Sarah Draper is People and Culture Director at construction, property and management consultancy RLB. In this Q&A, she examines the changing role of people functions, how the firm built its new values and why learning is key to future growth.
What is your focus as People and Culture Director?
RLB is a people-focused business and my role is to deliver on our high-performing people and culture pillar – one of three pillars underpinning our strategic business planning. As a company, we’ve just completed a global project on defining our values and are currently focusing on embedding those values in how we work with our clients and how we operate as a business.
Alongside this, we’re working on another big challenge – becoming a learning organisation. We want RLB to be a place where people make progress. We all know that the construction industry is evolving, with new skills, changing job roles and the impact of artificial intelligence and technology affecting the advice we give our clients on buildings, the materials we use and future sustainability.
How do you create that learning environment?
People are at the heart of our business and we want to help them progress, learn and grow. Skills development should be for everybody – both existing colleagues and those that are joining us.
The sector is changing so rapidly that those that come through the apprenticeship and graduate routes need new skills even as they come out of education. However, there is still much that this cohort can teach our existing employees, so we need to think about how we capture that knowledge for those that have been in industry for a while.
It’s about understanding and sharing knowledge from everybody, whether you have been in industry for 35 years or are a new recruit with fresh ideas. We need knowledge and experience, but also new skills and expertise to continue delivering for our customers in the future. At the end of the day, clients are still buying knowledge, advice and expertise, whether that comes from a system or a person. People and relationship skills will always be key to our industry.
Are the skills needed to work in the construction industry evolving?
The perception around working in the construction industry can be a challenge. Often, it’s still seen as hardhats and steel toecaps. However, there are so many different roles and skills needed to work in the built environment. There is a big PR piece to be done around that in helping to attract people into the industry.
I believe this starts with schools and the options presented as careers. We ask our graduates and apprentices to spend one week a year going into schools and colleges to talk to students about their options, as they can relate to the situation they are in.
There are so many opportunities in construction and it is a fascinating industry to work in. Where else can you walk down the street and see a building your business has been involved in creating?
RLB has grown rapidly in headcount in recent years. What effect does this have on your culture?
We were concerned that growing so quickly – particularly during COVID and the switch to hybrid working – might affect the consistency of our culture. So, we decided to survey our employees to find out what they thought about our values.
While we used an external company to help shape these values, we wanted our employee to lead the process. So, we asked them for their feedback and together we came up with the following values: truth, trust, together, tomorrow, and the overarching message RLB: Where People Make Progress.
The process brought all 4,500 of our people across the globe together. It was about embedding our values and ensuring our people have a consistent experience wherever and however they work.
How has business services changed over your career?
When I started out 25 years ago, we were still in the era of personnel. There have been a number of times in my career at previous organisations where I’ve felt like business services has been a second class citizen. Now, the people function has earned a place at the top table and we are valued for our contribution. There is a real opportunity to make a difference.
I joined RLB five years ago, and part of the attraction was that the job title was People and Culture. This role gives me an opportunity to help shape the business. It’s about the people, not human capital.
Of course, the past five years have been challenging. The need for HR to support the business from a commercial perspective alongside the people challenges of COVID and the economic climate means it is hard to find solutions that meet the needs of everyone.
I started the role in April 2020, just as COVID lockdowns began. Our offices were closed and didn’t reopen for six months. I had met the people who interviewed me, but none of my team due to lockdown. Building those relationships within the business and my own team, implementing a new HR system and making real progress around diversity and inclusion have all been highlights.
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