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Sydney is the core business, that services clients in the greater Sydney region across all major sectors. Our focus is on delivering future focused social infrastructure.
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Experience for Constructions’ Next Generation
Our Snackbrands project at Orchard Hills hosted over 180 students from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) last month, offering them an immersive tour of the site, as well as a series of presentations from our site team.
“I just wanted to pass on a big thank you for coordinating such a great site visit for the students last week. The feedback was amazing. One student was so impressed he’s sent a thank you note of his own with his CV!
The diligence displayed by the RCC team, ensuring every student was signed in and inducted, coordinating manageable and safe group sizes and then escorting each group around the site speaks volumes about RCC’s unwavering commitment to site safety and planning”
Craig Barry – UTS Lecturer
These Construction Management and Civil Engineering students represent the future of our industry; we are proud to be involved in their transition from classroom to construction site and give them a firsthand insight into safe and sustainable construction practice.
RCC: 10th Best Place to Work in Australia!
RCC is thrilled to be recognised as the 10th Best Place to Work in Australia – a milestone achievement that reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that everyone at RCC genuinely looks forward to coming into work each day.
The Great Place to Work (GPTW) assessment is a feedback-based study obtained from a confidential survey of our 600+ employees and an independent audit across 9 practice areas. See the results of the 2019 GPTW study here.
2018 was our first evaluation in the study, and to be named 17th in our category (100-999 employees) was a remarkable achievement, to which we are incredibly proud.
Following our success last year, 2019 saw the integration of several new initiatives entirely unique to RCC and the support, development and appreciation of our growing teams. We feel that it is a combination of our highly talented employees and RCC’s unique culture, value-oriented initiatives that we are now considered among Australia’s top 10 Best Places to Work.
“Recognition as one of the Greatest Places to Work in Australia is a significant achievement for RCC in a demanding and pressurised construction market. To make it to the top 10 is an outstanding result.”
“For me, what makes RCC great is our people. They are our best assets, and this result reflects their contribution to the business and work environment and our commitment to ensuring their voice is heard as we continue to grow.”
Jamie Crookes – Managing Director of Richard Crookes Constructions
We are a private, family-owned company dedicated to building an open, honest and collaborative culture that is fulfilling for all our staff. We have a lot of heart for what we do for each other.
It would be no surprise that RCC’s most fundamental value is family. Being a private, family-owned company dedicated to building an open, honest and collaborative culture means that coming to work at RCC is more than just a job for all our staff. New members are welcomed into the RCC family right from day one, including an induction that sets the tone for the business they have joined. We ensure that all new starters have a number of activities to complete to help form part of their integration plan. They are set up with a “buddy” to help them with everything they need to comfortably transition into the business. Our founder, Richard Crookes, personally welcomes all new starters and we find it is this familial touch that sets RCC apart from other large companies.
Similarly, our staff appreciation events encourage RCC teams to spend time with their families whilst team building – whether it’s at the zoo, running the City2Surf or in an Italian style cooking class. Events like these are important to us, but it’s the enthusiasm of our employees which make them memorable.
RCC offers an environment that can facilitate career growth, personal opportunity and an exciting workplace through its diversification. Being a family business means that family is high on the agenda at RCC providing family-based benefits including generous paid parental leave packages, additional paid annual leave to encourage more time spent with family and friend, family days out and much more.
Growing our own has always been a fundamental principle of how we manage the business therefore we invest heavily in technical training, personal development as well as a suite of team building activities which form a consistent and dynamic social calendar. Since our success in 2018, we have unveiled a suite of initiatives including a Women Leading program, Health & Wellbeing and Workplace Giving Programs – all working to help maintain our strong commitment to a thriving and lively workplace. They’re also fundamental to our company’s core values: Client First; Delivering Certainty; We Do What We Say; Family Values; and First Step Safety.
RCC is also committed to celebrating the achievement of our people; our best asset. Complimentary to our staff initiatives is our Rewards and Recognition program that recognises the outstanding behaviour and performance of our employees. RCC’s Hats Off awards encourages peer-to-peer appreciation for those who go above and beyond, and we regularly celebrate key project milestones throughout the year. We also support informal team appreciation events to build an organic, in-team culture.
To be ranked 10th Best Place to Work in Australia is confirmation that we value a supportive, fulfilling and dynamic work environment – and RCC employees agree.
Do you think you would enjoy the journey of working on exciting projects, with highly skilled, passionate people in a positive and supportive workplace? Find out what it’s like to be part of the RCC family…
Working Together For A Shared Future
NAIDOC WEEK 2019 – A CHANCE TO REFLECT ON HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER FOR A SHARED FUTURE
NAIDOC Week provides an opportunity each year for all Australians to collectively commemorate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year, under the theme of VOICE TREATY TRUTH, Lets work together for a shared future, RCC is reflecting on our contribution to this shared future.
