EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Employee Spotlight : Sarah Roe
Sarah Roe joined HammerTech six years ago when we were just starting out . In fact , she was just our second employee to come aboard . In six years , Sarah has grown with us from our first small , cramped office space in inner city Melbourne — implementing our first handful of clients when we were all still working out what HammerTech was and what it would really deliver — to our current state-of-the-art office and global HQ , where she is now Product Manager and contributes to our efforts to build construction ’ s leading safety platform .
Having been through so much with our company , we knew Sarah would be the perfect candidate for our first ever HammerTech Employee Spotlight . We hope you enjoy learning about Sarah and getting a glimpse into the inner workings of our HammerTech team .
Empowerment And Support FromThe Start
Sarah came to HammerTech after maternity leave from a consulting role in the engineering sector . The hours there were long , the deadlines were tight , and there was little time to spend with her fledging family . It was a stressful career path , and she knew that once her leave was up that she didn ’ t want to return to .
When Sarah joined HammerTech in 2015 , what struck her first was the amazing level of autonomy and support she had from the outset . First , there was greater appreciation and accommodation of her family life and her need to spend time doing pick-ups , drop-offs , or caring for sick children . If she needed to clock off early or start late , that was okay .
In addition , she was astounded by the immense empowerment and support she received during one of her first client training sessions . A foreman spoke down to her simply because she was a woman working in the male-dominated construction industry . Being accustomed to her consulting role where you are working for the client , not with the client , Sarah was unsure how far she could go to stand her ground in the awkward situation . However , when she reported the incident to HammerTech co-founder Brad Tabone , Sarah was blown away by his response .
Not only did Brad apologize profusely for her having to tolerate this abuse at work but he also took it a step further and called the client up to relate the incident and explain that HammerTech would not tolerate that kind of behavior in the partnership . She remembers the next training session with that foreman having a very different dynamic . To Sarah , that level of empowerment and support was phenomenal , a company that really did care .
Over the years , HammerTech has also accommodated Sarah ’ s role as a mother of two children , particularly during the pandemic when Sarah has needed to homeschool . HammerTech has supported her scheduling needs through it all . “ Sarah has been integral to the growth and evolution of HammerTech , so ensuring she has a healthy work-life balance plays an important role for her success as product manager and for our success as a company ,” says Ben Leach , HammerTech ’ s CEO .
Communication And Team Building
Sarah works closely alongside colleagues Des and Nat , with this small group steering the direction of global product development at
HammerTech . What has been even more rewarding in recent times is the emphasis the business has put on team building and increasing communication to enhance collaboration . The team now does weekly social calls that give our developers a chance to speak up , overcome cultural barriers , share their work , and simply get to know one another . We also do daily stand-ups and fortnightly all-ins where the product team shows the business their latest projects and developments .
Because of HammerTech ’ s growing global footprint , Sarah now has a lot more interface with our North American operations , where she , Des ( based in Seattle ) and Nat work in close partnership to gear the product for the US market . The time difference can be a challenge , Sarah acknowledges , but the integration of faster and easier collaboration tools — like Zoom and Teams — as well as setting aside dedicated time to catch up with counterparts virtually has made it a lot easier .
Looking Ahead
As we continue to grow and develop our HammerTech software , we look forward to acting on the contributions of Sarah and her team of specialists . Sarah plans to continue adapting her role to respond to the current needs of the company and our valued customers . Our product would not have grown to become a staple for some of the top names in Australian and US construction if it were not for the careful work of this valuable product manager . We are so happy to have Sarah here evolving with us .
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