‘Industry, Innovation and Inclusion’
This week, we welcome Michelle McLaughlin, Business Development Executive and DEI Group member at GIA Surveyors to share what her organisation is doing to put its people at the heart of its diversity and inclusion policy. From collaborative placemaking to cultivating awareness and education about global events and festivals, GIA Surveyors has really embedded diversity and inclusion within its overall organisational strategy.
It goes without saying that as a multi-disciplinary practice of Chartered Surveyors, we’re extremely passionate about placemaking. But do you know what we’re even more passionate about? People! The true value of our company is our people and we’re proud to have an extremely diverse workforce from all corners of the globe.
“Our people” – who operate across our regional offices in London, Manchester, Belfast, Bristol and Dublin - are a 150 strong bunch comprising sixteen different nationalities, (and counting!), each with unique backgrounds, unique strengths, unique vulnerabilities and ultimately unique stories. Our common denominator? We all care about people and we care about the built environment.
Unlike previous ideals of ‘New Year, New Start’, collectively - locally, regionally, nationally, globally - we enter this year, very much entwined and continuing from the last. There’s sadness in the continuation of loss of lives, livelihoods and human connections, but amidst this, there has been small flickers of hope and progress.
At GIA Surveyors, our vision is to be the natural choice in shaping the built environment through informed surveying services. For 27 years, we have been delivering accurate strategic guidance and solutions to inform the positive development of our communities. Whilst our role in placemaking is often behind the scenes - working with architects, developers, planners, neighbours - our technological innovations enable our teams to provide a more contextual approach to planning and development. We don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to our work or ourselves: in the same way that every project on which we consult has a unique brief, requiring a bespoke solution, every member of our team has their own unique values, which are important to them, and to us.
Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group was formed in Spring 2020, to lead GIA Surveyor’s committed mission: for every member of the team to have access to the same opportunities, and to feel supported, safe and heard.
Any consideration of our 2021 vision would neither be complete, nor logical without reflecting on the significant year that’s come before it. Unlike previous ideals of ‘New Year, New Start’, collectively - locally, regionally, nationally, globally - we enter this year, very much entwined and continuing from the last. There’s sadness in the continuation of loss of lives, livelihoods and human connections, but amidst this, there has been small flickers of hope and progress: the resilience of communities; the ability of technology to bring people together virtually and the continuation of demand for racial and social justice and equality.
Urbanisation provides vast potential for social inclusion and whilst we talk a great deal about futureproofing our towns, cities and spaces, this must also include our communities.
Inequality has long existed in our built environment, not only in how our communities have been shaped, but who shaped them. There have been many calls to increase diversity across the property and planning sector. An Urban Designer first, I’ve always been passionate about collaborative placemaking that has local people at the heart of every project. It’s people who truly make places what they are and nowhere is that better demonstrated than in London. Every street, every nook, has its own character; there’s anticipation, and diversity, around every corner.
To me, London is every culture in one city. But here and beyond, gentrification has become a topic of contentious debate: making places aesthetically more pleasing, new resources and amenities, at the consequence of shifting a neighbourhood’s unique characteristics, diluting heritage and community culture. This can be a tough balance to achieve within the development industry, as there is no clear-cut answer. Urbanisation provides vast potential for social inclusion and whilst we talk a great deal about futureproofing our towns, cities and spaces, this must also include our communities.
Our DEI Group believe that education can cultivate awareness and understanding, which in turn can facilitate change. This has been at the core of our initiatives to date, from supporting and celebrating Pride, to Diwali and Hanukah, to our deep interest in the most prolific movement of the past year, Black Lives Matter. George Floyd’s murder ignited a movement – voices were no longer willing to be silenced.
October 2020’s Black History Month was an important opportunity to educate ourselves on notable black people who have helped shape our environment – the built, the social and the cultural - through insightful research and short stories curated by our team, from Sir David Adjaye, to Walter Tull, Olive Morris and more. The insights gained were tremendous, yet as we know, a small step within the grandeur of our social responsibility; for as recent events in the US have shown, the importance of Black Lives Matter is greater than ever.
Whilst we believe we are doing things in the right way, we can all benefit from reviewing from the inside out with a new lens - whether that’s addressing ethnicity gaps and opportunities that may exist within our companies to eliminating unconscious bias.
Coincidentally, the final day of Black History Month fell on World Cities Day - the day’s 2020 theme: ‘Valuing our communities and cities’, couldn’t have been more poignant. Many of us have gained a new-found appreciation for aspects of urban life that were once taken for granted. There’s been a welcome shift in thinking which has generated a new found appreciation for the role our communities and their diverse cultures play, not only in shaping our very towns and cities, but in maintaining the community spirit that has been pivotal in keeping people safe and maintaining economic activities and development throughout these challenging times. It’s important that we protect the unique assets of our people and communities in the ways that we can.
GIA’s endeavours are not just for the short-term but a genuine long-term investment in our people. We aspire to have a workforce that feel free to be themselves and to burst with creative spirit that reflects the diversity, not only of the fantastic cities we currently operate in, but the cities that are unique to the individuals of our team and part and parcel of their heritage. Whilst we believe we are doing things in the right way, we can all benefit from reviewing from the inside out with a new lens - whether that’s addressing ethnicity gaps and opportunities that may exist within our companies to eliminating unconscious bias. We are committed to regularly reviewing how we operate; we will continue to speak to our people, and truly listen to what they have to say. We will continue to be educated and learn from lived experiences. There is power in everyday action, and in the timeless words of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr ~ “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Whilst the New Year doesn’t signal a dissipation of challenges, we enter 2021 proud of the resilience of our industry, our communities and our team. I’m proud to be part of a team that has Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, but most importantly people, at the fore of what we do: without our people we wouldn’t have a story to tell or a service to provide.
Difficult times often bring about change, and I’m hopeful that development that has people's health, happiness, and well-being at the core can be the only way forward, because development can only be sustainable if it delivers for all.
We’re incredibly thankful that amidst the challenging times, we can continue to operate ‘business as usual’ and continue to have a role in shaping future spaces. Our technological advancements have enabled our clients to progress through the development process remotely and attain planning consent at virtual committees - keeping the system moving.
The pandemic has shifted people’s thinking in what is important to them – from the homes they live in, to their values and how they see themselves in their own communities. Difficult times often bring about change, and I’m hopeful that development that has people's health, happiness, and well-being at the core can be the only way forward, because development can only be sustainable if it delivers for all.