Employee Ownership Month: David Burke

As we celebrate Employee Ownership Month this October, we are proud to highlight colleagues who have served on the ACRT Services Board of Directors. At ACRT Services, our independence as a 100% employee-owned company empowers every employee-owner to share in our success and play a role in shaping our future. This commitment reflects our mission: to engage the best people and make them better to foster resiliency, environmental stewardship, compliance, stakeholder partnerships, and safer communities. Those who step up to Board service embody the ownership, leadership, and collaboration that drive our culture forward.

David Burke, Director of Operations, ACRT

When you reflect on your time as a candidate, what excited you most about representing the broader employee voice?

The opportunity to expand my understanding of my corner of ACRT and hear how other aspects of ACRT work. By representing a broader ACRT voice, it allowed me to connect more with the organization than I could have expected.

How did serving on the board deepen your understanding of our business and our mission?

It is easy to be an armchair quarterback and make black and white statements when your experience is limited to the work you have been closely tied to. Serving on the board, I realized how many parts and players there are working quietly in the background to make every person successful at ACRT. Being immersed in all the different aspects of business, and all the challenges each group must adapt to and overcome regularly gave me a greater sense of understanding. It allowed me to have a better understanding and empathy for what all group at ACRT, from the field to corporate, achieves each day. In turn, I hope it made me a better partner to each person I work with in our organization.

What role do you believe employee directors play in strengthening our independent, employee-owned culture?

The employee directors have an extremely important role in strengthening our independent, employee-owned culture. The employee directors are the only individuals on the board who are consistently in direct communication with our customers and ACRT staff alike. This gives them the unique perspective to discuss with other board members how decisions and communications are received and perceived by individuals of all levels, both inside and outside of the organization.

In what ways do you think our independence strengthens the company, its employees, and the communities we serve?

Being independent, each company has a say in setting our goals and working to be true partners with each of our customers. Ultimately, our independence allows ACRT to be the masters of our own destiny.

How did board service change how you view your role and voice as an employee owner?

My experience on the board showed me that employees do have a voice within the ACRT Services family of companies. The employee who takes on the responsibility of board member has the unique opportunity to educate the board on the views and perceptions of the employees supporting our customers each day. When I was on the board, I was relatively new as an operations manager. That time I spent in those meetings gave me a greater understanding of our organization as a whole. It changed my perspective on how I support my teams and, in turn, how valuable each group is in achieving the overall goals of the organization.

People like David are the key to our success at ACRT. If you want to start a career at a company that values its people, we might be the right fit for you.