Valuing Our Employees and Communities

At Gulf Island, we believe our fundamental strength lies with our talented workforce who see our projects from concept to completion. We are committed to continuously providing an inclusive and secure work environment where all of our employees are valued, respected and successful, which helps contribute to the Company’s success. We will continue to promote honesty and integrity in all interactions with our employees and actively support the communities in which we operate, with both our time and resources. We continuously invest in employee training, targeting, among other things, safety, diversity and inclusion, environmental awareness, hazardous waste management and minimization, leadership, soft skills and technical training. Training is administered through a variety of methods including face-to-face presentations and discussions, computer-based and third-party delivered. We appreciate the ongoing efforts of our employees in their personal commitments to enhancing the quality of life in our local communities.

Employee Recruitment, Engagement and Retention

We strive to attract, develop and retain a highly qualified workforce as we recognize our future success is a direct result of their efforts. As such, we provide an attractive compensation and comprehensive benefits program, as well as a positive work environment designed to drive a culture of safety and innovation. We present employees with a complete summary of their benefits at the time of employment.

During 2021, we conducted our second annual employee satisfaction survey to gather information from our employees regarding their perspectives on working for the Company and suggestions for improvements. The survey was distributed to 100% of our employees. We gathered valuable insights and feedback that enabled us to implement positive changes within our organization. For example, the feedback indicated a 20% year-over-year improvement in employee perception of our team working environment. The feedback also indicated a desire for increased supervisor skills training and continued enhancement of our employee benefits, including a desire for additional medical plan options, a mobile app for benefit information and annual open enrollment, and a bio-metric screenings program. Such feedback was incorporated into our training programs and our employee benefits program offerings.  Specifically, we included a new high-deductible health plan option and health savings account (HSA) option in our benefit program offerings for 2022, along with an identity theft benefit offering, and launched a mobile app that was used to conduct our employee benefits open enrollment for 2022. We presented key findings from the survey to our Board of Directors and leadership teams. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We focus on promoting diversity and inclusion in our workplace and seek to attract and develop top talent to continue building our unique culture. We leverage multiple social media platforms, including veteran, diversity and industry sites to expand our reach for diverse talent. As an equal opportunity employer, our policies and practices support diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, thought, perspective, sexual orientation, culture and professional experience, among others. We declare as a matter of policy that there shall be no unlawful discrimination among the entire body of employees or applicants for employment based on physical or other conditions. During 2021, we launched a supervisor program that provided additional education to our leaders on respect in the workplace and included an emphasis on the prevention of sexual harassment. 

Our commitment to diversity extends across every division and discipline right up to our Board of Directors who has approved a policy of promoting diversity within the Board. The policy requires the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee to interview at least one candidate who would increase the diversity of the Board with respect to gender, race, sexual orientation or disability when filling any vacancy on the Board, including an increase in the size of the Board.

Human Rights and Capital

The strength of Gulf Island lies with our talented workforce who see our projects from concept to completion. From the board room to the drafting board, the shop to the loading dock, we call it The Team Approach. No matter the size or scope, each of our projects is embraced by a motivated team of professional project managers, engineers, and craft personnel working together to produce the highest quality product.

We want to be a positive contributor to every community in which we have employees, customers and suppliers. We want to make sure that all of our stakeholders are treated the same way we want to be treated. As such, we do not tolerate harassment in the workplace, including sexual harassment and bullying. We support and protect the rights of minority groups and women and advocate for equality regardless of race or gender. We prohibit any form of discrimination and we respect employee privacy. In addition, we do not perform or condone human trafficking, child labor or forced labor. Finally, we provide fair wages and benefits in compliance with federal laws.

We respect the land, culture, history, and customs of Indigenous peoples. We do not currently operate or conduct business on any lands of Indigenous peoples nor do we have any net proved or probable reserves. Should our operations or business activities coincide with lands of Indigenous peoples or other culturally significant areas, we will work to comply with all appropriate rules, regulations, and laws.

Philanthropy and Community Involvement

Over the last few years, our employees have participated in a variety of community activities, sharing their time and resources to help others. Some examples of such activities are:

Junior Achievement – We are partnering with Junior Achievement in the Houston area, providing volunteers for the JA Entrepreneurial Conference and JA Career Speakers series.

Relay for Life – We partnered with Terrebonne Parish to raise funds for Relay for Life by selling lunches, t-shirts and luminary bags to memorialize loved ones.  All proceeds collected were donated to the American Cancer Society.

Hurricane Relief – When Hurricane Laura hit the Lake Charles and Jennings area of Louisiana, Gulf Island and our employees jumped into action, raising funds and volunteering to assist in clean-up activities and to provide essential items and warm meals for the impacted community.

Gulf Island Emergency Relief Fund

Following the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, we provided our employees and their families with essential personal items, food and water. Our fellow employees and business partner companies donated some of these goods. Additionally, we established the “Gulf Island Emergency Relief Fund” in partnership with the Employee Assistance Foundation, an industry leader in providing disaster relief in a time of need. This partnership allows us to help our employees who have experienced significant losses due to unforeseen events like Hurricane Ida. We were able to collect donations and distribute funds to our employees most in need.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Gulf Island Emergency Relief Fund, click here. All funds collected will go directly to assist eligible Gulf Island employees and their immediate families.

Gulf Island employees impacted by the storm can apply by calling 1-888-448-2727 or by clicking here.

COVID-19 Response

In 2020, we implemented a cross-functional leadership team focused on the ever-changing readiness required in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes preventative protocols and analysis of confirmed positive test results and trends. We are continuing to take proactive actions to mitigate the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on our operations, while ensuring the safety and well-being of our workforce. A majority of our workforce performs its work outdoors. We have established protocols to monitor employee and visitor temperatures, ask specific COVID-19 related questions of individuals prior to their entry into our facilities, and maintain appropriate workplace distancing. We also have hand sanitizing stations throughout our facilities and more frequently sanitize our facilities. We continue to closely monitor employee and subcontractor absenteeism and the reason for such absences and have protocols for handling individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or have come in contact with individuals who test positive for COVID-19. We have established protocols for employees to return to work that test positive for COVID-19, including requiring a negative COVID-19 antigen test prior to returning to work.