3 min read September 2023 — Gregory Janey, president and CEO of Janey Construction Management (Janey), talked to Invest: about the main contributions of the company to the Greater Boston area in regard to education, advocacy and industry, the challenges that construction in Boston faces and how the company is betting on diversification to build resilience to economic difficulties.
What are the primary contributions of Janey to the Greater Boston area?
Our firm is built as a life-cycle service provider. Around 30% of our portfolio is focused on owner representation, while the remaining is in building construction. Having the dual insight as a general contractor and owner’s representative, it enables us to support our clients from project concept to completion. Our foundation is focused on education, advocacy and industry. We have been leaders in several national and regional industry organizations which has allowed us to influence several market trends in construction and education by advising on curriculum and by supporting STEM programs. In addition, our advocacy focuses on policy change, project delivery methods and DEI initiatives.
We have a multitalented, multidisciplinary, and highly diverse team in Boston, Cape Cod and Washington D.C. and we offer opportunities in all of these areas. We have helped pave the way for many minority-owned businesses by being the first minority general contractor to build in the downtown area of Boston. Our ultimate goal is to be a beacon of light to our community and inspire minorities to belong to the built environment. We also contribute to intentional and specific training for underrepresented communities in STEM education for all ages. We see it as our responsibility to provide training opportunities for those who lack them.
What is the strategy of Janey to build resilience in a complicated economic environment?
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a recession that impacted the building environment. Coming out of that recession, we took our time to reset, reorganize and restructure the company to become recession-proof. This led us to pursue recession-proof markets, such as higher education, healthcare, life sciences retail, all of which are strong sectors in Boston. These markets will survive recessions while other markets may not, so we focused on achieving preparedness and training as we pursued those markets to sustain ourselves and create new opportunities. We have been successful at obtaining master service agreements with some companies in those sectors, which helps us maintain consistent work.
What are the most important challenges for construction in the Greater Boston market?
The lack of workforce is perhaps the biggest challenge not only in the Boston market but in the building environment at large, including the real estate, construction, architecture, and engineering sectors. To face this challenge, we are becoming more creative in our position descriptions. People are also being trained to do more tasks, which results in well-rounded employees. On the other hand, there is the issue of the general workforce market shifting toward virtual and flexible models. Because of this, fewer office buildings are being built in urban environments, particularly in Downtown Boston.
We also have the issue of access to capital and the cost of money. This causes less real estate development to occur, which motivates companies to look for new opportunities. To face this challenge, at Janey we intentionally secured lines of credit at the height of the pandemic so that we could have enough cash flow to operate during these times.
How is Janey adopting technology and innovating across its processes to be more successful?
Our key goals in that regard are efficiency and effective execution. Innovation around artificial intelligence and becoming more autonomous in what we do are at the core of that. For instance, we aim to get rid of paper by becoming more systemic and connected through our platforms. This reduces the likelihood of human error and helps us integrate departments so that all areas understand what the others do. Our information management system is also connected with our accounting and fiscal departments, which helps us measure key indicators, such as target markets, and cost analysis. We also introduced and reinvested in data analytics. This new department helps us keep better control of our portfolio, foresee the performance of the different markets, and mitigate risks. It also gives us the ability to look at our success ratio and analyze what markets we should pursue based on certain criteria.
How is Janey supporting the shift to sustainability in the Greater Boston area?
Resilience, green energy and all the green features of how we should build and live are a responsibility, not a burden. We have encouraged our people to go back to local universities, to engage in STEM education and learn more about resilience. Green energy and green infrastructure are where we are going, so getting our people into continuing education and becoming LEED certified is key for us to maintain leadership in this industry.
What are the most important priorities for Janey Construction Management?
We are learning new ways to do things. Our backlog is growing, and we are building young talent for the future of Janey. The industry is no longer linear but is becoming more collaborative in nature. I am excited about the way people engage in design build, alternative delivery methods and being more focused on getting diverse perspectives to reach better results.
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