PENN STATE CONSTRUCTION — 12 DEFINED CULTURAL STATEMENTS
Defined the language to set expectations from the office to the field and establish accountability for a growing construction company with a team of 50+.
When growth outpaced internal alignment, communications became the foundation for culture and performance.
The Challenge
As Penn State Construction grew its team and breadth of services, maintaining consistent communications, accountability, and culture across the organization became increasingly complex. Leadership needed to define expectations clearly — and ensure those expectations translated consistently from the executive level all the way to the field.
The Situation
Like many growing middle market companies, their operations had outpaced their internal communications structure. The result was inconsistent interpretation of expectations across teams, communication gaps between office and field operations, and no scalable mechanism for reinforcing culture. The opportunity was to transform culture from an abstract concept into a clear, operational system.
The Approach
Wakeen & Company partnered with the Leadership Team to develop and implement a communications framework that articulated both the existing culture and the Leadership Team’s vision for where the organization was headed. We shaped 12 “Around Here” culture standards — clear, actionable behaviors grounded in how the company actually operates. We then designed a structured rollout to introduce and embed these standards across the organization, and built an ongoing communications system including quarterly meetings, weekly messaging, and real-time recognition — with the Leadership Team committed to reinforcing expectations consistently.
The Result
Communications became a tool for growth, accountability, and team cohesion:
- 50+ employees unified around a shared set of expectations
- Strong positive feedback across all levels of the organization
- Measurably increased consistency in communication and team alignment
The Bottom Line
Penn State Construction put language to their identity — an intentional move to strengthen retention and attract the right talent to support their continued growth.
