It’s JUST Our Company Policy
Need an Altitude Adjustment?
In the creation of Place Collaborative, our team was gathered around many interests, a couple of them being knowledge sharing and…you guessed it…collaboration. The launch of our blog, Altitude Adjustment, is our first step towards sharing our work, ideas, interests, inspiration, findings, and our lives with you!
We like to think our firm is a little unique in the way we approach teamwork. Whether our team is in the office or not, we’re constantly learning from each other. We are each mentors to one another. Joining in on a Place Collab conversation means insight into anything: from Kelly’s favorite roof flashing detail to Hayley’s latest adventure with the dogs to Kenner’s top rated sci-fi movies. Altitude Adjustment was conceived from all the fun and interesting conversations we have together, in hopes that other people might also find them fun and interesting. Perhaps you might be inclined to share with us too.
Writing Our Policy
Collaboration is our specialty. Each of our team members has contributed to the establishment of this company. Recently, we went through the process of applying for our JUST label. To do so, we needed to write our company policy. Sure, it would be easy enough for one leader to take on that task, but that is not a reflection of our philosophy. So, we crafted our policy decisions together.
We divided the work into areas that aligned with our interests; Aimee took on diversity and equity, Nic led Inclusion and Equity, Megan managed Equity and Benefits, Kelly headed Employee Wellbeing, Celeste tackled Stewardship, Hayley took ownership of Purchasing and Supply Chain. Kenner, who had gone through this process before and is part of the ILFI Technical Advisory Group, offered up his knowledge when it was requested. Throughout the process, we had open discussions with our co-workers about what we each wanted to see in our policy. We communicated through inter-office polls and coffee conversations. We didn’t agree on everything, but we usually aligned on the basic concepts. Overall, the experience allowed us to get to know ourselves and our team better. Here’s what everyone had to say about the process.
Check out our Just label!
We are very proud of our ability to build our policy together. Our Just label allows us to be transparent about our company’s policies, especially when it comes to social equity and employee engagement. Check us out on the Just Database
“I don’t know why and really for how long I’ve been dreaming of creating a company policy that changes the way we work. I remember this very hot and humid day Celeste and I were running around White Rock Lake in Dallas and we started saying the things we’d want in our company, obviously taking turns so the other could catch our breath from running. Then it became the fun thing to do, asking Hayley while checking out a new brewery what would be her favorite policy change. Asking Nic and Kelly in the Arch Science meetings. Having lunch with Aimee and finding what inspires us to make the change within a company.”
“Unbeknownst of the team, we had already started writing the policy for Place Collaborative. Early morning coffee sessions, Kenner and I started writing up the basic company policy. Pulling together the ideas that the whole team has discussed it was easy to create the draft policy.”
“As for the JUST label, it seemed harder to do because I’ve never investigated it. Once we started working on the label, I realized we had already set our company to be transparent this process was surprisingly easier than I expected. I recommend every company to start the process, or even use the JUST Self-Assessment tool to have a better understanding of how your policy can improve for the benefit of your team.”
— Megan
“The main takeaway that I had during our Policy making was that this is such a rare experience to share with coworkers. I think most of us come from a typical professional background where age and experience are more listened to than collective opinion. We were able to sit at a table together, speak openly and opinions were listened to, regardless of how many years we had worked.
“My other thought during the process was relief that I didn’t need to worry anymore about being paid less than I deserved. Our transparency policy is such an easy way to bring ease to something that can cause so much tension. ”
— Celeste
“I worked on the majority of our Physical Health and Well-being portions of the company handbook. I had many thoughts back to my Thesis in Architecture School – Architectural design can change a user’s everyday decisions so that users live a healthier, more active lifestyle while writing these sections and while creating the annual health assessment. I still believe (and the WELL Building Standard proves) that architecture can improve users’ physical health and well-being; but I also realized that policies, procedures, and culture can aid in creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally.”
— Kelly
“I was astounded at how everyone in the firm was so willing and interested in tackling policy - it was a truly collaborative effort that laid the foundation for our new company. Each person leveraged their individual expertise, took advice from others, and followed through with their commitments. I have experienced nothing like it outside of project work.”
— Kenner
“While contributing to the work that created our company policies, I simply recalled the policies that I'd experienced at previous employers and made it my goal to improve on them through the lens of empowering individuals and influencing a positive team environment. My intent was to envision how a design firm's culture could be defined at the fundamental level to inspire day-to-day attitudes and activities.”
— Nic
“I really enjoyed being part of such a collaborative effort with the power to influence our work atmosphere. We each had the opportunity to be an equal voice in the conversation about how to create a company we want to work for. It’s so empowering to be part of the discussion and see your thoughts and concerns being implemented in the policy.”
— Aimee
“Writing policy together as a team was both an educational experience and one that allowed me to be a part of pouring the foundation for the type of company we want to be. It solidified for me the idea that every team member here has agency and a voice in what Place Collaborative is.”
— Hayley
