Collette Want, who leads the UK Service, Refurbishment, Retrofit and Replacement (SRRR) department at Façade Access Solutions (FAS), has been shortlisted in two categories at the Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering (IWCE) Awards 2026, organised by Construction News. She is recognised in the Inspirational Leader – Supplier and Excellence in Recruitment and Retention categories, with finalists now preparing for virtual presentations to the judging panel.
The shortlisting reflects a wider cultural transformation within the UK RRR team, where Collette has focused on strengthening safety culture, communication and employee engagement since taking on the role in January 2025.
Having spent close to two decades in the façade access industry, Collette stepped into leadership of the UK SRRR division with responsibility for operations, technical delivery, health and safety, sales and customer service. She quickly identified a challenge rooted in trust. Employees were reluctant to raise safety concerns because they did not feel their feedback would lead to change.
“I wanted people to know that when they told us something, we’d actually look into it, do something about it, and come back and tell them what happened,” said Want. “That’s what gives people the confidence to keep speaking up.” With support from her manager Martin Byrne and the wider leadership team, she began reshaping how concerns were handled, placing emphasis on transparency, accountability, and visible follow-through.
One of the first priorities was introducing clarity into how the team worked. Responsibility matrices were created collaboratively so that ownership, expectations, and commitments were clearly understood across office and field teams. This was supported by regular one-to-ones, structured workshops, and consistent management routines designed to remove ambiguity and build stability.
The Service Sync Up initiative became a key forum for alignment, bringing office and field teams together to share updates, challenges and performance insights. “Consistency builds communication and trust,” she said. “Over time, the teams became more aligned, with less blame and more collaboration.”
A central shift has been moving safety ownership closer to the front line. FAS introduced a digital health and safety reporting app, enabling field teams to log observations, hazards and near-misses in real time. These inputs are then reviewed through toolbox talks, weekly meetings and Quarterly Service Summits, ensuring issues are acted on, and lessons are shared. Collette is clear that the system only works because of what happens after reporting, not just the reporting itself. “That’s the bit I find most rewarding,” said Want. “When something raised on the front line ends up shaping how we work.”
The cultural shift has delivered measurable results across the department. However, Want says the most important change is behavioural: people now speak up earlier and more openly. “Concerns get raised and escalated instead of being held back. People feel heard,” she said.
A key part of the change has been how people are developed once they join the business. FAS has strengthened onboarding to introduce employees to the wider organisation, not just their immediate role, helping build cross-functional understanding from day one. “For me, that’s what matters most: people feeling they’ve got a fair chance, proper support, and a team around them that wants them to succeed,” said Collette.
Want is also passionate about encouraging more women into façade access, construction and engineering. While she believes progress has been made over the past 15 years, she acknowledges that outdated assumptions still exist about technical ability and site involvement. “You’re often up against an assumption that you won’t understand the technical side or want to go on site,” she said. “If you’re willing to learn and stay persistent, you prove quickly that isn’t true.” She credits mentors including her father, Barry Murphy, and Martin Byrne for supporting her development and encouraging her to take on broader responsibility across her career.
Looking ahead, Collette believes the industry’s future depends on sustaining openness, strengthening safety engagement and continuing to invest in people. “The more openly we talk about safety, the safer we become,” she said. “We’re not finished, but it’s starting to feel like the team owns the culture, not just management.” Her long-term ambition is cultural as much as operational.
“More than anything, what I’d love to change for the next generation is this: that one day we don’t talk about women in construction and engineering as something unique or special, because it’s just the norm. I’d like to think that those of us who’ve been through the change will have helped build an industry where women don’t have to prove they belong here, they just do,” she said, referring to women in construction and engineering. For Collette, the measure of success is simple: a workplace where people feel supported, trusted and confident to contribute, and where those contributions actively shape how the business evolves.
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