For the second year, the Greater Dallas Chamber will be hosting the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. Employers in the greater Dallas area are invited to apply for the Sloan Awards, a prestigious award honoring small, medium and large organizations in the public and private sector that successfully use workplace flexibility to meet both business and employee goals. Applications are being accepted online at www.whenworkworks.org from December 8, 2005 through February 2, 2006.

Why Flexibility?

Globalization, technology, and an aging workforce—these are just a few of the trends transforming today’s workplace and workforce. In the face of fierce competition, increasingly complicated jobs, and changing workforce demographics, it is more challenging than ever for employers to recruit top talent, engage and retain workers, and maximize productivity. Employees too feel the crunch, with more and more feeling stretched thin between their responsibilities at home and at work.

Flexibility is a dual-agenda strategy that can benefit both employers and employees. It can aid employers with recruitment and retention while also helping employees manage workload and meet personal responsibilities. Families and Work Institute describes flexibility as a way to define how and when work gets done and how careers are organized. Research from FWI shows that employees who work in flexible workplaces are more likely to:

• be engaged in their jobs and committed to helping their organizations succeed;
• plan on staying with their employer;
• be satisfied with their jobs; and
• exhibit better mental health.

“We want to share the successes of how businesses of all types are making work ‘work’ in our changed economy,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of Families and Work Institute. “This is the beginning of a defining national dialogue about new ways to work, that work for both employers and employees.”

Workplace flexibility can include:

• having traditional flextime (setting daily hours within a range periodically);
• having daily flextime;
• taking time off during the work day to address family matters;
• taking time off to care for a sick child;
• being able to work some regular hours at home;
• being able to adjust break time;
• having a work shift that is desirable;
• having control over one’s work schedule;
• being able to work part-time (if currently full-time) or full-time (if currently part-time) in one’s current position;
• being able to work a compressed work week; and
• being able to work part-year in current position.

About the Awards

The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are part of When Work Works, a nationwide initiative to highlight the importance of workforce effectiveness and workplace flexibility as strategies to enhance businesses’ competitive advantage in the global economy and yield positive business results. The Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the When Work Works team to present the Sloan Awards to employers in the metropolitan Dallas area—one of sixteen select communities nationwide. Other Award communities are: Boise, ID; Chandler, AZ; Chattanooga, TN; Chicago, IL; Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; Durham, NC; Long Beach, CA; Long Island, NY; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Tampa, FL; and Washington, DC.

Winners will be honored within the community as employers of choice and will also receive national recognition. Past recipients in greater Dallas are: Accenture; CareerLink Companies; Center for Housing Resources, Inc.; Community Council of Greater Dallas; Lee Hecht Harrison; McQueary Henry Bowles Troy LLP; Medical City Dallas Hospital; Texas Instruments; and TravisWolff & Company, L.L.P.

To apply for the Sloan Awards and for tips on how workplace flexibility can help you and your organization, please visit www.whenworkworks.org.

When Work Works is a project of Families and Work Institute sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in partnership with The Center for Workforce Preparation, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Twiga Foundation.

For more information on the Chamber’s Workforce Development initiatives, please contact Shannon McCullough at 214-746-6788 or smccullough@dallaschamber.org.