Meet Ana – She Loves Her Job

In celebration of being awarded the 10th Best Place to Work in Australia by Great Place to Work, RCC has interviewed 10 employees who love their job. RCC is honoured to have such passionate employees who jumped at the opportunity to share what they do, and why they love it.

 

Meet Ana Cella – A Design Manager with the RCC Industrial division.

Meet Ana Cella. Ana joined the RCC team over 5 years ago as a Project Engineer and progressed to her current role as Design Manager. Ana says it’s the strong family values at RCC that makes her job one to love.

“Before joining RCC, I was a client-side PM and was able to work with various RCC staff on a number of different projects. I was always intrigued by the family values and team approach to projects compared to other companies”

Since joining the team, Ana says she has been fortunate enough to receive invaluable mentorship from various department leaders, which has allowed her to build her own skill set through their industry knowledge and experience.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with a variety of talented individuals in project delivery, new business, the executive team and design who have all been absolutely amazing. They are all such unique individuals who have succeeded in different ways, with different approaches. They have all been great mentors by always demonstrating the company values and showing me the RCC way.”

Over the years, Ana has gained valuable experience across a number of sectors and is now primarily working with RCC’s Industrial division on 2 or 3 live projects at one time. Ana says she has been surprised by the Industrial sector, with the project designs being so much more than a shed. Each bespoke project involves detailed coordination to ensure all components work and flow together and often integrates automation or considers food or medical storage requirements which makes the design process really interesting.

“Industrial warehouses have become more sophisticated, more complex and more exciting than they ever used to be”

With her sights set on becoming a Senior Design Manager or a Design Director in the future, Ana knows she is at the right place with her family at RCC.

“When I come to work and see the Crookes family in their offices, I know I am in the right place with my family…We are lucky to have the family’s strong passion and care on every project. To me, it is very important to have that level of care from the top set the tone for everyone on each job. It’s not just about the numbers, there is warmth and care there.”

We’re proud to have a workplace that promotes strong family values, but it’s our staff that ultimately make this possible.

 

MORE ABOUT THE 10TH BEST PLACE TO WORK

The Great Place to Work assessment is a feedback-based study obtained from a confidential survey of our 700+ employees. It involves an independent audit across areas like hiring and integration, health and wellness, as well as workplace culture.
2018 was the first year RCC entered the assessment and we were thrilled to be awarded 17th Best Place to Work. Within a year, we rolled out a number of new initiatives to better the experiences of our people. To be recognised as the 10th Best Place to Work this year is a credit to our continued commitment to ensuring that everyone at RCC genuinely looks forward to coming to work each day.

 

 

 

Meet Mo – He Loves His Job

In celebration of being awarded the 10th Best Place to Work in Australia by Great Place to Work, RCC has interviewed 10 employees who love their job. RCC is honoured to have such passionate employees who jumped at the opportunity to share what they do, and why they love it.

 

Meet Mohommed Dunia. Mo’s journey with RCC began just over 2 years ago when he joined us as a cadet.

As a Construction Management student, Mo undertook a Cadetship with RCC to access paid employment and gain practical industry experience early in his degree. Mo Says that the rotational program structure across various roles in the business allowed him to better understand his strengths and interests before deciding on his chosen career path.

“Doing the RCC cadetship meant I had the opportunity to rotate between engineering, design, estimating and planning and contract administration. I initially wanted to be a Site Engineer but after working as a Contract Administrator on our Quartet project in Lane Cove, I knew that’s what I loved.

I have had other roles in the industry, and I like that RCC view cadets differently. They really care about and invest in you.”

Mo told us that for a university student starting his degree, the opportunity to gain broad industry exposure in such an immersive way helped him acquire the diverse skills needed to pursue a long-term career in construction, which is just one reason he loves his job.

It made us proud to hear that our varied program structure allows the future leaders of our business to make informed career decisions and ensures they are well rounded in whatever particular role they choose to pursue.

“The exposure I gained in my cadetship means I now have an understanding of estimating and engineering and I bring this knowledge to my role as a Contract Administrator on every project. For you to be successful in any one position, whether it’s CA, Site Engineer or Estimator you need to understand the other roles and their function and outcomes.
Doing the cadetship gave me the confidence to do things without second guessing myself.”

Within two and a half years, Mo progressed from a Cadet to a confident and capable Contract Administrator. Now working on the iconic Walsh Bay Arts Precinct project on Sydney Harbour, Mo brings an infectious enthusiasm to the job – something he says is a reflection of how supportive his team is of him and his goals as a young professional in the industry;

“I love RCC because at the end of the day, we’re all working together. Once you get the work done you can enjoy the successes with your team.
I have a lot of mentors here and I know if I need anything, I can always call on them.”

With his sights set on eventually progressing to a Project Manager role, Mo says he feels confident that RCC can provide him with the right support and development opportunities to achieve his long-term goals. But for Mo, it’s the added bonus of RCC’s family values that make this journey special.

“We’re excited to see each other at work because of the real sense of family here. I’ve been here for 2.5 years and I’m very comfortable.”

 

MORE ABOUT OUR CADET PROGRAM

The RCC Cadet Program provides first-hand experience across various aspects of our business through a structured 2-year, rotational program. Cadets rotate between four areas of the business to gain exposure across a variety of roles and ensure they build the skills necessary to progress upon graduation.
The program is designed to provide employment and on-the-job experience to students as well as support their studies so when they graduate, they can make an informed decision about their career path and step into a fulltime role in their chosen area.

 

MORE ABOUT WALSH BAY ARTS PRECINCT

As Managing Contractor on the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct project, RCC is responsible for the design and construction of this redeveloped public arts and cultural hub on Sydney’s waterfront, whilst preserving the industrial heritage of the existing structures.

