Women in Construction Spotlight: Krista Frenzel
The construction industry is always looking for new talent and with Keeley Construction’s rapid growth, the need for people to join our family is higher than ever. Our talented Human Resources and Recruiting team work tirelessly to recruit and retain our Keeley’ns while growing their careers. Krista Frenzel, Human Resources Generalist for Keeley Construction, is passionate about people and is dedicated to fostering the next generation of Keeley’ns.
Krista joined the Keeley family just over a year ago and it has been nothing short of a roller coaster. In her experience, Keeley has been the most fast-paced organization that she has been a part of and she has loved seeing her team members and Keeley’ns throughout the organization benefit from the immense growth opportunities. Working in Human Resources, Krista works hard to create new opportunities for our people to advance their careers. Having this unique responsibility has allowed Krista to feel incredibly empowered in her work.
“I have felt empowered at Keeley every step of the way. The empowerment here starts from the top down, meaning the leaders here do not believer in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach which has given me the strength and encouragement I need to tackle every challenge head on. Our leaders and team members are receptive to and welcome improvement, so each of us has the chance to pave a new way and be creative when we see the opportunity."
Being in Human Resources, the nature of her position is fairly similar across industries, but Krista is grateful she found herself in construction. Construction is an ever-changing environment and Krista thrives in a fast-paced setting. In her role, she gets to work with many different personalities, but it always keeps her on her toes and better equips her to handle any challenge that may come her way. Working with so many people from various walks of life has taught Krista a lot of lessons, but for her, the most important lesson has been communication. Being able to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization has helped her be successful in her role, whether she is actively listening to a team member or adapting her communication style to better support others. Krista is proud of the success she has achieved in her role and wants others to feel the same, so if she could give one piece of advice to other women starting out in the industry, it would be:
“Hold on to your student mentality – be curious, be a sponge, and grow your network. This is an ever-growing and changing industry, so there will be plenty to learn and ample growth opportunities, with that being said, also practice your patience. Good things come to those that work hard and stay humble.”
Even though she has only been with Keeley for a little over a year, Krista believes that she has found her career destination and has begun crafting a strong vision for the future. As she grows, she wants to become a strategic partner in the HR realm and successfully support the people and strategies for our business groups. She also strives to be a trusted advisor for all Keeley’ns and our leaders. Krista is passionate about Keeley and truly loves being a Keeley’n.
“The empowerment and creative flexibility I have to do my job in a way that makes me happy is not something I take for granted. We have lofty goals and I understand the big picture initiatives that we are working towards, but I still have free reign to the approach and execution as long as quality results are produced. With this, I also know that I have the support of my boss, our leaders, and my team behind me. That is powerful in and of itself.”
Keeley Construction is driven by our core values – PRIDE – and our team members strive to live out these values every single day. For Krista, People is the most important value and she sees the emphasis our leaders put on truly putting our people first. She has experienced this firsthand through the trust, support, and confidence her leaders have given her in her abilities.
Working in HR, part of her role is to recruit talented people to our family, but Krista truly believes that anyone would be lucky to call Keeley their career destination.
“We spend the majority of our days working and don’t you want to enjoy what you do and who you do it with? We are so thoughtful and intentional about getting the right person on the team to do the job, but we are also invested in their personal and professional growth.”
Krista, thank you for your unwavering passion for our people and their growth. Our entire organization is lucky to have you and we cannot wait to see how you continue to enhance our company, our people, and your role.
