8 Inspiring Quotes on Jacobs’ Culture Transformation

Jacobs’ Chief Human Resources Officer Shelie Gustafson is passionate about fostering an inclusive culture that attracts the industry’s best talent. In a recent Dialogue Review feature, she takes us behind the scenes of Jacobs' culture transformation. To tell the full story, she takes us back to the beginning and reached out to our employees to get their thoughts. Here’s a peek at some of our favorite quotes:  

1. “The way it was described and discussed was very important. It’s not what you think people see: it is how people actually see you when you are not around. The programme sent a very strong message that we need to be careful and aware of how we behave.” – Vice President and Regional Director of Middle East Operations for People and Places Solutions Imad Feghali

2. “Inspiration, inclusion and innovation were identified as the three pillars of Jacobs’ culture transformation.” – Chief Human Resource Officer Shelie Gustafson

3. “The CH2M acquisition was a pivotal point. We all know that most mergers and acquisitions don’t live up to their stated objectives, and usually this is because of a failure to align the two organizational cultures.” – Vice President of Canada Operations Ben Almond

4. “Helping individuals be their best selves, with the team capitalizing on their uniqueness, is a game changer.” – Chief Human Resource Officer Shelie Gustafson

5. “Now that it is embedded in our values, inclusion has become much more real and tangible.” – Executive Advisor for Advancing National Security Isaac Henderson

6. “The company values speak to me now more than ever. Regardless of function, market or business group, you can immediately relate to these simple yet powerful values.” – Director of Finance and Project Controls Sindhu Avalokita

7. “Basketball is a classic team sport. It is really the combination of putting complementary talent together. Bringing different skills, capabilities and instincts drives success, versus just having the best players. Business is a combination of clearly having the top talent, and ensuring it is complementary and that the chemistry exists.” – Chair and Chief Executive Officer Steve Demetriou

8. “We know employees will have five or more careers in their lifetime: there is no reason a person can’t have them all at Jacobs.” – Chief Human Resource Officer Shelie Gustafson 

Learn more about our unparalleled focus on inclusion in this Dialogue Review feature. 

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