Generating local education and employment opportunities to create long-term industry engagement is part of the legacy we want to create as an Australian owned, family business. We see every one of the thousands of workers on our sites each day as members of our extended family. as such, hearing that working on our UTS Central project has made a difference in the lives of two Indigenous brothers, Andrew and Jason Huckstadt is incredibly rewarding –
Jason Huckstadt said that his time on the project has given him confidence to work in the industry; “the Richard Crookes team have been great with teaching and supporting me with gaining experience in construction. Being here gives you confidence that you can do the work and do it well.”
Jason started on site, after his older brother Andrew had gained valuable experience as part of the team; “Working here with the Richard Crookes fellas on this project, having the structure of coming to work each day, has helped me turn things around… Knowing that other trades coming in are depending on me doing my job right makes me really proud, and it’s good to see the building progress the way it is.” (Andrew Huckstadt)
Andrew also said that the benefits of working on the project extend past his career and his own future, as he sets an example for his three children, “I’m showing my own kids what a working father looks like.”
If you want to hear more about the Huckstadt brothers’ experience on the UTS Central project, click the image to check out the full article written by the University of Technology, Sydney.
ARTICLE: Finding a future on the UTS Central work site
At RCC, we take great pride in our work; we want our legacy of exciting quality buildings to also drive education and employment opportunities, increase industry engagement and build stronger economies for a brighter future. Hearing the positive long-term impact our delivery of UTS Central has had on members of the team and their family makes the nearing completion of this project even more satisfying. We aim to increase training, employment and supplier opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on every project and to enrich our workforce and industry through inclusion, understanding and appreciation of traditional cultures.
“As a proud family owned and run business, our values are embedded into the RCC culture and we remain committed to making a positive contribution to the communities we live and work in. We appreciate the importance of recognising the traditional custodians of the land on which we deliver each project, including the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on which the UTS Central development now stands. We also recognise that every project is an opportunity for us to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and contribute to education and employment outcomes which extend beyond project delivery to create a long-term sustainable legacy”
Jamie Crookes
Managing Director – Richard Crookes Constructions
Uniting Gerringong
Uniting Gerringong is a new 100 bed RACF and community centre on NSW’s south coast at Uniting Mayflower Village in Gerringong.
It is stage 1 in the overall redevelopment of the village, which renew both the care facilities and the independent living units in the following stages.
The 100 beds is a mixture of 75 single rooms, 10 double rooms and 5 accessible rooms over 5 households from ground to L2.
Each household has 20 beds and shares clinical BOH, community kitchen, dining lounge and sitting rooms along with outside access via balconies or courtyard.
The ground floor household is dedicated memory support with a dedicated stimulus courtyard. The community centre combines a new admin for the village with gym, activity rooms, chapel, hairdresser, treatment rooms and café. Ground floor also contains a single and family suite for the use of visiting family and friends. Basement contains staff facilities and communal BOH facilities for food deliveries, storage, maintenance, waste, clean and dirty linen.
Client: Uniting Care
Architect: Morrison Design Partnership
Delivery Form: Design and Construction
Location: Gerringong, NSW
Value: $26m
Completion date: October 2018
Community Feedback on RCC Safety & Values
At RCC, the safety of staff and the community is our highest priority. It is embedded in our culture and our behaviours. We are extremely proud to have received community feedback acknowledging our commitment to safety and company values.…
“We live opposite UTS and every day we watch the work that you guys are doing building on the new UTS building on Broadway. Working for many years in an organisation where the safety goal was zero, safety was drilled into me! Watching your site, the evidence is there that you value safety through the way the building materials are organised and how the workers move around. We moved into the area just before demolition began so we have been with you guys from the start!
We googled you today and we both watched your corporate video to find out about who you are, and we agree that RCC is walking your talk and living your values! We got to thinking there is no point in simply saying that to each other and that we should tell you too…so thus am sending this email to say well done for all the good work; we see the Crookes family values are shining through. All the best for the rest of the build”
Eimer & Michael
Want to know more about RCC and our Values?
Want to know what it’s like to be part of the RCC family? Find out from our best assets, our people…
RCC Values
Operational throughout NSW and the ACT, RCC is a private, family owned construction company that has been delivering projects as promised; on-time and budget, safely and to the highest quality since 1976.
We value our heritage as a family business and we’re proud of our family values. Launched in early 2014, our values were the result of a companywide survey undertaken by our personnel to determine what we believed to be the most important attributes of our company and our people. RCC takes pride in these values; they reflect the culture, character and the vision of our company and help guide our individual and collective behaviours.
To find out more about our company values and who we are check out our website: richardcrookes.com.au
More on the UTS Central Building 2 Project
The UTS Central Project includes the redevelopment of Building 2 and the extension of Building 1 (UTS Tower) podium to redefine the main entrance to UTS. This unique project will likely become a landmark building and offer students an urban precinct which will include new teaching spaces, a library, learning commons, research space and a retail area.
