Jacobs Shortlisted for 2017 Construction Investing in Talent Awards

Jacobs has received a commendation at the 2017 Construction Investing in Talent Awards in the category of ‘Wellbeing Initiative of the Year’ for our Mental Health Matters program. The program focuses on promoting positive mental health across the business, our staff and their families. Jacobs’ Jenna Green was also a finalist in the Human Resources Star of the Year category.

Organized by Construction News and now in its second year, the awards focus on rewarding individuals and teams who work hard to attract and retain the best talent – both on site and in the office. The awards highlight best practice as well as industry talent initiatives.

Initially trialled in the U.K. and Ireland, and now rolling out across Jacobs globally, our Mental Health Matters strategy delivers focused training, tools and techniques to enable a support network of positive mental health champions to offer early intervention and interim support for staff, while directing employees to the appropriate professional options.

“Inspired by our BeyondZero® principles, we worked with MIND and other leading mental health charities to develop this program focused on promoting positive mental health and wellbeing,” said Jacobs Senior Engineer David Withers.

“In the U.K. and Ireland we created and trained a network of 150+ positive mental health champions and also trained nearly 100 staff from client organizations. The trial in the U.K. has been so successful that we recently launched the program in the Americas and are rolling it out across the rest of Jacobs in November. We already have more than 1000 employees who have volunteered to be trained.”

Jenna Green has been with Jacobs for nearly a decade, initially in Operations roles, before transitioning to Human Resources in recent years, and working in both the U.K. and Oman on assignments. Here Jenna has supported and managed a number of projects and initiatives across employee engagement, retention, leadership and development.

“Having not come from a traditional Human Resources background, being shortlisted for this award is a significant personal achievement for me,” said Green. “My interest in people initiatives in my former operational roles led me to a career in HR, and I have not looked back since. Jacobs has supported me throughout my transition to HR, and I have always been made to feel that my varied experience brings something extra to my role.  As an HR professional within Jacobs, I have the autonomy to drive initiatives that add meaningful value to the business and will have a long-lasting beneficial impact for our employees – this is what makes my job so exciting.

“Being recognized in this category reinforces the commitment we are making to attract the best in the industry, future-proof the talent pipeline, and provide a working environment where employees can build successful and rewarding careers,” she concluded.

“Our finalists and winners are striving to attract and retain the best talent in the UK construction industry, said Construction News editor Tom Fitzpatrick. “Each company is going further than ever before to make construction an inclusive industry and pushing the boundaries on their outreach initiatives, recruitment and as the best places to work.”