Human Experience

Human Experience

Community Connections

JLL has always participated in RBC Race for the Kids, an annual event to support Sunnybrook Hospital’s Project in Canada on the mental health of children and youth.

This year, due to COVID, RBC Race for the Kids was organized as a global and virtual race. This meant that thousands of participants could come together virtually on the weekend of October 17-18, 2020, to get active and raise funds for an amazing cause. Moreover, participants had the flexibility to jog, run, wheel or scoot their way around their chosen distance – right in their neighbourhood or backyard too!

We saw this as an opportunity to engage our Account globally. Setting a small goal to raise CA$2,500, we ran a simple email and Yammer marketing campaign. The numbers started soaring within days and, by the race weekend, there were more than 100 sponsors, participants and supporters from across the globe. Together, they raised more than CA$21,000, placing us among the Top Ten Fundraisers.

In 2009, I ran in the inaugural RBC race for the Kids and it has been amazing to see how far this race has come over the years. This year, we had more people participate and donate than in any other year. 2020 has presented all of us with different challenges and “ it was great to see JLL come together for a great cause in support of our client RBC.

Over the past 5 years we have seen a small group engage in raising money and running the event. The pandemic changed our outlook. It allowed us to reach further because the run was not confined to just those in Toronto. We saw engagement in fundraising and running the event right across the globe and across other accounts. It was a great “ example of unity across JLL…coming together for a great cause and to support a valued client.

– Stuart Ross, Director (IFM), RBC Account

Team Connections

In support of the CREServes Giving Campaign, JLL donated CA$1,000.

EMEA Care Kits To support employee well-being in these COVID times, our EMEA office distributed “Care Kits” to the entire team. The kits included simple items to remind everyone to take care of themselves and those around – puzzles, fidget cubes, herbal tea bags, pencils, socks and more.

JLL has been focusing on developing initiatives in the areas of Recognition, Thought Leadership, Social Connections and Co-Training.

When COVID-19 set our employees apart, JLL launched several initiatives to help our teams not only to work together but also to play together as those connections are so important for engagement and mental health:

Team Pow-Wows

JLL’s FM, Projects, Occupancy Planning and Lease Admin teams regularly met with their RBC counterparts and other service partners virtually. With a spirit to “Bond & Build”, the teams organized games and engaged in happy hour activities. The spinning wheel, from our “Donut Days”. took a virtual shape and has proved to be a big hit again! Thanksgiving & Holiday Party JLL-U.S. team’s traditional annual Thanksgiving Potluck became a ‘virtual’ One Team event this year with about 22 participants from JLL, RBC, C&W and T&T. Members were simply expected to grab their lunches and hop on to the call. They played “Thanksgiving Battle” (a holiday version of Family Feud) and raised over $1,000 for local “food shelves”. They followed this up with a “One Team” Virtual Holiday Party which included a variety of activities and an engaging presentation by each service partner lead!

New Normal Challenge

In May 2020, in an effort to keep our employees engaged, we challenged them to showcase their new normal in a short 2-3 minute video. Every week, three volunteers presented their home office and their experience in a variety of shades: humour, horror, reflective and even motivational. The campaign had an amazing 30-week run during which more than 70 participants shared their New Normal with the entire Account.

Industry Recognition During FY 2019-20, RBC and JLL were recognized by BOMA and CoreNet - two leading real estate industry associations – for their remarkable contribution to sustainability.

BOMA presented the Corporate Real Estate Sustainability Trailblazers (CREST) Award to RBC and JLL for “Performance Leadership” in two RBC retail branches: 2900 Warden Avenue, Scarborough (Ontario) and 185 Griffin St. North, Smithville (Ontario). These two branches were able to reduce energy use by 36% and 25% respectively through careful application of proven conservation measures and fine-tuning of lighting and HVAC systems. Four other branches located in North York, Hamilton and Woodstock received honorable mentions.

RBC and JLL, along with their partner Energy Metrics, also received the CoreNet Global Remmy Award for the retail IoT/ smart devices program. These devices have been installed in 571 RBC retail sites for remote controlling of basic HVAC functions and more precise management of setpoints and setbacks. A major achievement of this strategy is significant energy conservation of 9000 MWh.