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Driven by our core values, we seek to actively foster a culture and work environment that promotes diversity, inclusion, collaboration and belonging. As a reflection of our commitment, we’ve implemented a coordinated set of powerful internal programs to empower, coach and elevate our staff. Professional and personal growth are offered through these programs, including Leadership Engagement and Development (LEAD), Employee Recognition, Professional Mentoring and our Global Women’s Network.

In addition, our talent development program is focused on achieving greater representation of diversity at the leadership level, which is something we’re passionately advancing. We aim to make a difference by giving back to our communities, local charities and non-profit organizations with financial contributions or a helping hand to volunteer.

IBI has set 3-year diversity targets for our Directors and Senior Management, which includes the Board being comprised of at least 25% women and 14% visible minorities, and Senior Management comprised of at least 17% women and 18% visible minorities.

Prioritizing People

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

For a professional services firm like IBI, our human capital is the most valuable asset we have. We are committed to maintaining a culture that provides equal opportunity for our people to grow, develop, succeed and be their true selves.

two pie charts depicting employee distribution

* Representing Canadian human capital only

JEDI Task Force

In 2020, IBI formalized a statement of our values on matters of diversity, with a commitment to enhance our culture of inclusion through anti-racist actions and efforts, which resulted in the creation of our JEDI Task Force. JEDI is comprised of staff firm-wide representing various demographics, roles, races, ethnicities and minority groups, with the objective of identifying real initiatives, creating strategic and measurable plans, and then taking action.

2021 diversity enhancement targets:
  • Partnering with and sponsoring various organizations to attract more black students
  • Establishing nine post-secondary scholarships
  • Increasing the diversity among interns
  • Active advancement of diversity, inclusion and belonging through employee survey development

Global Women’s Network (“GWN”)

Our Global Women’s Network was designed to provide networking, support, professional development and inclusion for women throughout the organization. The GWN is focused on bringing women together to build sustainable, long-term mentorship with the primary goal of advancing and accelerating the careers of women at IBI and more broadly within our industry. Some of the key topics explored include unconscious bias, work-life balance, presentation skills and celebrating career success.

Proudly Honouring Indigenous People

IBI is actively engaged on projects that involve Indigenous communities, working with key stakeholders at every stage. This work includes rethinking traditional approaches, refining operational protocols, and bringing specific design inspirations and requirements to bear on our projects. Examples include our work with the University of Ottawa to deepen indigeneity on campus; designing schools for Alberta’s Tallcree First Nations, Frog Lake First Nations and Loon River First Nations; design of a Health and Social Services Centre on Dene First Nations Lands in the Northwest Territories; and serving as Design Architect for an RCMP ‘V’ Station in Nunavut.

“Your firm... has especially worked well with the members of the design committee in developing a school design that reflects the direction of the First Nations.”

— Loon River First Nations
Supporting Indigenous Peoples

Tulita Health and Social Services Centre, Dene First Nations, Tulita, NWT

Positively Impacting Our People

IBI recognizes that our people are critical to the company’s continued success and are an invaluable asset for our future. We offer several unique programs to support staff growth, including our Leadership, Engagement And Development (“LEAD”) program, our Mentorship program and our annual regional Leadership Summits.

2020 Global VoluntaryTurnover

LEAD Program

The LEAD program is run internationally and designed to support our ongoing succession planning by elevating employees who have the potential and desire to be leaders and managers of people within the firm. Employees are nominated into the LEAD program by their managers and provided opportunities to step outside of their comfort zone and gain diverse experiences, with the goal of developing leadership skills and competencies. While the LEAD program does not represent the only pathway to leadership roles within the firm, it does offer accelerated growth and development opportunities to develop key leadership skills.

Mentorship Program

Our Mentorship program provides mentorship and guidance to employees, allowing them to directly connect with other IBI staff who can share their knowledge and experience on how to build a professional career and reach their full potential within the company.

Leadership Summits

Annual leadership summits are hosted across IBI’s global regions and are designed to support the growth of the business through networking, mentorship, and cross-collaboration. In 2020, we leveraged our customizable, digital engagement platform to support interactive virtual programming, which led to reported increases in attendee satisfaction and engagement, with a lower carbon footprint. Whether virtual or in-person, IBI’s Leadership Summits provide opportunities to strategize around business continuity and growth, while incorporating strategic, team-building exercises and informative keynotes and panel discussions.

Promoting Health & Wellness

Employee Wellness and Engagement Platform

IBI staff receive robust health and wellness support programs through Sprout, a third-party service which aims to help organizations enhance employee wellbeing by identifying and rewarding healthy behaviours. During COVID in 2020, staff were provided with helpful information and tools regarding maintaining healthy eating, the importance of staying active, and promoting overall wellness. In addition, fun and engaging employee challenges were held designed to foster peer-to-peer networking and virtual opportunities to connect with coworkers socially. In 2021, we plan to roll out Sprout globally, along with a wellness program to support staff wellbeing and mental health as our team continues to work remotely.

Health and Safety Committee

IBI’s Health & Safety Committees continued to actively fulfill their duties as required during the pandemic, including meeting virtually to discuss COVID-related issues at the office level. In Alberta and Ontario, we were awarded a Certificate of Recognition (“COR™”), a nationally trademarked accreditation that provides employers with an effective tool to assess their health and safety management system and certify companies having health and safety programs that meet established standards.

All IBI staff are required to complete health and safety training, contributing to the achievement of our goal of zero lost time / injuries reported, reflecting no accidents or injuries across the company globally. We also have an enterprise-wide ergonomic office standard covering key risk factors related to posture, lighting, work habits for computer users, along with tools designed to prevent incident and injury.

Community Giving

In 2020, IBI donated funds on behalf of each employee in Canada to a charity of their choice from a short-list of selected charitable organizations in lieu of office holiday parties. $92,350 was donated, allocated as follows:

92,350

Total Donations

Food Banks of Canada

32%
32

True North Aid

20%
20

Across Boundaries

16%
16

Black Business Professional Association

14%
14

Compassion House Foundation

7%
7

Starlight Children's Foundation

6%
6

Sonshine Community Service

5%
5

In the UK, IBI purchased the Possibilities Grove from Trees for Life, a conservation charity dedicated to rewilding the Scottish Highlands. In lieu of holiday or other staff gifts, our staff in the UK and Ireland planted trees with additional funds raised through bake sales and office-level fundraising.

188

Trees Planted

by IBI in 2020

227 total trees planted to date

“IBI Group is dedicated to nurturing the best possible future, and we look forward to the growth of the Possibilities Grove. Stewardship of our wild spaces is inseparable from our vision for sustainable smart cities.”

– Scott Stewart, Chief Executive Officer

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