part we've been able to build a strong backbone of employees." A few examples: • Shirley Neely started as a basic clerk, now she's the project administra- tor, one of the "critical pieces of the construction department," Hansen says. • Brett Schaeffer started five years ago as an operator/paver, moved up to paving supervisor and just recently moved into the office to do paving and residential estimates as a senior project manager. • Eighteen years ago, Kirk Harris started out as an operator and labor- er. He owned his own business for a while and then came back to Hansen Bros. as a superintendent, then esti- mator and just last year moved into the construction operations position. • Brandon Hall has been with the company about eight years and af- ter "starting out with a shovel in his hand," Hansen says, was promoted to superintendent and most recently to senior project manager and se- nior estimator. • Derek Hiatt "came to us know- ing the least of anybody," Hansen says. "But he took the initiative and he had the desire and the work ethic and now he's arguably one of our best superintendents." July 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 72 contractor of the year | continued Part of the crew, from left to right: Kirk Harris, construction operations manager/ estimator; Jeff Hansen, president; Brandon Hall, senior project manager/estimator; Brett Schaeffer, estimator.