Head of People and Culture
Name: Alice Hanna
Career stage: Senior - 10+ years' experience
Working: Office
High School Subjects: Geography, Geology, Maths, French, Biology
Favourite: Biology - such useful information in life!
Further study: University
where and what: Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Flinders University (Adelaide)
"Every female that joins the industry is a win for the industry."
THE INSIDE SCOOP…
What does a Head of People and Culture actually do? I create a great place to work, aligned to our company values! I aim to hire the right people for each role, provide them with a great working environment and do what we can to keep them in the business long term. I look after training, culture, diversity, recruitment and more.
What does a day in your life at work look like? Every day is different. Today I have run a company induction for new starters, interviewed a candidate, worked on a diversity project to attract more women to the industry and more. I run training sessions, meet with managers about their teams and work on a range of projects to make our company a great place to work.
What's the best part of your job? I get to work with so many different people. I get satisfaction from seeing people grow and develop in their careers. I get to see people be happy about working here at Kapitol!
What made you realise construction could be for you? I had been working in HR roles in IT for a long time and wanted to try something different and challenging. I had heard construction was a very challenging industry and I wanted to give it a go.
Tell us about a favourite project you're working on. I am working on a project to attract more females into construction. This involves working with students from middle school up to help them understand the variety of roles in construction and why it's a great industry to work in. Every female that joins the industry is a win for the industry, so I love helping girls and non binary students to give construction a go.
Do you have any advice for young women picking a career? Find what you are passionate about. Don't listen to anyone telling you what you 'should' or 'shouldn't' do. Find something you love doing, otherwise you will eventually hate or resent what you do. Find people that work in the industries you're interested in and talk to them about what they like and don't like about their industry. Give it a go! Do some work experience to see for yourself. Always follow your passion and your heart and it's hard to go wrong.
Tell us about a time you made a difference in your work. Working hours in the construction industry are really high, which leads to fatigue, stress and people leaving the industry. I think I have made a difference in the work we've done at Kapitol Group to decrease working hours. I have heard so many stories from our people and their families about how much happier they are and how much more they see their families now they're working with us. That makes a huge difference to their lives and I'm proud to have contributed to that.
Alice is open to engaging further via: Taking a student for work experience, Speaking at a high school
If you'd like to enquire more, please email hello@tomorrowswomeninconstruction.com.au with the subject: "Alice Hanna engagement enquiry" and we'll pass your message on.