This development is a significant component of the broader UTS City Campus Master Plan and will create additional connections within the campus and further enhance the student experience.
Key Features include:
- Twisting Cantilevered Tower
- Green Roof Space and winter gardens
- Super Lab
- Double Helix Access Stairs
- Numerous Atriums and Void Spaces
- Curved Double Glazed Façade
This development is being delivered in a live environment in the middle of an operational University Campus and within a busy retail, residential and transport hub within Ultimo.
RCC in the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Australia
Recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Australia is a significant achievement for RCC in a demanding and pressurised construction market. Our employees are our best asset, consequently this award means even more knowing it is a result of their experience. The Great Place to Work assessment is based on feedback obtained from a confidential survey of our 600 employees and an independent cultural audit across 9 practice areas.
To be named 17th in our category (100-999 employees), amongst companies such as Salesforce and Stryker in our first year of evaluation is an outstanding achievement for RCC and a reflection of our personnel’s commitment to each other, our clients and the industry. See the full results of the 2018 GPTW study here.
The goal to provide a fulfilling and supportive work environment prompted us to submit an application to become an Employer of Choice and make it to the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Australia. We set out to understand our employee experience in the context of Australia’s best workplaces, to highlight focus areas for future commitment and to ultimately be recognised as a Great Place to Work.
We did it. We are honoured to have been recognised as a Great Place to Work in our first year of evaluation.
This acknowledgment compliments our recent recognition in the Employee Engagement Awards (2017) and highlights the strength of our culture of high performance, development, autonomy and collaboration.
The Best Places to Work awards are based on an independent study coordinated by the Great Place to Work Institute. Great Place to Work Australia is an organisation, whose recognition has become an international standard for excellence in workplace culture. After more than 30 years of research the Institute operate across 44 countries, surveying 6,200 companies annually.
“THE 50 BEST ARE SETTING THE STANDARD FOR ALL BUSINESSES.”
Zrinka Lovrencic – Managing Director of Great Place to Work Australia
RCC is committed to the ongoing improvement of our employee experience in the hope that our staff continue to enjoy the journey as the company grows and evolves. This recognition reflects the passion, commitment and fun that our people bring to work everyday.
“WE ARE PROUD TO BE RECOGNISED BY OUR PEOPLE AS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO WORK IN AUSTRALIA. WE BELIEVE WE ARE DOING GREAT THINGS AND THIS ACCREDITATION MEANS THAT OUR BEST ASSET, OUR EMPLOYEES, AGREE.
FOR ME, OUR PEOPLE ARE WHAT MAKES RCC GREAT, AND THAT DRIVES US TO PROVIDE THEM WITH AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THEY CAN REALISE THEIR PROFESSIONAL ASPIRATIONS AND DELIVER QUALITY OUTCOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS”
Jamie Crookes – Managing Director of Richard Crookes Constructions
Do you think you would enjoy the journey of working on exciting projects, with highly skilled, passionate people in a positive and supportive workplace? Find out what it’s like to be part of the RCC family…
If you are interested to know more about the RCC Family, our values and what makes RCC a Great Place to Work then follow us on social media and stay tuned for our ‘Meet the Family’ series!
RCC’s Impact on the Aged Care and Retirement Living landscape
Economic, social and cultural outcomes for providers and residents
RCC has a long history in the design and construction of specialised social infrastructure. In 2015 we invested further in RCC’s specialised Aged Care and Retirement Living division, matching our capabilities in the health and social housing sectors. Our subsequent 300% growth in aged care delivery is recognition of our ability to deliver quality, state of the art facilities which still feel like home and provide better living for residents.
RCC has been building for 42 years and innovating in the aged care and retirement living sector since 1993, recognising the mounting demographic and cost pressures of infrastructure and care provider availability.
“To meet Australian aged care demand we need to deliver a 120 bed aged care facility every two weeks for the next 10 years. We appreciate the need for sustainable solutions and quality facilities and we share the age care sectors commitment to providing the senior members of our community with the security of a comfortable home and quality of life”
Martin Patience- Joint GM, Aged Care & Retirement Living, RCC
Having successfully delivered a range of Residential Aged Care Facilities, Independent Living Units and Retirement Villages in NSW and ACT metropolitan and regional areas, RCC underwrites the success of major new facilities and the necessary transformation of existing homes to emulate the amenity and aesthetics of today.
We are proud of the projects we have delivered to date and enjoy reflecting on our handover of facilities that our clients are proud of, as much as we are as well as the contribution we have made to those older Australian’s who now call them home.
Our project team’s partner with leading aged care and retirement living operators, experienced design teams and industry specialists, looking for opportunities to speed up, go modular, prefabricate and achieve high levels of quality, amenity and service from every dollar spent.
