The Alcott Group Receives Alfred P. Sloan Award

The Alcott Group was named a winner of the prestigious 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The award recognizes employers in select communities nationwide that are successfully using flexibility to meet both business and employee goals. Alcott was honored with the award based on its flexible work policies and innovations and received its award at the 13th Annual NAMC Work/Life Conference  held on November 7th at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY. NAMC (www.NAMCWorkplace.com) is the leading organization that recognizes the challenges, realities and importance of caregiving and work, offering educational and support programs in local centers, libraries and the workplace, as well as doing advocacy in the fields of work/life integration, early care and education, and the economic impact of being a care giver.

According to Alcott's Director of Employee Relations and Counsel, Dawn Davidson Drantch, Esq., "Alcott recognizes that its employees spend more time at work in a given week than they do at home. When employees cannot accomplish life's tasks because of their jobs, they become resentful and unmotivated.  That is why Alcott views employer/employee flexibility as so important. Our company culture of flexibility fosters the understanding that the employer and employee each need to be flexible to understand and accommodate the needs of the other."

Alcott, which provides Human Resources services to over 300 client companies and their combined staffs of more than 4,000 employees, demonstrates its flexibility with temporary schedule changes for employees who need to accommodate a personal/family matter, as well as other benefits which reflect the high value Alcott places on its employees and its commitment to helping advance their personal goals. Among these benefits are college tuition assistance; an "After Hours" discount program covering shopping, movies, theater, clothing, vacations, car rentals, etc.; discounted gym memberships; free defensive driving courses; and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). There are also other little extras the company provides its employees such as on-site flu shots for employees and their families and even massage therapists for its internal employees during Alcott's busy open enrollment season for employee benefit plans.

Employers of all sizes, in the public and private sectors, for-profit and not-for-profit are eligible for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility provided they meet key criteria including: having a worksite located in the area of one of the 30 When Work Works Circle of Communities , a minimum of ten employees working in or reporting to the eligible worksite, and be in operation for at least one year.
The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are part of When Work Works, a national project on workplace effectiveness and workplace flexibility from Families and Work Institute in partnership with The Institute for a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Twiga Foundation.