We love that what we do not only builds the nation but improves the quality of life for every community we serve. We build. We create. We facilitate change. That same spirit fuels all future endeavors as we seek to meet the needs of an ever-expanding infrastructure framework with dynamic solutions and services. We understand we have an important role in protecting our environment and communities for not only today but also for tomorrow. That is why our corporate social responsibility extends across our organization.
Our People
Stakeholder Engagement
We believe our long-term success depends on the consistent value we deliver to our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and all stakeholders. From strategy to operations, we are committed to sustainability by operating responsibly to safeguard and improve society’s quality of life.
At Sterling, our employees are our most valuable resource. Each and every day we work together to keep each other safe, protect our environment, and deliver on our business goals for the benefit of all stakeholders. Overall, our ongoing goal is for Sterling to be a place where our employees can grow professionally and are proud to work.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Inclusion is key. Though we share a common vision and mission, Sterling is made up of many diverse races, cultures, backgrounds, and genders. We welcome all employees and cherish each as an integral part of our excellence. Every Sterling employee brings a unique perspective to the company and it is through this diversity of history and thought that we are able to best serve our customers and communities.
We strive to instill an inclusive culture that allows all employees the opportunity to thrive and we believe in building out and strengthening our team by driving diversity of thought. Our organization is a blend of various backgrounds, genders, and race at all levels. For Board of Directors’ diversity details, please see our 2024 Proxy Statement.
Employee Health and Well-Being
The Human Resources (HR) team manages employee benefits and services. The HR function operates at the corporate and business unit level providing continuity between our business units. Sterling’s CFO has oversight of the HR efforts to help ensure employees’ interests are prioritized.
Sterling is committed to competitive wages, benefits and investment in the professional growth and development of our employees.
To ensure our offerings remain relevant and evolve to best meet the needs of our workforce, we benchmark components annually against industry peers and companies of similar size.
The benefits we offer to our non-union employees include:
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Heath Savings Account (HSA)
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Life Insurance
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
- Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance
- Short-Term Disability
- Long-Term Disability
- Voluntary Accident Insurance
- Voluntary Critical Illness Insurance
- Voluntary Hospital Indemnity Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- 401(k) Matching Program
- Paid time off and holidays
- Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
Employee Attraction, Retention and Training
Like any other organization, our culture is made up of all the shared attitudes, values, perceptions and commitments that each employee brings to his or her job every day. One of Sterling’s greatest strengths is its ability to build a strong culture within each of its businesses. We do that by creating an environment where people want to work, are proud to work, and desire to remain with an organization that fosters such an environment. We strive not to lose sight of what’s most important, our people and the unique culture that we maintain.
In order to build this culture, at Sterling, we partner with universities and trade schools to hire the best and ensure our pipeline of talent remains strong so that we can continue to infuse the right talent at all levels within the organization. We are also building a culture of awareness to include diversity of thought, background, and other characteristics. Building and preparing for business challenges and changes are a critical part of our future success as an organization, and fostering a workplace that embraces diversity is central to our talent management and succession planning efforts.
EEO Commitment
Our Equal Employment Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination Policy is embedded into our employee handbooks, and our Code of Business Conduct. It is Sterling’s policy to assure applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, religion, sex, color, national origin, age or disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This applies to all employment decisions and actions including, but not limited to, employment, promotion, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and/or on-the-job training.
Community Engagement
From employee safety and community involvement to ensuring diversity and protecting the environment, Sterling takes social responsibility to heart. It’s why we strive to be a leader in responsible and sustainable operations. It’s also why we proudly give of our time, resources, and talent to countless community and charitable organizations. The employees of Sterling and our subsidiaries donate thousands of volunteer hours each and every year for the betterment of our communities.
At Sterling, community engagement and volunteerism are supported at the highest levels of our organization, driven by our employees at the local level and focused on a range of needs such as education, mental health, fighting hunger, and other local needs. Each year our business units solicit input from employees, collaborate and decide on needs or local organizations to support. For 2020, the COVID-19 crisis caused us to reinvent how we give back. Our focus shifted from volunteer work to collecting and distributing food to our local communities by our business units. We also had to consider how to stay safe even though we are an essential-worker company.
Here are some of the ways we gave back and volunteer in our communities:
Since 2021, Sterling has supported New Danville, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that provides adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to live enriched and purposeful lives. Recent projects included painting walkways, a portable building, classrooms and lunchrooms.
Bloom Our Youth’s mission is to empower Georgia’s families and communities to transform the lives of children impacted by foster care. During the holiday season, Plateau volunteers helped this exceptional organization serve the Georgia foster care community.
A new initiative since 2022 was the Interfaith of the Woodlands’ Annual Toy Drive. Sterling employees volunteered time to unload trucks of donations, fill carts, sort donated items and accompany parents as they selected toys and gifts for their children.
In support of the non-profit’s mission to provide life-changing programs and resources to its community, the Plateau team donated their time and equipment to rebuild, repaint, repair and landscape multiple areas around the Gallatin Shalom Zone resource center.
RLW supported the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for the first time in 2022. They volunteered during the organization’s Out of Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk by feeding walkers and participants.
Sterling engages with schools and universities for career fairs, program collaborations, student interns, competitions, and more. In the Houston area, some organizations we have served since 2021 were Genesys Works, CASA, and the University of St. Thomas.
Tenari Tauvao (RLW) and his wife Melanie helped comfort those suffering the effects of the Hawaiian wildfires by volunteering through American Red Cross – Hawaii Wildfire Assistance. They helped organize people who were applying for financial aid, delivered clothes and helped move food, water and medical supplies between the warehouse, headquarters and a nearby shelter.
Since 2021, RLW has volunteered with The Hope Project at the Draper Hospital in Utah because we appreciate all our healthcare workers do for our community, including their endless hard work during the pandemic.
RLW supported Lifting Hands International in American Fork, Utah, to help assemble, check and box school supply kits for kids in Ukraine, Jordan and Turkey. “My wife and I volunteered at the LHI warehouse in American Fork, Utah, and were assigned to assemble school kits from donated supplies. Each kit was topped off with a handmade card that
said, ‘You Are Loved.’ Volunteering at LHI was very rewarding for both of us, and we resolved to return regularly with our children to volunteer.” — Ben Torgerson, RLW employee
Banicki Construction donated 500 lbs. of food and cash donations from employees to St. Mary’s Food Bank. This is an annual program initiated in 2021 by Banicki’s own Sharon Jones.