“Designing and delivering state of the art aged care and retirement homes merge the preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitation needs of residents in a secure, comfortable, home environment allowing them to stay active, happy and connected to their families. Innovative technology and construction services ensure our projects meet their current and future needs”
Rod Burger- Joint GM, Aged Care & Retirement Living, RCC
Our highly experienced and focused aged care team are supported by the substantial financial backing and delivery systems of a long established multi-sector construction business.
Looking forward, our client teams and residents can continue to count on our skills and support to further evolve and enjoy the journey of working with RCC.
“SummitCare Baulkham Hills brings to life everything residents and families could wish for in a home… To RCC, it has been an absolute pleasure, and an outstanding result. You have been a delight to work with and I couldn’t recommend you more highly”
SummitCare, Baulkham Hills
Peter Wohl – Owner and Director, Summitcare
“We are most pleased to be associated with Richard Crookes Constructions as all aspects of the projects are moving in the right direction. Drayton House is approximately half way through the construction program with good progress to date. Attention to detail and selection of sub-contractors is impressive”
Drayton House
Markam Ralph – Director- Morrison Design Partnerships Architects
SummitCare RACF Complete
RCC partnered with the SummitCare team to take aged care and retirement living to the next level with a facility that combines technology with a homely, high end hotel feel.
“To RCC, our builders, it has been an absolute pleasure, and an outstanding result. To Jamie, Rod and everyone in the Crookes team; you have been a delight to work with and I couldn’t recommend you more highly”
Peter Wohl, Owner at SummitCare
Our collaborative partnered approach to innovative aged care projects is evident in our delivery of the $50m Baulkham Hills SummitCare RACF facility. We were honoured to attend the grand opening of the facility to celebrate with SummitCare and the various stakeholders who contributed to the successful delivery of this quality development.
The new facility houses 236 beds for residents, a dementia centre, behavioural secure unit and specialised palliative care and includes state of the art GPON fibre optic technology, integrating the nurse call and ICT. Chada Interior Design, known for their high-end hospitality design, leveraged their experience to create a home for residences that resembles a luxury hotel, featuring bespoke custom rugs, joinery and room finishes and fixtures.
“At RCC we pride ourselves on a collaborative, client first approach, so It’s great to see our team acknowledged for the quality of their delivery as well as their attitude to working with the client team and stakeholders on the Baulkham Hills project”
Rod Burger, General Manager- Aged Care and Retirement Living at RCC
RCC used the Early Contractor Involvement period to design a new structural system that allowed for the use of modular bathrooms in the 186 bathrooms and worked through site issues in an effort to hand $1.5m back to the client.
Our project was delivered on time, in 18 months and has been a huge success for the wider team. RCC is proud to have been part of the delivery of one of the largest and technologically advanced RACF’s in NSW, with a focus on providing a facility that creates a home for future residents in a sustainable environment today and into the future.
As a family owned company with a strong emphasis on community, RCC understands the importance of designing and building aged care developments that contribute to social infrastructure and feel like home for residents.
Womens Forum Series
RCC’s first Women’s Forum, based on the topic of ‘resilience’, featured a keynote speech from a strong and inspirational Australian philanthropist, Susan Alberti. Female staff came together from across NSW and ACT to listen, discuss, network and of course… lunch.
The RCC Women’s Forum Series is designed to provide our female staff with the opportunity to network, share knowledge and access personal and professional development in a supportive, relaxed and fun environment. RCC understands the need to support our staff and the wider industry to ensure women in construction have access to a level playing field and can be professionally and personally successful.
Laura Durkan, Head of Human Resources, says she feels the Women’s Forum Series is a critical element in delivering on RCC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. “We are grateful to have an incredible cohort of women working for RCC. This is an opportunity for us to show them how valued their input into the day-to-day and long term strategic operations of our business is”
RCC’s commitment to diversity is about more than fairness and retaining our fantastic staff; we believe that diversity breeds innovation and drives the growth of a stronger RCC and construction industry.
Laura says the decision to choose ‘resilience’ as the theme for the first Womens Forum was inspired by “the stories of some of RCC’s strongest female leaders and the fierce dedication, self-belief and mental toughness which has supported them throughout their careers. We wanted to give the women in our business an opportunity to share their personal and industry experience and find strength in that shared knowledge and support network”. The key note speech, workshops and presentations on the day inspired a robust discussion around the current state of ‘women in construction’ and will inform the organisations action plan to work toward a diverse and inclusive industry.
We sincerely thank Susan Alberti who joined us on the day to share her incredible story. Her journey and resilience under testing circumstances is inspirational and speaks to her guts and determination.
As the Women’s Forum was structured as a lunch and learn event, the day would not have been complete without the addition of a delicious lunch, supplied by the skillful Little Jones Food Co.
