AJ100 Employer of the Year 2021 announced

The practice, which has 177 staff across offices in Sheffield, London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast, was praised by judges for continuing to demonstrate its deep commitment to social mobility and widening access to the profession, and for its positive, employee-centred approach to the pandemic.

‘HLM appears genuinely energised by the challenges of the pandemic and has really looked at how it can turn it to its advantage as an opportunity for new ways of working that promote wellbeing,’ said one of the judges.

During 2020, HLM moved its Academy individualised training programme online, so that it could be delivered to fit around all schedules; created digital toolkits for collaboration; and introduced its new digital ‘Voice Hubs’ to ensure that staff voices are heard. Rather than wait for normality to return, it has been designing a new ‘blended’ home-office workplace of the future, which it will pilot for six months.

Source:Phil Boorman

Techniquest, Cardiff

The practice has trained an additional mental health first-aider and developed an ‘I-Belong’ survey and framework for ‘allyship groups’ as part of wider inclusivity and wellbeing programmes. As an Apprenticeship Trailblazer member practice, HLM has a strong track record in widening routes into architecture and has mapped out a pathway into the profession from age seven through its engagement with local schools. It has signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge, and has a policy of anonymising applications to promote equality in the recruitment process.

The practice demonstrates diversity at a high level – 60 per cent of the Trust board are women and four out of its five studios are female-led. Sixteen per cent of its architects are from a BAME background.

HLM became an Employee Ownership Trust in December and has paid its first profit bonus payments.

This year’s award was closely fought, with a number of strong contenders. Judges were impressed by the shortlisted practices’ emphasis on mental wellbeing and diversity. They noted the emergence of a new focus on women’s health, including the challenges of the menopause, with Architype describing itself as an ‘endometriosis-friendly’ employer. 

Highly commended: JTP

Judges praised the practice’s long-established excellent employment benefits, which include generous holiday entitlement, 50 per cent off childcare fees, plus an interest-free housing support loan, which has now been used by 28 per cent of staff. The practice’s response to Covid-19 also impressed, in particular its board-led initiative to tackle meeting and email overload during working from home, as well as a contribution to staff fuel bills. During the pandemic, JTP was able to avoid making redundancies, pay cuts or reducing hours, and topped up furloughs to 100 per cent for those earning under £29,000.

AJ100 Employer of the Year 2021 is sponsored by