LJA Engineering shares pieces of the stock pie
When employees of LJA Engineering drive around Houston, they see a lot of their work.
Founded in 1972, the privately held civil engineering firm has helped build everything from highways to toll roads, sewage plants, floodcontrol projects and masterplanned communities around the world.
Perhaps the largest of the company’s local projects was The Woodlands, a 25,000-acre master-planned community developed in the 1970s about 27 miles north of downtown Houston. A mix of forestland, golf courses, waterways, office towers, homes, restaurants and stores, The Woodlands is headquarters to dozens of companies and home to nearly 100,000 people.
LJA Engineering President Calvin Ladner said the company’s motto, “We build civilization,” is not just a tag line.
“Having started in Houston 47 years ago, we have seen this city not just grow, but get better and better,” Ladner said. “LJA has a lot to do with that. Almost everywhere they go, our employee-owners can actually see that what they do makes a difference.”
LJA Engineering has created a workplace culture that gives employees ownership of the company, not just the projects.
The company’s employee stock-ownership program makes everyone from executives and engineers to secretaries and office staff eligible to share in the profits. The stock distribution is celebrated in an annual party during which 20 or more pies are served — symbolizing how each employee gets a piece of the pie. Employees who qualify are given a fleece vest with a logo that says “100% vested.”
Employees are encouraged to participate in community projects such as Adopt-ABeach and Toys For Tots, social mixers and team sports such as soccer, volleyball and softball. The company also covers a portion of the cost for employees to participate in some area road races such at 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and marathons.
Many employees are also given the option to take a 9/80 work schedule that gives them every other Friday off. During a two-week work period, an employee participating in the program works eight ninehour days, one eight-hour day and gets that second Friday off.
“Roads, water, energy, parks, homes, trains, schools — we have a hand in all of it. It is what makes this career so rewarding,” Ladner said. “What we do is actually tangible in creating great communities for people to live and work.”