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How we started PFS was created by owner Jill Ferris in 1999, when along with six friends and colleagues she submitted a proposal to become part of the team providing science support and logistics services to researchers in the Arctic funded by the US National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs (NSF). Our small, experienced team won the job. From the start we leveraged our collective science support expertise to develop and refine our business processes. We all were and continue to be dedicated to helping scientists plan and conduct polar research around the world. It is important to us that the scientists we work with meet their science objectives and goals; understanding both is part of our process. Over the 10 years since inception, PFS has grown from the original seven to a staff of thirty-three plus. Notably, in that same period of time, only three of us have left. While good benefits certainly play a role in such a high rate of retention, ultimately it is the knowledge that each of us is a valued member of the team that encourages us to stay, learn and grow with the company. Polar Field Services is made up of diverse individuals who have elected to collaborate in creating a dynamic whole. While some come from academic backgrounds and most are college-educated, we retain a strong connection to a blue-collar working culture. At the core, we are problem solvers. Our varied backgrounds and an enabling corporate psychology allow for a level of flexibility and out-of- the-box thinking that results in consistent innovation. This is how we find practical and economically viable solutions to complex problems. Be they logistics, technical, construction, power systems or operations tasks, our team has the vision, energy, and experience to bring a project to fruition. And we’re not afraid to shovel snow, swing a wrench, or sleep in a tent on the ice sheet to get the job done. We take great care to select our seasonal staff, the people working in the field with our researcher customers. Because these staff present the face of PFS to the teams we support, we focus on their satisfaction, compensate them well, and treat them with the respect they are due. As a result, we experience tremendous loyalty from seasonal employees, many of whom return year after year. |
The Experts |
Results All of this sounds pretty good, but how does it work out in the real world? Pretty darn well, actually. Polar Field Services has consistently earned high ratings from our primary client, the National Science Foundation. In 2005 we won an unprecedented second contract to provide logistics support to the NSF’s Arctic Program. Throughout our corporate history, we have garnered praise from researchers and administrators not only for our innovative solutions but also for our clear and unwavering commitment to the mission: to support important polar research. In the end, our record speaks for itself. |
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