The Cincinnati Business Courier has announced Grant Mitchell as a finalist in the CEO category, and Joe Stegman for CHRO in their 8th annual C-Suite Award. This award celebrates the city’s top echelon of business leaders for their contribution and commitment to the community and their outstanding professional performance. This past year over 130+ applicants from across the tri-state area submitted their top c-level executives, and Plus Group is honored to have two of our best as finalist. Congratulations to Grant Mitchell and Joe Stegman!
Get to know our team a little better through some of the interview questions listed below.
Please describe how the nominees (Grant Mitchell, PE) work has impacted the company’s results over time
Grant joined Process Plus in 1998 and has served as a Principal at the firm for over 16 years. He has over 32 years of professional experience in the operation, design, and management of processing facilities within the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Food & Beverage Industries.
Since joining Plus Group, Grant has surrounded himself with diverse leaders that have disrupted the engineering, automation, and construction industry. With the vision of being the firm of choice, delivering exceptional service, Plus Group grew under Grant’s leadership and was listed in Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies in 2018 and 2019.
The simple model for this growth is emphasizing building satisfied and enthused customers through focus on the customer and process’s that enable successful execution. Grant also tracks great pride in the company’s Net Promoter Score. This predictive indicator has become a driver for determining the company’s priorities annually during its strategic planning process. To be the firm of choice, Plus Group begins with the end in mind. Each year customers and employees are surveyed, results are compiled, and the information and is used to make adjustments in the business to achieve the desired results.
He graduated from Tri-State University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and obtained his MBA from Strayer University in 2016. Grant is a Professional Engineer in Ohio and many other states. He is a member of the American Oil Chemists’ Society and is presently on the organization’s governing board. He is also on the board for Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Southern Ohio region. Starting out Plus Group, formerly known as Process Plus, was Grant’s first Engineering job after graduation. He worked under Brian Speicher, the original founder who coined the Process Plus tagline; Our Process Revolves Around You. Under Brian, Grant learned the importance of investing in your employees. Grant was and is to this day invested in building a reputation of excellence in quality of work, business practices, and creating a work environment in which employees can flourish. Grant was elected CEO of Plus Group in 2015 and has done a phenomenal job of growing this company into today’s successful business
Please describe how the nominees (Joe Stegman) work has impacted the company’s results over time
Joe has been a promoter of positive change and growth since his time at American Golf and is looked at as a spearhead of change here at the Plus Group. Since joining the Plus Group, Joe has worked for hand in hand with Grant and the Lead team to expand the company from two offices to four and grow the team across the Midwest, developing to Atlanta, Hammond, and Cleveland to the vast amount of remote workforce we see today. Expanding the disciplines across the company meant the ability to keep up with eh work flow coming in, and enabled teams to out perform year over year.
Additionally, Joe has worked tirelessly with HR to recruit top talent in STEM to keep up with the demand of project execution on the books each year. In 2021 alone he has recruited, vetted and added over 50 employees to the Plus Group family. From searching, betting, interviewing, to onboarding, Joe has expanded the Plus Group team across disciplines, all while holding an NPS score higher than those of Amazon and Disney and with a next to nothing turnover rate.
With a company expanding, Joe knew he needed to make sure inclusion was a top priority across the organization, focusing past the HQ offices into the satellite offices and homes of employees across the states. The first step was starting CAB (Community Activity Board ) to discuss diversity, inclusion, and engagement. These efforts were kicked into overdrive when offices turned totally remote due to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Joe worked with his marketing department to develop weekly employee surveys like “Best Band” or “Best TV Series” to give employees some community engagement when conversations were plagued with fear and the unknown. In addition to the weekly surveys, monthly happy hours were established across the organization for those who wished to participate in helping teams stay connected while remaining socially distant.