For the second year in a row, Dallas has been selected as one of the host cities for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence, which honors companies that have successfully used flexibility to meet both employer and employee goals. This is the first award of its kind to validate companies' performance, programs and policies with employee input, differentiating it from any other current award. A rigorous application and scoring process was developed to select honorees for the award. Over 150 employers have applied for the award and cover all ranges of employer size and industry.  Last year, 16 Dallas companies were selected as semi finalists of this prestigious award and 9 won the award. The winners included 6 companies who belong to the Chamber: Career Link Companies, Community Council of Greater Dallas, Lee Hecht Harrison, McQueary Henry Bowles Troy LLP, Medical City Dallas Hospital and Texas Instruments.

The assessment used to determine the Sloan Award winners is based on FWI's National Study of Employers (NSE).  Sloan Award recipients are employers who offer flexibility programs, policies, and practices that are equal to or above the national average from this study and also have employee verification that these are carried out effectively in the organization.

Companies interested in applying for the 2006 Sloan Award can visit the Center for Workforce Preparation's website at http://www.uschamber.com/cwp/strategies/flexibility/sloanaward.htm. Applications must be submitted by February 2, 2006 and the awards ceremony is scheduled for June 2006.

For more information regarding the Sloan Award and research on workplace flexibility, please see the attached PDF article. For information regarding the Chamber's Workforce Development initiatives, please contact Shannon McCullough at 214-746-6788.