Traveling to London, Paris, Spain or Switzerland may not be a traditional means of employee development, but Memphis-based architecture firm, Hnedak Bobo Group, has garnered national recognition for “expanding cultural awareness among employees.”
HBG was awarded the 2015 Gold Optimas Award for Corporate Citizenship by Workforce Magazine for its Gregory O. Hnedak Travel Scholarship that awards $5,000 for travel.
The scholarship, named after firm co-founder Greg Hnedak, is open to all non-principal employees and awarded to one employee each year.
Its intention is to help employees grow personally and professionally by broadening their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
The experience is then shared with the firm through real-time and reflective blog posts, updates and presentations.
“HBG has continually sought to elevate our workforce, offering unique incentives and professional development that can draw the top professionals from across the country to Memphis,” said HBG COO, Terri Struminger. “The Gregory O. Hnedak Travel Scholarship is a way for them to open their eyes to cultures, ways of thinking and experiences they may have never considered. This program helps to create a more culturally aware, creative and experienced employee base.”
In it’s inaugural year this year, the firm selected two winners, Executive Assistant Branden Canepa, who traveled a portion of the El Camino de Santiago in Spain on a journey of personal development; and Architect Thor Harland, who traveled to London and Paris to study the “tension” between culture and historic and modern design.
Designer Deidre Brady has been selected as the 2015 winner, and will travel Spain and Switzerland to study the relationship between nature and built spaces.
Michelle Corbet, Reporter
Memphis Business Journal