Benefits of a GBA Peer Review

Jeff Jaros, President & CEO, NTH Consultants, Ltd., GBA Peer Review Committee

If you are like most CEOs and executives, business is coming at you and your company fast. You’ve experienced growth but are concerned about your risk management practices as yougrow too fast. Perhaps your employee retention rate has declined and you continue to hire only to replace those you’ve lost.

Have you never had a GBA Peer Review but thought about it? Has it been more than five years since your last Peer Review? Are you struggling with one or more business functions and want fresh perspectives from others that have likely faced similar challenges?

If the answer to these questions is “Yes,” why not consider a Peer Review?

If you’ve been around GBA long enough, you certainly have heard Terra Insurance Company representatives promote the benefits that Terra insureds realized from Peer Reviews. Terra is the mostly highly rated professional liability insurance carrier in the U.S., according to various metrics produced by A.M Best. Terra’s losses are roughly one-sixth (1/6) of industry averages over the last 10 years.

Maybe Peer Reviewed firms really do benefit from the process. You certainly do not need to be a Terra-insured firm to benefit from a GBA Peer Review.

GBA’s foundational principle is collaboration among and between member firms for their collective benefit. While we may compete for business, assuring a strong geoprofessional brand through the success of our member firms is paramount to the mission of GBA. The Peer Review is one arrow in the quiver.

What is a Peer Review?

At its core, Peer Review is part of a continuous improvement program that aims to help firms improve their business processes, implement best practices, and receive feedback. A comprehensive Peer Review assesses nine (9) core management components of the firm through staff questionnaires, staff interviews, and a review of certain company information.

A Peer Review is meant to be minimally disruptive to your daily operations and is conducted both virtually and on-site. From start to finish, you can expect the process to take not more than three (3) months with the on-site portion not more than one (1) week. In fact, much of the Peer Review is done in the background by the Peer Review Team (PRT).

What a Peer Review is Not.

The Peer Review is not meant to review or opine on your firm’s finance performance, nor is information regarding client pricing and staff compensation shared with the team. Prior to a Peer Review engagement, the PRT enters into a confidentiality agreement with the firm to assure that any materials reviewed will remain confidential. Further, the Peer Review requires the PRT to destroy all information associated with the review within 30 days after completion.

Who is the Peer Review Team?

Each PRT consists of “peers,” who are current and past members of other GBA member firm leadership teams. All members of the PRT are active with GBA, hold or previously held leadership roles within GBA, and have completed training as a Peer Reviewer.

Additionally, each PRT is led by a captain, who has completed a minimum of three Peer Reviews and has received their own review by team captains as well as CEOs of Peer-Reviewed firms.

Testimonials

Don’t take our word for it, read some of the many testimonials from GBA Peer-Reviewed firms. The collective history of these firms spans hundreds of years, and many have successfully transitioned through multiple leadership generations.

“The Peer Review came at the right time for our firm as we were transitioning from a smaller firm to a more regional firm. The outside perspectives and insights were great at discovering potential pitfalls in this transition.”

~ Matthew Cramer, P.E., GEOMAT

“The ‘outsider’ viewpoint of our organization was invaluable. But one of the main benefits
is being able to use the Peer Review feedback to help bolster and help add justification to
changes we knew needed making throughout the organization. I am proud to say that the ALLWEST team has participated in the Peer Review program for many years and continue to recognize it as one of the most valuable resources available to us as a growing geoprofessional firm. Kudos to the Peer Reviewers for the dedication of their time and effort, and to GBA for facilitating such a great service to its member firms!”

~ James Thomasson, P.E., ALLWEST Testing & Engineering

“Having close to the three decades of experience with Peer Review as a team member, captain, and having our firm reviewed multiple times, this is perhaps the most beneficial professional experience of my career. If you want to improve your firm’s performance, you owe it to have your company Peer Reviewed.”

~ Kevin Hoppe, P.E., F.GBA, NTH Consultants

“I’ve undergone a few and been a part of a few. Each time it requires a lift of effort, but they are very rewarding in many ways. Now, five years into GPI, it is a bit of a rite of passage and a great reminder as part of a smaller firm some of the things to keep in our foresight as we march on trying to improve the business.”

~ Travis Wambeke, P.E., P.G, GPI

“It confirmed things we have already defined and raised others we have not seen, which was very important. This helps us adjust our strategic plan to improve faster and with more relevant actions. Also, this helps us get approvals from upper management.”

~ Martin LaRoche, P.Eng. and Luc Leger, AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin)

“The review produced useful feedback and constructive criticism regarding loss management and company culture that we will seriously consider and implement as appropriate. Members of the review team were open to sharing experiences in dealing with similar issues. Overall, very positive and helpful process.”

~ Jeffrey Unruh, Lettis Consultants

“The review provided a catalyst to implement some issues that have fallen through the cracks.”

~ Gary Russey, RGH Consultants

“I think the Peer Review was very valuable. It allowed us to hear from our people in an open and honest manner (through a third party). It had given us guidance on what we can do better. I think the Peer Review Team was very thoughtful in their report preparation.”

~ Geotechnical Consultants

“This review had an enormous impact in our company. The most notable is that Peer Reviewers provided specific, actionable recommendations for leadership transition, which were immediately implemented. Instead of just planning for leadership transition we actually started the process.”

~ Jennifer Hirata Yamaguchi, P.E., Hirata & Associates

If you’re ready to get started on a Peer Review for your firm, fill out the short form HERE.