A strong company culture doesn’t just happen, and it definitely doesn’t sustain itself by accident. Since our founding, Nitsch Engineering has been intentional about building and strengthening our culture by preserving what works, learning where we can improve, and making thoughtful choices that help our culture evolve as we grow.
This intentional approach starts with our purpose and mission. We are guided by our purpose, “Building better communities with you.” This mantra goes beyond words on paper – it represents our commitment to building stronger and more resilient communities through client collaboration and advocacy. Our purpose is grounded in our mission to positively impact our clients, employees, and communities.
Our culture is how we bring that purpose and mission to life. It is reflected in the beliefs we share, the values we uphold, and the behaviors that demonstrate those values every day. When these components align, they create a consistent environment that supports our goals and helps people do their best work.
To make that alignment tangible, we defined eight core values that serve as the foundation for our culture: Client Care, Community Involvement, Continuous Improvement, Ethics, Organizational Health, Quality and Safety, Transparency, and Work/Life Flexibility. We also defined measurable behaviors that support these values. These behaviors give employees and leaders a shared understanding of what our values look like in practice.
Defining our values is only the first step. We also believe it is important to listen, measure, and continually learn. Since 2014, we have regularly assessed our culture through the Barrett Values Centre’s Cultural Values Assessment (CVA). The assessment helps us identify opportunities for improvement and evaluate alignment across the organization.
The CVA provides two key measures: Culture Score and Cultural Entropy. The Culture Score evaluates alignment among our top values and their distribution across the Barrett Values Model. Since the measure was introduced in 2022, Nitsch has consistently achieved a Culture Score in the “Very Good” category. Cultural Entropy reflects the percentage of energy consumed by fear, dysfunction, and unproductive behaviors. Nitsch’s Entropy score has remained between 2% and 6% since 2014 – well below the 13% benchmark for a highly engaged, values-driven organization.
We use the CVA to guide continuous improvement, but measurement is meaningful only when it leads to action. We put our commitment into practice in many ways: from encouraging open dialogue through town halls, company meetings, and open-book management, to creating opportunities for belonging, connection, and engagement through multiple kinds of employee groups of varying formality:
- Community Circles provide opportunities for employees to connect in small groups, build trusted relationships, and create spaces for open and meaningful conversations.
- The Council for Culture & Belonging liaises with the Executive Committee to champion initiatives that strengthen an inclusive and connected workplace.
- Culture Crews representing each office location as well as remote employees bring employees together to create and support activities that build connection and fun across Nitsch.
- Employee Resource Groups bring employees together around shared experiences, interests, and identities while helping foster connection, awareness, and inclusion.
Together, these efforts help us continually elevate the employee experience and strengthen our culture. That commitment was visible throughout this summer as employees came together through a variety of events and activities, culminating in our September 2026 All-In in Boston. The gathering brought together employees from our offices in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington, DC, along with remote team members. Departments and teams that are usually spread across the eastern seaboard got to go out to lunch together, have meetings in person, and simply hang out in ways we rarely have the chance to do. More than an opportunity to gather in one place, the All-In helped strengthen relationships, improve collaboration, reinforce our culture, and create greater alignment across Nitsch.
We’re feeling inspired by the All-In, and looking forward to more opportunities to connect and collaborate this fall!
