Prepare for the Move to Employee Ownership
by Terry Dunn, President/CEO, J.E. Dunn Construction Co.
J.E. Dunn Construction began the journey to become an employee-owned company in 1990, with the acquisition of our first construction subsidiary. At that time, J.E. Dunn Construction Co. was a $150 million regional contractor. During the next 10 years, we would acquire four more contractors and grow to a company earning $1 billion in revenue per year.
By 2000, J.E. Dunn was operating as a national contractor with six operating subsidiaries. We had the challenges of different operating procedures and management structures. Because of this, we initiated an approach called “One Dunn.” The goal was to operate efficiently as one national contractor. This process took nearly a decade to accomplish.
We took steps to determine company-wide best practices and to move to standard operating procedures and common information systems and accounting. We also worked to centralize the administrative support services to streamline reporting and accountability. The last hurdle was to consolidate the construction subsidiaries into “One Dunn,” one national construction company.
This decade had many ups and downs in the journey. The last of the subsidiary companies to retain its own name, R.J. Griffin & Company, officially changed its name and brand to J.E. Dunn Construction on Jan. 1, 2011.
At the end of this process, the Board of Directors and senior management made the decision to initiate an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) with the first transfer of stock taking place on January 2, 2011. The most significant challenges we faced in becoming an ESOP were properly educating employees and identifying the right partners to administer the program.
We worked closely with Bob Grossman at Lathrop & Gage to select the right partners for plan administration and design, stock valuation and legal considerations. Our education strategy for employees consisted of many facets. We held ESOP launch events in our offices around the country and developed literature educating current and future employees on the plan. We have since created The ESOP Builder, a publication dedicated to further education and emphasis on the importance of an ESOP culture. We strive to share company growth strategies, financial information and complete transparency because every employee has a stake in the company’s success.”
Launching the ESOP has been a major step in breaking down geographical silos and empowering all of our employees to work as one team: “One Dunn.” Today, J.E. Dunn Construction Company is an efficient, focused team that takes pride in ownership and is ready to undertake all challenges as we grow our brand, our offerings, and our financial strength. We are now all employee-owners and accountable to each other and to our community.
We have a saying within our company: Integrity + Performance = Trust.
That motto is not only at the center of collaboration and commitment to our clients, designers, subcontractors, and suppliers; that slogan is a living commitment between each and every employee-owner of the J.E. Dunn team. 
