A quick look at the winners

Arkansas Business, May 18, 2009

BRONZE: FAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT #1

Fayetteville Public School District realizes that retaining good employees, both teachers and support staff, is key to helping students achieve goals, and as a result, the district has taken steps to ensure that its policies reflect its desire to keep the best of the best.

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One impressive step that the district has taken is the addition of the Fayetteville Public Schools Fitness Center for faculty and staff and their families' use. The center features free personal training, a full gym, free fitness classes including Pilates and body sculpting, nutritional counseling, cholesterol and blood pressure checks and discounted massages.

"Not only has it helped a significant number of employees improve their physical fitness, it has provided opportunities for nutritional counseling and informal networking," said Dr. Lisa Morstad, the district's chief financial officer. "Families of employees are also invited to be members, so it also provides healthy activities for families to do together. It has been highly valued by our employees and accounts for one of the highest levels of participation in our benefits package."

But the district also focuses on how it can help its employees juggle both work and home. It provides a dry cleaning and laundry pick-up and drop-off service at each building for its employees. Another employee benefit is free financial training on topics like debt reduction and retirement investing. Counseling for first-time homebuyers is also available.

BRONZE: 3M

In large corporations, it's often easy to lose touch with the people who help it function. 3M strives to keep the lines of communication open with its employees across the country and supply all with much-needed solutions for balancing home and work.

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Employees are 3M's greatest asset, and the company tries to do what it can to make sure employees are able to balance their work life with their home life.

This national corporation offers things such as a Farmers' Market June-September, physical therapy on site and an escort services to and from your car if it's dark at its St. Paul headquarters. The company also has an urgent care clinic, back-up childcare, dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up service and a gift shop. Its nationwide programs include a maternity program, flu shots for the year, 24-hour nurse lines and walking paths.

The company also has a Lunch & Learn program that allows employees to eat lunch while watching videos or a web streams about things that might aid them in their home life, such as relationship building, stress management, health and wellness or parenting.

3M shows its employees that their children are important too. Its adoption assistance program offers employees 90 percent of adoption expenses, up to $2,500. And 3M also allows employees access to a phone consultation with a child care specialist who helps parents find child care that will meet the family's needs.