For the first time, the Institute is entering into an agreement to license intellectual property for an innovative new tool: software that measures job quality and employee diversity. A longtime Institute principle holds that doing good by rewarding workers is an integral part of a company doing well financially. But without some kind of measure, how does a business know what’s good? That’s where the Good Companies/Good Jobs Initiative at the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program comes in. By using data on employee retention, wage growth, benefits, and diversity, the software creates a scorecard for businesses that shows how their worker outcomes compare with others in their industry. Businesses can use the scorecard to improve their practices. Investors, lenders, and contractors can use it as part of their decision-making process. Institute trustee Patrick Gross, the chairman of the Lovell Group, a business, technology, and investment firm, advised developers, and the tool was created in partnership with Working Metrics, a for-profit organization. “This partnership helps extend the impact of the Institute by influencing business decisions,” Gross says. “Working with a for-profit company is an exciting new approach, and the Good Companies/Good Jobs Initiative is creating a path that other programs may one day follow.” What’s more, says Larry Schlang, the CEO of Working Metrics, “the software uses data that companies already collect to provide valuable new metrics.” The Institute will continue to partner with Working Metrics to add new features to the tool. Meanwhile, TriVersity Construction, a company that provides good jobs in construction management, trade labor, and support services, has already earned the first Working Metrics five-star rating—the best score.