DIALOG is proud to have once again been designated among “Canada’s Best Managed Companies” for 2021, according to Deloitte Canada. The annual list includes privately owned Canadian companies with at least $25 million in annual revenue. DIALOG, with our founding roots dating back to 1960, appears on the list this year as a “Gold Standard” winner, a nod to our fourth consecutive recognition by the annual program.
Operating from five studios in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, and San Francisco, we currently employ an integrated team of nearly 600 architects, urban planners, engineers, interior designers, and landscape architects assembled to tackle the design challenges of today’s complex, built environment. This diversity is foundational to the our strength and has been a key to success for many years.
Led by a collection of more than 50 partners, we have maintained a clear commitment to foster innovation and practice at the leading edge of the industry, leading to resiliency and adaptability for the business.
“COVID certainly caused us to pause and adjust our approach to executing our company’s strategies. Moving from five studios to 600 ‘home studios’ required a fast and evolving plan, supported by our leadership team and a Core Response Team. These leaders focused on taking care of our people and our community, instilling confidence in our response to the pandemic, and on minimizing impact to our clients,” said DIALOG Managing Partner Jeff DiBattista. “But ultimately, the credit must go to our DIALOGers for leading the effort and helping us achieve 90% of our organizational capacity within 48 hours of being asked to work from home in March of 2020.”
By design, DIALOG has kept our organization flat through the years since its founding. Responsibility for advances in important areas like sustainability, innovation, and building portfolio ownership are led by grassroots teams that include individuals across all experience levels. These grassroots teams are nurtured by management and they help instill ownership for critical aspects of design success across the practice.
“This recognition as one of Canada’s Best Managed Company differentiates us on many fronts, including in the critical pursuit of top talent. We hope that it sends a signal to prospective DIALOGers and clients that we are considerate in how we run our practice and how we treat our people,” said Jim Anderson, Partner and DIALOG Chair. “We are thrilled to be celebrating this honour, especially after such a unique year in the life of our operation.”
As we begin our phased efforts to return our team to collaboration in our five studios, we plan to apply the best lessons learned and technologies gained from the pandemic experience to better the sustainability and culture of our organization.
ABOUT CANADA’S BEST MANAGED COMPANIES
Canada’s Best Managed Companies continues to be the mark of excellence for Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues over $25 million. Every year since the launch of the program in 1993, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates their management skills and practices. Program sponsors are Deloitte Private, CIBC, Canadian Business, Smith School of Business, and TMX Group.
For further information, visit: http://www.bestmanagedcompanies.ca.