Stages 1, 2 & 3 are currently underway and involve the delivery of:

  • Demolition and upgrade of existing arts facilities on Wharf 4 & 5 for the Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney Dance Company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Philharmonia, Gondwana and Song Company;
  • Adaptive reuse and upgrade of facilities and performance spaces on Pier 2 and 3 for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Bell Shakespeare and Australian Theatre for Young People
  • New commercial retail spaces throughout the precinct
INTERESTING PROJECT STATS
  • 10-15km of electrical cabling in Theatre 1 alone
  • 800 tonnes of structural steelwork has been installed on Wharf 4/5 with 700 tonnes of steel yet to be installed for Pier 2/3
  • Just under 290,000 site hours have been worked so far (that’s nearly 33 years)
  • A site boat is utilised for under-wharf inspections, rather than land machinery

 

 

Meet Jack – He Loves His Job

In celebration of being awarded the 10th Best Place to Work in Australia by Great Place to Work, RCC has interviewed 10 employees who love their job. We’re honoured to have such passionate employees who jumped at the opportunity to share what they do, and why they love it.

Meet Jack Reggers. Jack joined RCC in his final years of his engineering degree. Starting in a Graduate role that allowed him to study and gain practical experience in the industry, Jack is now a Site Engineer on our Opera Residences project, delivering one of Sydney’s most exclusive future residential developments.

“I love my job and I love what I do, but I think 90% of that is because I come to work with brilliant people every day.”

“At RCC, you actually feel like someone. From the Project Manager right through to the cadets, you can feel that everyone truly values each other and the company we work for.”

With a family of more than 700 employees, we are committed to ensuring our teams feel familiar and well connected. On a site with over 100 individuals, Jack says the RCC team’s culture and mateship creates an environment which keeps them on track; delivering high quality projects whilst genuinely enjoying the process along the way.

“We have meetings with our clients, subcontractors, consultants and architects and everybody sits in the same room to listen and collaborate. Everyone is talking and working together to get the job done.”

“It’s one collaborative project team pushing in the right direction.”

Jack loves his job for its challenges, and for the colleagues he says have become his family. Nominated the 10th Best Place to Work in our category in Australia, we’re thrilled to employ passionate people that genuinely enjoy what they do and provide them with a supportive environment and positive company culture to thrive in.

More About the 10th Best Place to Work

The Great Place to Work assessment is a feedback-based study obtained from a confidential survey of our 700+ employees. It involves an independent audit across areas like hiring and integration, health and wellness, as well as workplace culture.

2018 was the first year RCC entered the assessment and we were thrilled to be awarded 17th Best Place to Work. Within a year, we rolled out a number of new initiatives to better the experiences of our people. To be recognised as the 10th Best Place to Work this year is a credit to our continued commitment to ensuring that everyone at RCC genuinely looks forward to coming to work each day.

More About the RCC Family

If Jack’s story has left you wanting to hear more about what its like to be part of the RCC family then watch this space – we are planning another 9 employee interviews over the next 9 months.

In the meantime, check out this video to hear from other members of our team.

 

More About the Opera Residences

This project includes the construction of 104 high end apartments over 19 levels, three levels of retail space and 6 levels of basement parking within the busy Bennelong Point precinct. Public domain works involve a stairway from Circular Quay to Macquarie Street and a general upgrade to the Circular Quay Public Domain.

 

 

 

RCC talks ‘Growing Our Regions Well’

RCC was proud to sponsor and participate in the recent Property Council of Australia (PCA)’s ‘Growing Our Regions Well’ event. We were honoured to discuss the vision for the Hunter and Central Coast regions with representatives from across a range of disciplines who will, together, contribute to the growth and prosperity of the area.

Giving back to our industry and the communities we live and work in is important to RCC; As a 100% Australian owned, family business we take great pride in knowing that every project we deliver provides the social infrastructure required for our local communities to thrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RCC awarded for Excellence in Advanced BIM Implementation

2018 Asia-Pacific Oracle Aconex Connect Awards

RCC’s Digital Design Manager, Tyrone Padayachee, has received the 2018 Hero Award for Excellence in Advanced BIM Implementation. This award recognises those championing change in projects to minimise risk and save costs. RCC is committed to digital design as a means of providing our clients with delivery certainty, value for money and quality; this recognition highlights the progress of our strategy and the benefits we are able to provide to our clients.

“The winners of the Oracle Aconex Connect Awards continue to demonstrate the powerful combination of forward-looking technology and strategic vision”

Leigh Jasper, Vice President – Aconex Strategy and Operations
Oracle Construction and Engineering

Now in its third year, the global awards honour organisations across the globe for innovation in delivering significant construction and engineering projects efficiently and effectively.

 

Oracle Aconex Connect Awards

Find out more about the 2018 Asia-Pacific Oracle Aconex Connect award winners

 

 

Women’s Forum – ‘because of her, we can’

‘Because of her, we can’ – the NAIDOC Week 2018 theme was the inspiration behind July’s RCC Women’s Forum.

We were lucky enough to be able to explore the theme of ‘Because of her, we can’ through the words of Sandra Gadd and the modern native bush tucker cuisine of Jo-Ann from Goanna Hut.
We all then enjoyed a training session with Vanessa from Learning Circle Co, who took us through an interactive course on identifying and chasing career goals and building our personal brand.

Our series of Women in Construction Forums provide employees with a chance to share knowledge, learn and develop… over lunch (of course)! It’s also an important way for us to acknowledge the contribution and achievements of our staff and thank them for their dedication!

 

 

Women's Forum Series

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.

 

Lunch - Little Jones & Co

Ladies Lunching

Susan Alberti