Social Responsibility at Slalom Build
By Lexxi Reddington, Software Engineering Intern, Denver Build Center
I’ve worked at a variety of places: a multinational defense contracting corporation, one of the world’s largest centers for scientific research, a technical publications company, and now Slalom Build in Denver. Though the structure, culture, and overall mission of each company have varied widely, I’ve noticed that the stated values of these companies have been surprisingly similar. The way in which Slalom Build shows its core values is in stark contrast to my previous experiences — especially when it comes to social responsibility.
With my previous internship experiences, I often saw or heard values like “Do What’s Right,” or “Work to Advance, Promote, and Serve,” and even “Integrity.” This usually meant flagging suspicious emails, reporting visitors that were not wearing proper badges, and safeguarding proprietary project information — doing what’s right for the company and its stakeholders. Or these values meant sponsoring events within the scientific community — advancing, promoting, and serving the sciences, not necessarily society. Occasionally, it meant standing behind your opinion on a project — integrity with regard to one’s work and personal contributions. At Slalom Build, it’s different. We have a similar value: “Do what is right, always,” but, the scope of the intent behind this value extends far beyond the office.
My internship at Slalom coincided with the surge of Black Lives Matter protests in Denver and across the country. In doing what is right, always, Slalom Build stood in support with this movement. For example, during our June Town Hall, we broke off into small groups to share stories and sentiments about how we have personally been impacted by these events. This was an actionable step that Slalom took to launch meaningful discussions about the movement, as well as provide a space for open communication, recognizing that the impact of Black Lives Matter is vastly different for different people. On Juneteenth, Slalom held a webinar to offer information and support around these difficult issues. This was not only enjoyable because we came together to celebrate a worthy day, but also because I learned a great deal from the speakers. They offered facts and history that were new to me, personal experiences with systemic racism that were eye-opening, and suggestions for how to further self-educate about these issues. Slalom was even matching employee donations to Black Lives Matter organizations!
It was incredibly encouraging to find that the company’s core values are meaningful and regularly demonstrated by its employees. It was also unexpected. I’ve never experienced this type of willingness to initiate nuanced conversations among coworkers, or collective support around emotionally charged issues. At other companies I’d worked for, I was used to shying away from topics that might lead to political conversation or current events that were difficult to break down. That apprehension hasn’t been necessary at Slalom Build. This is a place where socially responsible individuals can work with pride knowing their same values will be upheld by the company.
Like when the Slalom.com homepage hosted a message of strength and unity around the Black Lives Matter movement to publicly demonstrate support for the cause and call out injustice. Or when the Hack for Social Good 2020 added an additional category to support organizations tied to the Black Lives Matter movement. Acts like this contribute to the overall culture of the company by creating the sense that our work is contributing to a greater good.
I appreciate that Slalom Build reacts to societal shortcomings in real time, contemplates how they, as a company, can make a positive impact, and then acts, in equally real time, to materialize these positive impacts. Not every company, in my experience, responds in this way, or endeavors to address and contribute to societal change. Like I said before, at Slalom, social responsibility is different. With this social responsibility comes a company culture that I’ve really enjoyed. I feel free to express my concerns and opinions, and I feel like the company cares about more than just the 8-hour workday.
Lexxi Reddington was an intern in our 2020 Slalom Build Internship program, where she built real software for real Builders. We’ll be sharing more stories from Build interns as we continue our series of Slalom Build Internship experiences.
