This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the documentation upload and review process for projects under WELL at scale.
The process under WELL at scale is different compared to individual projects pursuing WELL Certification. It is recommended that this guide is shared with everyone working at a location under WELL at scale.
Overview - what is WELL at scale?
WELL at scale is a pathway for clients to apply WELL strategies across an entire organisation, building portfolio or multiple locations. The program allows for documentation sharing between locations and can reduce the documentation requirements through an audit process. The table below provides a quick overview. For a comprehensive explanation, refer to the WELL Program Guidebook.
| WELL Certification for single locations | WELL at scale only | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals & scope | Must achieve all preconditions and minimum number of optimizations for WELL Certification | May submit any number of features for review in each review cycle - no requirements to pursue preconditions or minimum number of optimizations unless pursuing WELL Certification |
| Locations | One location |
5 or more locations May add or remove locations at any time except during an active review cycle |
| Addenda | Uses addenda version in effect at time of payment, may upgrade to later versions | New locations can use the existing subscription's addenda version instead of the most recent |
| Documentation and reviews | 1 overall review cycle (preliminary + final) |
2 review cycles per year with 2 rounds (preliminary + final) each Some documents can be shared between locations (e.g., policy documents) Documents may be uploaded to the WELL at scale account and assigned to individual locations Some documents may be audited and do not have to be uploaded for all locations |
| Performance verification |
Required Can be coordinated by IWBI or scheduled directly with a Performance Testing Provider (PTP) Must be submitted after documentation review (may request concurrent review) |
Optional (unless pursuing a performance-based feature, WELL Certification or the WELL Performance Rating Features verified by performance verification can be submitted individually (e.g., only submit Air features in one review cycle) Can be coordinated by IWBI or scheduled directly with a Performance Testing Provider (PTP) May be submitted concurrently with documentation review |
| Recertification and renewal | Renewal every 3 years |
5 year subscription term for Portfolio subscribers, 1 year with automatic renewal for Enterprise No annual audit required for WELL Rating features |
WELL at scale structure
WELL at scale projects consist of multiple accounts:
- WELL at scale level
- This WELL at scale account is typically accessed by the WELL at scale administrator.
- The WELL at scale scorecard allows documentation sharing between locations.
- The WELL at scale administrator can assign tasks to locations via the WELL at scale scorecard.
- Individual location level
- Each location under a WELL at scale account has its own location-specific account. (Please note that there are a few differences from this individual location account and non-WELL at scale WELL Certification project accounts, in particular for the documentation uploading process - see uploading documentation section below.)
- The individual location account is linked to the WELL at scale account. Documents uploaded under the location account will be visible within the WELL at scale account. Documents uploaded under the WELL at scale account and tagged to a location will be visible in that specific location account.
- The individual location accounts are accessible by the WELL at scale administrator as well as the admin/WELL AP and team members supporting this location.
You can read more about the member permission levels and roles on each account in this article.
How do I know if a WELL project is under WELL at scale?
You can see in the Overview tab if a project is subscribed within a WELL at scale subscription. Additionally, you can navigate to the Review tab in your WELL project. If the project is under WELL at scale, you will find a note indicating that the project is under WELL at scale. The note will also let you know who the WELL at scale administrator is.
WELL at scale documentation reviews
Each WELL at scale account has two review cycles per subscription year:
- Cycle # 1 - Round 1
- Cycle # 1 - Round 2 - milestones awarded
- Cycle # 2 - Round 1
- Cycle # 2 - Round 2 - milestones awarded
Only the WELL at scale administrator or a team manager under WELL at scale can submit for review through the WELL at scale account. When a WELL at scale review begins, all subscribed locations will be included in the submission, along with any documents they have uploaded in their individual account. All individual locations must coordinate with the WELL at scale administrator on submission dates.
WELL at scale review timelines are 20-25 business days for each review round. Certification or rating achievements are only awarded after round 2 of each review cycle. You may choose to accept your round 1 results as final.
In WELL at scale, we do not differentiate between documentation and performance verification review stages. Any new document uploaded at the time of document submission will be reviewed as part of the review. Since no differentiation exists between review phases, there is not an appeal process in place. Teams simply submit revised documents in the next review round.
For each WELL at scale review, projects can submit any documentation to support individual strategies, rating or certification targets. Any targets for review rounds must be entered into the Targets & Achievements section of the WELL at scale account’s Location tab by the WELL at scale administrator or team manager.
Uploading documentation
The documentation upload process under WELL at scale is different from the individual certification process. Anyone uploading documentation under WELL at scale (both the WELL at scale scorecard and the individual location scorecard) should review the support center articles linked below. This is important to ensure a smooth review process and avoid common review errors.
Any document uploaded as General or Legal for locations will not form part of the review. Please ensure to tag all relevant documentation to the applicable feature(s).
- Your guide to WELL at scale documentation review This article explains the difference between sharable documents, audit documents and individual-scale documents.
- Upload documents to your account This is a comprehensive guide to uploading documentation under the Scorecard and the Documents tab. Please ensure you read the WELL at scale section of this article. Important note: all documents for a feature part must be uploaded in the same account (i.e., all in the WELL at scale account or all in the location account). Alternatively, you can assign tasks from the WELL at scale account to request individual documents for a feature part from locations. You can then use the Assigned Tasks tab in the location account to upload documents.
- View and fulfill tasks This article explains what tasks are and how to view them.
- Uploading performance testing results under WELL at scale Please ensure that your Performance Testing Agent uploads their performance testing documents according to this guide.
- Assign previously uploaded documents to additional locations This article explains how to assign previously uploaded and/or reviewed documents to additional locations. These documents do not need to be reviewed again. This can only be done at the WELL at scale account level.
Further helpful articles to avoid typical WELL at scale review errors:
- Tips for avoiding WELL at scale document upload and location assignment issues. This is a must-read for anyone uploading documents.
- Frequently asked questions about WELL at scale documentation
Responding to review comments
WELL at scale projects receive their review results in an Excel spreadsheet called WELL at scale Progress Report. If ratings are pursued, a rating specific progress report is also provided.
At the end of each review cycle, in addition to the Progress Report, a pdf document called WELL at scale review report is issued. This report outlines all the WELL at scale achievements.
These reports are issued in the WELL at scale account. For anyone working under a location, please contact the WELL at scale project admin to give you access to the progress report or WELL at scale review report. Individual location teams can filter relevant tabs to view only their specific location’s progress and feedback, within the Document Rulings and Scoring by Part tabs.
To learn how to read the review comments in the Progress Report, please read this Support Center article: How to read your WELL at scale progress report.
If the project has any pended documents to address or missing documents that are still required, you can simply upload this updated documentation under the location or WELL at scale account. These will be reviewed with the next WELL at scale review round (please coordinate submission dates with the WELL at scale administrator).
If a project is targeting WELL Certification or a rating, this will be awarded at the end of the review cycle (after review round 2). There is the possibility to accept the first review round as final to achieve milestones. Please talk to your WELL at scale project administrator.
Further support
If you have further questions on the WELL process under WELL at scale, please contact your WELL at scale administrator or alternatively, submit a question via the Support tab.