Benchmark Group Inc.

Benchmark Group Inc. of Rogers had a banner year in 2022.

The engineering and architectural firm saw revenue growth of more than 30%, necessitating some personnel growth as well to keep up with the workload. President David Kimball said the Benchmark Group hired more than 50 new employees in the past year to bring the company’s roster to nearly 240, about 70 more than Benchmark Group had two years ago.

“It was a great year with so many positives,” Kimball said. “The workload was steady. That makes some challenges, so we hired over 50 people, not including interns. It was a very busy year, but we really tried to treat our staff well and make strategic hires and strategic promotions. We grew pretty fast.”

Kimball said adding new employees — or promoting from within — created new energy at Benchmark Group. As an example, he mentioned that Joie Wilder, the architectural director for the company’s Dallas office, was promoted to the executive team.

“It was cool to see people take ownership as far as ‘Hey, I can step up and do that job,’” Kimball said. “That was very rewarding to watch.”

Kimball said the internal promotions were complemented by outside hires, including those from outside Benchmark Group’s regular recruiting ranges. Both new and veteran employees will benefit from a new “robust training program” that Kimball wants to see implemented at Benchmark Group.

“We have a training program, but we are going to take it a step further and put a lot of emphasis on it this year,” Kimball said. “This is going to firm up our foundation for the company moving forward.”

Kimball said the company also plans to open a regional office this year, although he declined to say where it would be until the details were finalized. The company is licensed in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

“The industry is robust,” Kimball said. “With all the economic news, it is something we need to be ahead of that curve. At this point we are well staffed and we’ve got work on the books.”