Q&A with Senior Quantity Surveyor Sharin Fox

Sharin Fox is a Senior Quantity Surveyor, based in our Wellington office.  Originally from South Africa, Sharin has been with the Hampton Jones team for a year and a half.

Our Marketing Manager, Margaret Browne recently spoke with Sharin and asked her a few questions:

How many years have you been quantity surveying?

11 Years

What do you do during a typical day?

• Make coffee!
• Read my emails and get my brain set for the day
• Undertake my work which currently involves projects where I am Engineer to the Contract, and also providing cost estimates for projects which are in the design stage
• Catch up with Clients

What do you like most about what you do?

Being in an industry where you can actually see the end result of your hard work – witnessing the birth of a project from a mere idea, then sketched on a piece of paper, designed and constructed into an actual building that will be used by people for many years to come. Being part of the team that accomplishes this is very rewarding!

What’s the hardest part of your job?

Managing the financial risks for my Clients as they place their most valuable asset in my hands and trust that I will manage their project as cost efficiently as possible.

What do you like most about working for Hampton Jones? 

The people.

The employees, managers and directors at Hampton Jones are always approachable, supportive, caring, and willing to teach and share knowledge.  Hampton Jones is a multi-disciplinary company which means that I get to work with different types of professionals and there is always a willingness to share knowledge and experience across all the disciplines, enabling me to not only have a quantity surveying focus on my projects, but rather a focus on the wider project as a whole and the integration of different services, which I believe makes me a more diversified quantity surveyor.

At Hampton Jones we are not merely seen as numbers but rather as professional individuals. We are given the space to be our own professional entity, working toward our own goals, but with the support of the directors and all the other disciplines.

What project would you consider your most significant career accomplishment to date?

I had the opportunity to be part of the QS team that was involved in the design and construction of a large shopping centre in my hometown, Secunda, South Africa. Because I grew up in the town, I understood the needs of the community and was grateful to be involved in a project that would provide the town with a modern shopping centre. The centre helped to place Secunda on the map again, creating more job opportunities and attracting more people from the surrounding areas to come to the town to do their shopping. It felt like I had come full circle, giving something back to the town that had shaped me into the person I am today. Due to the success of the shopping centre I was also later involved in the expansion thereof, which provided additional facilities.

Hampton Jones’ vision is to create better buildings.  Why are better buildings important?

Buildings are being used by all people around the world every day and it is therefore important to create buildings that are safe, secure, and comfortable for everyone that occupies them. Buildings have the ability to set our mood and to impact our emotions. They become places that remind us of happiness, family, security, acceptance, and love.  Building better buildings helps with these fundamentals of life – and hopefully this leads to building better lives and better people.

Which Hampton Jones value resonates most with you?

Do the right thing.

I have always had a strong focus on integrity and I always strive to do the right thing, whether or not it is perceived as the wrong thing by some, or whether or not anyone is noticing. It is important to me to work for an organisation that supports this.

Is it better to be perfect and late, or good and on time?

Good and on time.

Most of the time Clients do not expect their consultants to be perfect, because the truth is no one is, but they do appreciate it if you can show them respect by being good at what you do and delivering on time. This is what builds professional relationships and I believe that this is what Hampton Jones also strives toward.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?

Spending time outdoors with my family.

What’s your favourite social media platform?

Instagram.

What’s the best place to eat in Wellington?

Wilson’s Barbeque.

What’s your favourite building in New Zealand?

Any of the historical buildings. I am a bit obsessed with historical buildings and stand in awe at what previous generations accomplished when they built those buildings many years ago with the limited resources available at that time. My current favourite is the Old Bank Arcade building in Wellington.

What’s your favourite building outside New Zealand?

Any historic cathedral churches.