Emerson Exchange 365

When MYNAH Technologies launched in 2002, it had four employees. Like many growing technology companies, MYNAH had to find solutions for expanding its staff to support its growth, particularly when dealing with a shortage of experienced process industry talent and the need for a flexible team structure in a fast changing, agile organization. Today, the company has over 40 professionals. However, it took some ingenuity to get here.

This week at Emerson Global Users Exchange, Mart Berutti, president and COO of MYNAH Technologies—a leading supplier of dynamic process simulation and industrial Ethernet solutions for process companies—shared his expertise on how to attract and engage young professionals. Because the company is in Chesterfield, Missouri, outside of St. Louis, which is not a hot spot for process or technology companies, there were additional challenges to overcome.

“To meet our business growth needs we developed an aggressive program of finding, attracting, and quickly growing the skills of young engineers,” Berutti said. This included an identification, evaluation, and hiring practice designed to find the right talent and build flexible teams within a flat organization that supports the career goals of millennial engineers while also keeping senior engineers engaged.

The company instituted a successful senior mentoring program, where experienced engineers coached and tapped the strengths of millennial professionals. “We also created a corporate culture that challenges all of the engineers to continually deliver high-quality solutions that meet customer requirements on time,” Berutti added.

To attract top young talent, the company forged partnerships with universities, attends university career fairs, and sponsors an annual Virtus Dynamica Chemical Engineering Student Award honoring outstanding students at three universities in Missouri. Engaging with local high school STEM class students is also part of the strategy.

In order to quickly grow the team, MYNAH developed a custom training program, a mentor program on process dynamics, and a graduate school assistant program.

To keep the team happy, the company established a program to review, challenge, and document the growth of its workforce. This not only includes annual employee performance and salary reviews, but achievement recognition as well. For example, the company regularly presents an “Ab Initio” award to employees who “display the spirit of our core values of integrity, attitude, innovation, and excellence.”

In summary, Berutti’s overall advice for success is to hire the best, build a mentor program, be ready to serve and support, remove limitations, and show that you care for your team.