My name is Jordon Beem from the Lenexa, KS office of Arcadis North America. I’m a Geology Specialist, and I mostly work on groundwater remediation projects.
I applied for the Global Shapers program after an extended stent in the field where I worked with a fantastic group of people. I really enjoyed the collaborative setting, and when I heard that GS would host 100+ young professionals I knew I had to give it a shot. After making it through the application process we were split into virtual groups and hit the ground running. The virtual phase was the most challenging aspect of the program due to the extremes in time zones within our virtual team (6 AM in the Kansas, USA is 11 PM in Melbourne, AU). During the virtual phase there was a lot of emphasis placed on understanding cultural differences, but honestly when it came down to it there was more difference in personalities of the same culture than cultural differences.
As October was finally coming to an end, my excitement about meeting the rest of GS 2016 was reaching critical mass. For future GS I recommend arriving to the event at least a day early to get acquainted, and attend the pre-event activities. I arrived the morning of the first day which left me wiped out and missing the tour of the desalination plant (a local Ashghal project). Even though I got off to a slow start I had the time of my life. The highlight of the program was the Grand Finale where we were able to show off what we had been working on all week. It was amazing to see the products of 100+ dedicated young proffesionals and thousands of hours of hard work go off without a hitch.
During the face-to-face program I primarly worked on the Client Passport workflow. It’s a tool suite that provides work groups access to the client at every level, and helps ensure consistent outcomes for our clients. I found the Client Passport workflow compelling due to the free flow of information it encourages and overall improvement of work group continuity. In the last couple months since the program the tool kit has really come into its own. The team is currently working to implement the client passport in two separate pilot programs within Arcadis before it goes like in the coming months.
One of the key features of this program is an emphasis on goals and personal development. Every phase of the virtual program and several times a day during the face-to-face program we would take time to reflect on our goals. My goals for personal development were to achieve a better understanding of product lines outside of environmental remediation, expand my network of colleagues, and learn new techniques for office fluidity and communication. I met my first two goals with ease, but learning techniques to improve my office didn’t go as planned. Global Shapers taught me that the techniques I thought my office needed were things I improved in myself.
The Global Shapers program is the gift that keeps on giving.
Jordon Beem,
Global Shaper: Generation 2016
