Amy Basche
Number of employees you oversee: Approximately 2,000
Brief background of your business:
Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, or HMIS, is one of the prime Hanford contractors, serving as the site integrator. We provide hundreds of sitewide services to ensure our One Hanford partners can successfully execute critical cleanup and risk reduction missions. An easy way to look at our scope is to imagine we’re the “city manager” of Hanford. Along with providing these critical services is the need to modernize our infrastructure to ensure long-term mission needs. This includes activities like a new water treatment plant, new electrical substations, new high-speed fiber and a new fire station, just to name a few of our planned projects.
How did you land your current role? How long have you been in it?
I’ve been at Hanford for 33 years. I started with MSA (which became HMIS in January 2021) seven years ago, serving as the chief operations officer. Recently (in July actually!) I was promoted to president and general manager of HMIS.
Given the unique challenges faced by women in leadership, how have you overcome barriers and biases to reach your current position? What advice would you give to aspiring female leaders?
The most important piece of advice I can give – be at the table. Too many times, women walk into a room and will take a back seat – you deserve to be there at the table. I’m lucky in the sense that, even though my entire career has been in a male-dominated industry, I haven’t personally experienced bias or judgment as a woman sitting at the table, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. Be at the table and if you’re not, advocate for yourself.
Tell us about the biggest challenges facing HMIS today.
Our biggest challenge is managing Hanford’s aged infrastructure. We’re responsible for the roads, electrical, water, cyber, information technology – and much of it is outdated – in some cases as old as 70 years. We continually work through the process with our One Hanford partners to identify and prioritize activities to modernize infrastructure for the remainder of the Hanford mission.
Tell us about a recent HMIS achievement that you are particularly proud of and why.
There are so many things I’m proud of, but I’ll share one that really embodies our culture and values. We received three Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star of Excellence Awards at the end of August.
VPP is an OSHA program to promote workplace safety, and, as most people know, safety is paramount to everything we do at HMIS and Hanford. A strong safety culture cultivates strong field and project execution. HMIS maintains three separate VPP programs, which are aligned to different scopes: one for our general contract, one for the HAMMER Federal Training Facility and one for safeguards and security.
The STAR of Excellence is awarded to DOE VPP star sites that, among other goals, maintain an occupational injury and ailment rate at least 75% below each of the applicable U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics industry averages. That’s a long way of saying our safety culture is embedded in everything we do and we continue to go above and beyond to ensure our employees work safely.
Is your company experiencing difficulty finding enough workers? What is your strategy to attract and retain talent?
We have a stable attrition rate and our team is always working to stay on top of growing the pipeline. We do this in many ways, such as internships, co-op programs, STEM outreach, scholarships, veteran outreach. We also work closely with our union partners to manage the peaks and valleys of skilled craft workers, who are critical to our mission.
I recently had the pleasure of having a one-on-one with one of our interns in our business integration area. She was telling me all the great projects that she was given to accomplish and how she was interested in coming back again next summer. My response was “absolutely we want you back next summer and BRING YOUR FRIENDS!” Informing our younger generation of all the valuable and important mission work at Hanford will help us maintain our pipeline.
What do you wish more people knew about your company’s work?
I wish people understood the hundreds of unique services we provide. I could talk for days about the different functions we perform every day, many of which are performed 365 days a year by a group of dedicated employees. Essentially, our goal is to be behind the scenes and ensure the One Hanford contractors have reliable infrastructure and the support needed to be successful in their missions. It’s only bad when we get a call that they don’t have what they need.
What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?
Listening skills. You must be a listener to really understand and adapt, especially in a company like ours with subject matter experts in hundreds of different fields. People want to be heard and they’re the ones with the best ideas, so leaders need to be able to stop and listen.
If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your industry?
The volume of requirements and paperwork that thwart innovation can get frustrating. We have people with great ideas and, in many cases, they simply die on the vine and are overcome by time.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Be a listener and sit at the table. Recognize that you are not (and do not have to be) the subject matter expert of every topic. Many times people think they have to be the expert to be the manager or leader of an organization. This mindset holds many people back. My philosophy has always been: Yes, I’ll jump in and give that a try.
You need to be able to lead people and ensure those experts are part of your team. As you elevate through the leadership levels of the company it becomes even more important to stay grounded with those who are the workers getting things done every day.
Tell us about your role models or mentors.
Most of my mentors came about organically – people I worked for and/or with, who I had a personal connection with. They have been individuals whose approach to leadership I appreciated and wanted to emulate. I have at least two mentors who have been there for me for 25 years and whom I still talk to on a regular basis. No matter the level of management or leadership you’re in, you’re never not in need of advice and guidance.
How do you keep your employees motivated?
I think employees are motivated when they work in an environment where they feel appreciated, and where their work is valued by the company and the customers. They’re also motivated when they can have a little fun. We work in a high hazard industry but it’s still important to have fun with your coworkers while getting the job done safely. The tone is set from the top.
How did you decide to pursue the career that you are working in today?
I’m not sure if I pursued it or it pursued me. I don’t have a family legacy at Hanford, and I actually intended to go to law school, but decided to enter the workforce for a year or two first. So, after college graduation I started at Hanford as a “Kelly Girl” in the Tank Farms training department on the restart of the 242-A evaporator. (Kelly Girl was a term for temporary office workers that we’ve thankfully outgrown!) I quickly grew to love the mission and the people. I have been fortunate enough to be asked to lead different planning activities for the site and department and ultimately landed here. And sometimes our legal team lets me practice my argumentative skills just to keep them on their toes.
How do you measure success in your workplace?
For us, as a service provider and the “city manager” for Hanford services, success is measured by the success of the One Hanford contractors and the Department of Energy. It’s also measured by operational runtime so that the critical mission is not impacted by cyberattacks, water leaks, windstorms that knock out power, etc.
What do you consider your leadership style to be?
Servant leadership focused on people first, whether that be our employees or the people we support across the Hanford site. We don’t build a product and we don’t manufacture widgets. Our people are the center of our success and I strive to enable them for continued success.
How do you balance work and family life?
With the number of years I’ve spent in management and executive leadership, I can tell you it’s critical to make time with your family a priority. Some days are easier than others, because in this role, you’re on the clock 24/7 to respond, but you have to find the balance. And that looks different for different people. I surround myself with experts who can fill in the gaps and cover me when I’m not available. I would argue if you don’t have that level of comfort and trust in your team, then you don’t have the right team. People should be able to go on vacation and not worry about getting a bunch of phone calls. Enable and empower those around you.
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
I love to cook. We have a fleet of classic cars that we like to drive around. And I like to party plan. And I LOVE CHRISTMAS! Anything Christmas, I’m in, especially if I can plan Christmas parties (which I do).
What’s your best time management strategy?
I focus on high-priority items in the morning because it’s what I consider my peak time. Most days I’m in the office by 5:15 a.m. and between then and 7:15 a.m., those are two prime hours to prioritize key activities, manage email actions and do my own plan of the day.
Best tip to relieve stress?
Dogs, Starbucks, puppies, more Starbucks. I would like to say cool things like golf, hot yoga, jogging, etc., but I just can’t.
What’s your favorite podcast? Most-used app? Or favorite website? Favorite book? (Feel free to choose one or all)
I love music – any kind of music from Metallica to country to Christian rock, so Sirius XM is my most used app. I also can sing along to every song in “The Sound of Music.”
Do you have a personal mantra, phrase or quote you like to use?
I keep a quote from the great Michael Jordan on my desk that says: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”