Reflecting on our growth in 2023 with Catherine
Dear CWS Team,
As we start off 2024, I wanted to take a few minutes to share my thoughts on our 2023 accomplishments and progress toward achievement of our Strategic Plan objectives and to thank you all for your contributions. Having joined the CWS team at the end of March, I am very pleased with the strides we have made thus far. We are well positioned for even greater success this year!
In 2023, CWS brought new innovations to the table and experienced exciting growth! 251 employees were hired, 62 employees passed their water training, 16 employees passed their wastewater training, and approximately 40-50 employees were promoted this year! We also were awarded 5 new public projects, 5 new private projects, and 18 CMS projects. We added the state of Arizona to our map, which is the 13th state to be included in the CWS territory. In terms of revenue growth, new and expanded contracts have been major positive drivers. Strong client relationships and operations and compliance excellence are fueling our growth. Overhead costs as a percentage of revenues have remained stable, and we will continue to look to adopt best practices and find new efficiencies as we move forward.
We made significant strides in creating a One CWS Culture and way of doing business through adoption of a new company Vision, Mission, Values statements and Strategic Goals that serve as the foundation for our future operational and financial success. Continuing to fully embrace that foundation is critical for us to reach the targets we have established for growth and operational excellence.
We made significant strides in maturing our business organization and processes to support our ongoing growth, including adoption of a single enterprise resource planning tool (Deltek).
We also welcomed a new Mission Statement, Core Values and Strategic Goals. Our Mission Statement is, “To be the preferred partner for quality water and wastewater services and solutions.” Our Core Values are Safety, Connection, Integrity, Innovation, and Excellence.
New Logo & Tagline
CWS unveiled a new and improved logo and tagline. After five years of using the tagline "Building Communities. Impacting Lives," CWS decided to revamp it with a fresh and energizing one: "Quality Water. Vibrant Communities." These words hold significant meaning in our industry, while our ultimate goal is to provide safe, quality water. Quality water fosters vibrant communities that are growing, thriving, and prospering.
Introducing the Safety STAR Campaign – CWS Puts Safety First
The most fundamental of our Values is Safety. We have successfully kicked off the STAR Safety Campaign which emphasizes our need to prioritize the safety of our teammates, our clients’ employees and our communities. This program will continue to serve as the basis for all our operations and will be a central feature guiding our actions that we will revisit regularly in all that we do. As a reminder, the 4 core elements of the Safety Campaign include Near Miss/Unsafe Condition reporting in KPA, completion of Job Hazard Assessments, exercising Stop Work Authority when unsafe practices or conditions exist, and improving Motor Vehicle Safety through the use of Azuga telemetrics and other programs.
A New Addition to CWS - the CMS Division
CWS consolidated the Private Division and Public Division management teams to create a single Operations leadership team, and redirection of our maintenance and construction activities under a new leader, Houston Black, to create a Capital Management Solutions (CMS) Division to aggressively focus on growing these services to new and existing clients. CWS formed the Capital Management Solutions Division to assist both current and new clients with special needs such as, construction, CCTV, and maintenance service.
The group is already experiencing success with their business, efficiently completing work orders and opening doors to new opportunities.
Happy New Year!
We have accomplished much in the last nine months together and I thank you all for your efforts. Our commitments to our clients, communities, and each other are going to require each of us to fully embrace the Strategic Plan and the individual project plans flowing from it that have been developed to guide the work we do. Some of our goals for this year include:
Streamlining our hiring and onboarding processes to improve the user experience;
Reducing our voluntary turnover rates by 50%;
Reducing overtime costs up to 30% companywide;
Improving our cyber security profile through enhanced authentication and mobile device management tools;
Adopting more robust budgeting and forecasting financial reporting tools;
Implementing a new procure-to-pay strategy to reduce company credit card spend and the possibility of fraud;
Awarding the company’s first-ever pinnacle employee achievement recognition – The CWS Excellence Awards – to honor our outstanding employee contributions; and
Winning multiple new Public, Private, and CMS projects in our existing geographies.
We began to set a strong foundation in 2023 and 2024 will be our Year of Optimization. Here’s to a fantastic ’24!!
My Best,
Catherine
© 2023 ClearWater Solutions
