Meet Lucy Fountain –
Senior Project Coordinator
Lucy joined HH Angus in November 2022.
Lucy, how did you come to work at HH Angus?
I had graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2022 and started working at a software company, but that was around the time the tech bubble was bursting. Someone at HH Angus saw my résumé and thought I might be a good fit.
Can you give us the elevator pitch of what the Angus Connect division does?
We design Information, Communications and Automation Technology (ICAT) systems for hospitals, universities, and other types of clients. In a hospital, that might be a nurse call system, or it might be security systems, Wi-Fi, cabling, and all the infrastructure for those technologies.
Our team has two distinct sides – one is the design side, where we plan the technology in different types of buildings to produce the drawings and the specifications. And there's the consulting side, which focuses on strategic visioning and planning. I have the opportunity to be involved in both types of projects, working with our engineers and designers, as well as our clinicians.
What do you find challenging or rewarding about the work?
At first it was challenging getting to know the various systems and the terminology, as well as the technical knowledge around ICAT systems. I had been in Management Engineering, so the language was new to me, but people here are very supportive and helpful in terms of developing that knowledge. Plus, I was the first Senior Project Coordinator in Angus Connect, so I was busy building out what that role looked like. I’ve really enjoyed the learning curve and helping to define this position.
Can you give us a sense of what your role entails?
A big part of my role is traditional project management - tracking tasks, meetings, and meeting minutes, plus a lot of project coordinator tasks, such as planning and tracking resource hours and working on spreadsheets. The other part of the job, because the role is new in my group, is identifying which other responsibilities I can take on; for example, can I play a role in reviewing drawings given the appropriate training? I see part of my role as making things easier for more senior colleagues…understanding where I can assume tasks to free up bandwidth for them.
Your role is client-facing …what does that look like?
It definitely depends on the project. Sometimes it’s a more formal approach that reflects their organizational culture; other times, it’s much more informal, where they’re Teams messaging me in a side conversation in the middle of a meeting. In our division, we work closely with our clients, and it’s always a very custom approach to each project.
Right now, my largest project is the Toronto Western Hospital. I attend lots of meetings and most of the time I lead them. I'm usually the point person if the client has questions or, if they have comments or concerns, they will usually come to me first and then I determine what needs to be done. I might need to consult with another member of our team, for example, a subject matter expert.
There are other projects I’m working on where I have less involvement‒those are usually smaller in scope. For example, we have an operational readiness project, and I’ll typically spend probably four hours a week on that, as opposed to twenty or twenty-five hours on a larger project where I’m on client calls and interacting with the project team more.
Mobility between HH Angus’ offices is considered by many employees to be a perk. You recently relocated from Toronto to our Vancouver office. What prompted that move?
I was personally looking for something new and started thinking about moving somewhere for a couple years. I have friends in Vancouver and was excited about the potential there, given how much the HH Angus Vancouver office is growing.
Everyone was very supportive and the whole team in Vancouver has been very welcoming. It wasn’t a cumbersome process at all. On a personal level, I had moved around a fair bit as a co-op student, so I had gotten pretty good at not collecting too much ‘stuff’, which made the move simpler!
Also, I’d previously had the chance to come out to Vancouver a few times and worked from the office here, so it was great to have met my BC colleagues in person on those occasions.
What skills or traits would you say have helped you the most in your career so far?
I think in any role, especially project coordination, just being dependable and organized is always going to be most important. Also being diligent about following up on tasks, both mine and other team members. Having good communication skills is key, because such a big part of my job is communicating internally and with clients. It’s especially helpful when there are tense issues to discuss. I’d also mention collaboration, and the ability to get to know people so I can build working relationships.
What would you consider to be some of the highlights of working at HH Angus?
The people here are so wonderful. I've had the benefit of a lot of formal and informal mentorship. People have always been so welcoming and open to all my questions, and supportive in terms of helping me do my job well, I've learned so much. They are also just fun to be around.
I've been really lucky to work with a lot of the management and have had so many opportunities to learn. We’re all working together to solve problems, because every day is different, and every client is different. And that kind of collaboration includes our clients, because a lot of the time they are looking to work together and solve problems as a team.
Finally, I've been given a lot of flexibility and ownership in how I do my job, so I'm getting more experience and I’m able to take on more. And I've been awarded a lot of autonomy, which has been really great, along with support when I’ve needed it.
