Klaudia Nowakowska of Hollyfort claimed Best HR Leadership at the Women in Construction Awards 2026, establishing a benchmark for HR leadership excellence. Her achievement in delivering impressive, measurable results within a remarkably short timeframe reflects exceptional capability transforming organisational culture and workforce performance through strategic HR practice.

Klaudia's HR leadership has addressed core workforce challenges confronting construction organisations. Absenteeism undermines project continuity and team stability; elevated turnover disrupts capability and creates recruitment costs; compliance exposure threatens regulatory standing and organisational risk. Her direct engagement with these interconnected challenges demonstrates understanding that HR excellence requires tackling operational issues affecting business performance alongside cultural and governance development.

Her work has transformed key HR processes, creating systems and practices enabling more effective workforce management and governance. Process improvement demonstrates her capability to identify inefficiencies, redesign workflows, and implement changes delivering measurable impact. Within construction, where operational demands and site pressures can complicate HR consistency, her ability to embed improved processes across the organisation reflects strong change management and stakeholder engagement capability.

Klaudia's focus on embedding core values into the business reflects understanding that sustainable HR transformation depends on cultural alignment, not merely procedural change. By connecting HR initiatives to organisational values, she created meaning and ownership across the workforce, enabling workers to understand how HR changes serve collective purpose. This values-centred approach created a more cohesive and resilient workforce capable of navigating ongoing change.

Judges highlighted Nowakowska's distinctive HR leadership qualities. "Klaudia Nowakowska's leadership in HR has delivered impressive, measurable results in a remarkably short timeframe," the panel said. "Her work has not only transformed key HR processes but also enhanced governance and workforce stability within a construction environment. By tackling absenteeism, turnover, and compliance issues head-on, Klaudia has built a strong HR foundation that drives positive cultural change. Her focus on embedding these core values into the business has created a more cohesive and resilient workforce, positioning Klaudia as a true leader in HR transformation."

This award recognition reflects the Women in Construction Awards' commitment to acknowledging HR leaders advancing organisational culture and workforce excellence. Klaudia's achievement illustrates how strategic HR leadership, when grounded in business understanding and values-centred practice, drives measurable organisational transformation.

For the full list of winners and category details, visit the official Women in Construction Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for exclusive insights and coverage from Ireland's construction sector.