Toronto, ON -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/16/2010 -- TakingITGlobal (TIG) was one of 44 winners of the annual List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ global award sponsored by WorldBlu, a company specializing in organizational democracy. The award, which coincided with the fourth annual “Democracy in the Workplace Day” on April 13, is the fourth consecutive for the Toronto-based non-profit organization.

“Organizational democracy is about investing in the diverse and converging talents across teams in the process of problem-solving,” says Jennifer Corriero, Co-Founder and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal. “When faced with a crisis, the ability for honest dialogue, reflection and scenario planning is what allows teams to overcome adversity, adapt, and innovate.”

This year’s WorldBlu award highlights organizational democracy as a method of averting the challenges faced by an organization during an economic crisis.

“Nothing has proven the need for a new model of business as definitively as the current economic crisis,” says WorldBlu Founder and CEO, Traci Fenton. “These democratic companies model how giving power to their people, especially during challenging economic times, can increase innovation and engagement while boosting the bottom-line.”

TakingITGlobal cites its democratic process of job creation and selection as one of the key factors influencing its ability to flourish in spite of a global recession. In January 2010, TakingITGlobal recruited fifteen new, non-funded interns who accepted leadership roles and were able to work laterally, collaborating and sharing ideas with their program managers and other staff members.

“Democracy is about decentralization of power, and a shared information flow,” says Sulmaz Ghoraishi, Human Resources and Office Manager at TakingITGlobal. “The majority of TIG staff are younger than thirty; all staff are treated impartially, given responsibility, and held accountable for their role”.

TakingITGlobal also supports the democratic principles of feedback and evaluation and recognizes the need for two-way, symmetrical communication. Weekly staff meetings are facilitated using a “round-table” approach, where each staff member has equal opportunity and time to update others on their current projects, initiatives, and weekly accomplishments. Communication is open, results-based, free from critique, and delivered in a supportive environment.

“Kudos” – a method of evaluation inspired by WorldBlu’s democratic principles – offers on-going feedback amongst TakingITGlobal staff, while an anonymous reward system called “Above & Beyond” recognizes one staff member monthly who exceeds all expectations within a given role. Winners of Above & Beyond awards are provided with a budget used to purchase an item or host a lunch - a democratic move that benefits the entire office.

The WorldBlu Award is based on the results of a survey taken by employees of each organization. The employees evaluate their organization’s practice of ten democratic principles, such as transparency, dialogue and listening, integrity, accountability and choice on a leadership, individual, and systems and processes level. WorldBlu developed the survey tool based on a decade of research into what makes a world-class democratic organization.

For-profit and non-profit organizations from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the UK, India, the Netherlands, and Malaysia made the list from industries such as technology, healthcare, telecommunications, media, manufacturing, aerospace and retail, representing over $12 billion in combined annual sales.

Among the other winning organizations are Zappos.com, Meetup, DaVita, 3i Infotech, HCL Technologies, Great Harvest Bread Company, Equal Exchange, Continuum, Menlo Innovations, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, BetterWorld Telecom, Chroma Technology Corp., and I Love Rewards.

April 13 has also been designated as “Democracy in the Workplace Day” to celebrate democratic companies and the positive ripple effects their workplace practices are having on increasing freedom and peace in the world. Individuals are invited to use this day to examine how their workplaces can adopt and further develop their practice of democracy.

About TakingITGlobal
TakingITGlobal (TIG) is the world’s leading online community for young global citizens committed to changing their world. TIG inspires young people to become informed and involved by providing capacity-building opportunities and a unique youth-driven platform available in twelve languages. Since launching in 2000, 20 million people have accessed the website to learn, grow and realize their potential.

About WorldBlu
WorldBlu specializes in organizational democracy and freedom-centered leadership. Founded in 1997, WorldBlu works to inspire and support the design and development of democratic organizations worldwide. For more information, visit the WorldBlu website at http://www.worldblu.com.

For more information:

Sulmaz Ghoraishi
Human Resources and Office Manager | TakingITGlobal
Phone: +1416.977.9363 ext 317
Fax: +1 416.352.1898