Where do you work? Is your workplace welcoming? What makes it welcoming or if not what is missing?
Most people believe that a welcoming workplace is one where respect is paramount in making everyone feel safe, inclusive, and happy in the workplace. An Edmonton based cooperative strives to these standards.
ALIF Partners is a cooperative in Edmonton hosting different businesses in their space, such that team members can work on any project they want. No doubt they were 2018 Welcoming Workplace Rise Award recipient from the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers.
Launched in 2014, to do management consultancy work with a different strategy and a different work force, ALIF founding partners Najib Jutt and Omar Yaqub were excited to talk about their organization. The other partner Isaac Watson, was absent. Comfy chairs inviting for a sit down, airy setup with relaxing games, partitioned open work spaces ready to jump into work, fantastic arts by local artists brightens the wall, logos and inspiring messages, and two floors that now host some community events. It is a worker cooperative. It hosts businesses like Statecraft, Surface earth, and Braintrust, and work on projects data analytics, renewables, politics, branding, communications, to management.
During a tour of their office, Co-founder Najib shared with Diversity Magazine, “…we were nominated for this award by Alberta Community and Cooperative Association because we are a worker Coop. We were supported by ATB because we hosted ATB X. We set it up as a worker cooperative such that staff can have some flexibility on how staff want to work and be affiliated with the organization…”.Â
Omar explained, “the reason we chose ALIF as a name is because we wanted to begin with something powerful, something upright and strong…to connect with our roots, also connect with the change we want to have…”
