Warsaw—Dentons Business Services EMEA (DBSE), the Firm's shared services center in Warsaw, won the Business Leader (Tiger) award in the “Vibrant Workplace” category at the ABSL Diamonds Awards 2020. This category rewards innovative and creatively implemented initiatives or solutions, which result in an extraordinary work environment.

The DBSE initiative recognized by the jury is the Living Library project organized as part of Dentons Pride Day 2019. The aim of the Living Library (a library analogy of lending people rather than books) is to initiate and facilitate the difficult conversations among the center’s employees, so they can get to know each other on a more profound level and re-evaluate personal biases by addressing the topics that are either taboo or stigmatized in society, including LGBT+ rights, coming out, religion, veganism, feminism, living abroad, fertility methods, kids – a personal choice, outdoor adventures, leaving Africa for Europe, atheism, and Asperger Syndrome.

In their commentary of the award granted to DBSE, the jury highlighted that the initiative “highlights the critical area - diversity and equality – to ensure not only the well-being of the organization but enhance the performance. It represents a unique non-formal innovative approach that is not meant for employees to embody various issues but an interactive approach involving diverse population discussing various issues close to their heart, leading to higher involvement and greater responsibility”. 

“We are really honored that our initiative was recognized and awarded by the ABSL Academy. The Living Library project has, as its foundation, our passion for diversity and inclusion – the two values that are at the very core of Dentons’ organizational culture. We are committed to create a vibrant and diverse working culture where we can all be truly ourselves, feel safe and respected, and embrace and value our differences. Only in this environment it was possible to celebrate the Living Library initiative, where people felt encouraged and comfortable to talk about difficult topics,” said Beata Skawińska, Director of DBSE.

Diamonds Awards, organized by ABSL - the leading business service association in Central and Eastern Europe, are the most prestigious sector awards recognizing the most innovative solutions, ground-breaking initiatives and showcasing the very best of business services sector across various categories. As part of the 2020 edition, 85 project cases were submitted by 64 companies within four categories split in 2 different pools: Tigers and Lions, reflecting the size and maturity level of the companies.

Dentons Business Services EMEA (DBSE) is a joint initiative between the UK, Ireland and Middle East (UKME) and Europe regions of the Firm. It leverages both regions' combined scale and resources more effectively by co-locating in one center certain tasks that are currently performed across numerous offices, enabling the Firm to deliver better service and increased value to clients.“

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