Jacenda Rupe, Senior HR Business Partner at Abel Construction Company, joined hosts Jamie Swaim and Molley Ricketts at the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference. She shared her insights as an HR department of one overseeing approximately 110 office employees. Bringing 11 years of HR experience and a background in psychology, Jacenda highlighted that her primary passion is employee relations. She embraces both the rewarding and difficult sides of employee interactions, striving to solve problems while helping employees have their best possible experience at work. Though Abel Construction is signatory to unions for its field workforce, Jacenda focuses on supporting office personnel and creating a trusting, approachable environment. For a hypothetical KYSHRM keynote walk-up anthem, Jacenda selected James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)”, her wedding reception entrance song, for its confidence-boosting energy. Paying it forward, she left a thoughtful question for the next podcast guest, asking what wisdom they would share as a mentor and what advice they wish had been passed to them earlier.
Thanks for speaking with us Jacenda!
To Learn More about Abel Construction Company:
Website: www.AbelConstruct.com
That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We’d love to hear from you.
Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We’re here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:
- Jamie Swaim, SPHR – ParcelKnows.com
- Molley Ricketts – IncipioWorks.com
- Jason Heflin – CrowdSouth.com
We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!