Walking the walk

Using the Just label to benchmark EDI initiatives

The year 2020 challenged all of us to reassess our values and how they show up in how we live our daily lives. Architecture was not immune, with firms of all shapes and sizes taking a critical look at the delta between who they are and who they say they are to find meaningful ways to close the gap. Everyone from emerging professionals to firm leaders are in a position to spark change and ensure that the actions behind our words have impact. But where do we start? And what’s the best way to set significant goals and measure progress over time?

One tool that architecture firms can turn to is the Just label. Developed by the International Living Future Institute—the

same organization behind the Living Building Challenge and Declare product labels—Just is a transparency label for socially just and equitable organizations.

The Just label requires reporting on 22 indicators organized into six themes: diversity and inclusion, equity, employee health, employee benefits, stewardship, and purchasing and supply chain. Each indicator outlines accountability metrics organizations must meet to earn recognition at four levels of performance. To attain level one, organizations must have a written policy statement addressing the issue in that indicator. To attain levels two through four, organizations must demonstrate compliance with specific metrics of increasing difficulty. Unlike LEED or WELL Building Standard certifications, there are no points with Just. Successful organizations ultimately receive a transparency label that illustrates the level they’ve obtained for each indicator.

Well known architecture firms like Ayers Saint Gross, BNIM, CallisonRTKL, Lake Flato, and ZGF have all pursued Just labels to chart a course toward transparency and continual improvement. We began our Just journey at Hickok Cole in 2019 with a grassroots effort spearheaded by our Staff Operations Committee. The Staff Ops team is tasked with strengthening the firm’s employee experience from recruiting and onboarding to mentoring, licensure, and professional development. Completing our application took two full years, with a lot of lessons learned along the way.

We’ve broken the process down into eight steps to help firms interested in earning their own label.

Step 1: Determine if Just is the right label for your firm Spend some time thinking about why a transparency label is appropriate for your firm. Hickok Cole chose to pursue Just because it provided a clear roadmap that touched on multiple aspects of firm operations—from demographics to employee benefits to how we identify partners and where we buy our supplies. Our mission is about doing work that matters— Above: Hickok Cole’s Just label

through our project work and in our community. Just provided a formalized framework to measure our progress and ensure we’re walking the walk of the core values and culture we’ve established.

Keep in mind that Just is not the only third party transparency program available. Other programs include B Corporation certification, the UN Global Compact, and AIA’s state and local Emerging Professional Friendly Firm programs. All

of these programs have different market visibility, application requirements, and associated costs, so it is important to choose the one that best fits your firm’s needs.

Step 2: Get buy-in from leadership and stakeholders Sometimes the decision to pursue a Just label is initiated by firm leadership, but a grassroots effort is just as effective. If you think Just would benefit your firm, don’t be afraid to pitch it to your leadership. Talk to your colleagues to get support. Good partners might come from your marketing department, as they are responsible for demonstrating your firm’s EDI commitments in proposals, or from your hiring and recruitment team. Gather data about the cost to your firm (it is based on the number of employees), because that is often the first question a decision maker will ask. Additionally, you’ll want

Above: Reception area at Hickok Cole’s office. Photo credit: Anne Kim

Above: Collaboration space at Hickok Cole. Photo credit: Garrett Rowland

Hickok Cole found that the highly collaborative process united members from across the firm in a way that few initiatives had before. Our process included contributions from human resources, accounting, marketing and business development, committee chairs, and firm leadership while regularly informing and engaging staff at all levels.

Keeping that many contributors engaged over time can be a challenge. Since this work is often extra-curricular, it can easily move to the back burner. Make a plan and schedule regular checkins to keep things moving, but expect that it will take longer than you think. A good strategy is to create a Just Task Force and assign an appropriate champion to lead each indicator.

Step 5: Look for creative ways to level up During the process, it will become obvious that reaching the next level of some indicators is difficult or prohibitive. For example, the gender and ethnic diversity of your firm is not something you can change overnight, as that requires intentional and sustained action over the long term. Additionally, some indicators will require financial investments that your firm might not be able to commit to at this time or ever.

to make sure leadership understands the policy statements and data you submit will be publicly accessible on the IFLI’s Just Database. If that is a dealbreaker, then a different transparency program may be a better fit.

Step 3: Assess where your firm stands today, then identify low hanging fruit A good initial step is to read through the Just Manual and determine where you think your firm falls on each indicator today. Then, identify any indicators that could easily be leveled up before you submit your application.

Hickok Cole quickly realized that expanding insurance coverage in our benefits package was a low cost action that could be implemented at the next open enrollment period. Another example: employees were not eligible to enroll in the 401k program until they reached six months of employment. We worked with our plan provider to change this policy so new employees are immediately eligible and automatically enrolled unless they opt out.

Step 4: Determine champions for each indicator Just indicators touch many facets of firm operations, so preparing an application requires input from many players.

Don’t be afraid to look for creative solutions. Hickok Cole had historically budgeted one billable hour per week for each employee to participate in a Friday happy hour. The Just process, and a new hybrid work policy, challenged us to reevaluate the tradition. The team identified Just indicators where hours could be reallocated to diversify our benefits package and enrich our culture. The 52 billable hours are now divided three ways: 24 hours for volunteering in our community, 16 hours for volunteering internally on committee work, and 12 hours reserved for less frequent, but more meaningful social events. Maximum impact for our employees—and a Level 4 score for Volunteering—without impacting our bottom line at all.

Step 6: Gather, write, analyze, and submit your application Time to roll up your sleeves and do the work! If your firm is anything like Hickok Cole, you’ll need to gather a lot of data, write a lot of new policy statements, develop staff surveys on things like demographics and engagement, and determine which level your firm reaches for each indicator.

After you submit your application, you will receive comments from the International Living Future Institute. You may be updated or downgraded in some indicators depending on IFLI’s confirmation and interpretation of your data. Hint: establish a line of communication with ILFI early to ask questions and minimize changes on the back end. Once you respond to and finalize all comments, your firm will be issued its label and your data will be added to the Just Database.

Step 7: Share your label It’s time to celebrate! Make time to share your newly acquired Just label with your firm. Let everyone know what it means, answer questions, and launch any new policies that were developed during the application process. Work with your marketing department to write a press release to share on your firm’s website and social media, and start identifying how it can be used in marketing and recruitment collateral. Ask team members to help spread the word. The Hickok Cole Just announcement on LinkedIn received unprecedented levels of employee engagement and shares to their networks.

Step 8: Continue benchmarking progress and make a plan for what’s next The work doesn’t stop here. Getting your initial label is a huge accomplishment, but the real benefit of Just is using it as a tool to benchmark progress over time. Spend some time reflecting on indicators your firm can strengthen and make a plan to work toward those goals. Just labels need to be renewed every two years which gives you plenty of time to make progress before preparing your next application.

Choosing to participate in any transparency program is an opportunity to get aspirational about your firm’s future while creating real and tangible organizational change. Hickok Cole team members felt the impact immediately and we’re just getting started. The Just label serves as a north star and gut check for our firm committees and leadership to ensure we’re all working towards a shared vision and a more equitable future. Will you join us?

Above: Open office space at Hickok Cole. Photo credit: Garrett Rowland Above: Collaboration space at Hickok Cole. Photo credit: Garrett Rowland

Abigail R. Brown, AIA

Brown is an architect at Gensler in Washington, DC, where she works as a project architect on mixed-use projects. She previously led Hickok Cole’s effort to apply for a Just label.

Laura Ewan, CPSM

Ewan is the director of marketing + communications at Hickok Cole in Washington, DC. She is an active member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.