How soon is too soon to begin decorating for the holidays?

Between the pandemic, a nail-biting election, and general end-of-year stress, we could all use a little levity these days.

Macy's famed Union Square location pulls no punches – planning for the holidays begins months in advance. From the 83-ft tree and sparking lights to the giant menorah display, Union Square is an iconic part of San Francisco's holiday season.

This year, the Webcor team at the citizenM hotel project site is volunteering with Union Square Business Improvement District (USBID) – providing construction services to make Union Square's festivities a reality.

"Chris Boss from USBID reached out to us to see if we would be able to help with this year's efforts," explains Senior Project Manager Tom Harrell, who works on the citizenM project. "I brought the opportunity up at a team meeting, and everyone was very eager to help out!"

Six Webcorians, including Tom Harrell, Assistant Superintendent Tim Scapin, and four concrete laborers stepped up to help USBID prepare for the holiday festivities, embodying Webcor's core value of community.

On October 31st, the team began lying plywood and installing barricades, preparing the area for a crane to install the massive Christmas tree and menorah display.

"We'll be out here about five times between now and January," explains Tim. "Today, we're installing the barricades to keep the public out, and laying plywood on top of Union Square for protection. We'll help with the installation set-up, and then be back for the removal in January."

If you happen to be in San Francisco during the holiday season, be sure to stop by Union Square to catch a glimpse of the team's hard work!

If you visit a Webcor jobsite in the near future, you'll be just as likely to see a "Speak Up for Unity" banner as you'll be to see one reminding employees to "Speak Up for Safety."

The creation of these banners and other signage was a collaborative effort that began with Webcor's Senior Safety Manager Kendall Cantave.

"The idea was triggered when a police officer killed George Floyd on May 25, followed by all the media coverage of nationwide protests," Kendall said. "That woke me up. As an African Haitian American, this is nothing new to me; I've witnessed social injustice my entire life. But this was a reminder and a flashback to all the pain I've experienced.

"When you work for a big company like Webcor, with its Core Values we strive to live up to, it's important that we lead by example and let those values set the tone."

The Core Value of "trust" in particular resonated with Kendall.

"It's important that we gain the trust of the communities in which we work. Part of that comes from our own behavior. Are we helping out? Creating job opportunities in the community? Showing the community that we care and are opening the door to minorities? Making a big impact toward addressing the oppression some of them are suffering?"

With the Core Value of "bold" also top of mind, Kendall said, "We need to have the courage to make a difference and speak up when we see inequality. Webcor leads the industry in various aspects of construction. We have led with safety. We can also lead with diversity and inclusion."

After creating a concept for a banner that included all the national flags representing the nationalities of Webcor employees, Kendall shared it with Senior Vice President Greg Chauhan and Senior HR Business Partner Tim Wortham, among others.

"My first ideas got shot down," he said, but the idea of a visual reminder of Webcor's commitment to unity caught on quickly. The conversation grew with more and more ideas for the visual aid. Employees from Southern California also joined the discussions, with Tim guiding the effort.

"Greg Chauhan ultimately approved the final design, which covers the range of minorities," Kendall said. For example, the rainbow color scheme reflects the LGBTQ community.

In addition to being used on project banners, Kendall envisions the graphic appearing on t-shirts and safety vests, among other items.

"The symbol covers everything," he said. "The last thing we want is for it to be just about Black and white. We want equality for all because that's who we are here at Webcor."

Webcor is proud to have won the 2020 CIO Magazine/OpenText Information Champion Award in the Cyber Resiliency category. Such a recognition is an honor for a company within any industry, but for a construction company, it's nearly unheard of.

"The construction industry as a whole is usually at the top of the list of the most insecure organizations, leaving them open to security issues, attacks, and other problems," says Webcor's IT Security Director, Jay C. Grant.

Digital security firm RSI defines cyber resiliency as "the ability of an organization to prepare, respond, and recover when cyber attacks happen. An organization has cyber resilience if it can defend itself against these attacks, limit the effects of a security incident, and guarantee the continuity of its operation during and after the attacks."

Panel of Experts Judged Entries

The CIO Magazine/OpenText awards were judged by a panel of industry experts who short-listed Webcor, then announced the company had won.

Webcor stands out from other general contractors because a focus on resiliency comes from the top.

"You have to have an executive who gets it, wants to deliver it, has bought into the process, is able to sell it up to executives, and who provides those who work for her everything they need to deliver on it," Jay says, speaking of Kim Bates, Webcor's chief information officer. "You don't achieve cyber resiliency without a leader who does all of this."

The process of establishing cyber resiliency begins with an overarching goal.

"What is the strategic focus?" Jay asks. "The team delivers an infrastructure that functions quickly and gives our customers -- Webcor employees -- what they need and does so in a secure fashion. The department management trusts the staff to have bold ideas and craft innovative solutions for the Webcor community."

Small Team, Big Results

Jay also notes that the recognition would not have been possible without the entire IT team.

"It's smaller than in big companies, but the team functions like a larger enterprise does. A lot of the technology team members have multiple proficiencies and capabilities; they have a primary job but also have secondary and tertiary positions they cover depending on the need, the process involved, or the service we're delivering."

The award will be spotlighted at OpenText World in late October with a short video, a trophy, and more. OpenText, one of Webcor's technology service providers, recommended Webcor for the award.