Deloitte Seattle Receives Alfred P. Sloan Award for Using Workplace Flexibility to Reach Employer and Employee Goals

Business Wire, June 24, 2008

SEATTLE -- Deloitte Seattle was named a winner of the 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility today, distinguishing the employer as a leading practitioner of workplace flexibility in the Seattle region and across the nation. As a winner, Deloitte ranks in the top 20 percent of employers nationally in terms of flexible work programs, policies and culture.

Deloitte received the award at an awards event that took place today at the Washington Athletic Club. The event was hosted by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County and the When Work Works national partners including Families and Work Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce and the Twiga Foundation.

"We hire bright, dedicated professionals and we trust them to do what it takes to get their jobs done effectively," stated Pete Shimer, office managing partner, Deloitte Seattle. "Our employees deserve the flexibility to work in ways that allow them to also live their lives to the fullest. Deloitte's numerous work life balance programs help support employees in their quest to have fulfilling professional as well as personal lives."

Deloitte programs include Standard Flexible Work Arrangements like Flextime, Telecommuting, Reduced Workload and Job Sharing, Summer Flex Hours, Continuing Part-Time and more. Further programs include Health & Fitness Subsidies, Back-up Child Care, Adoption Reimbursement, Disaster Relief, Elder Care, New Parent Program and much more.

Recognizing that the traditional "corporate ladder" no longer exists, Deloitte is also experimenting with a corporate lattice model where its people can customize their careers over time. Borrowing from the trend toward mass product customization in which one-size-fits-all consumer goods have been replaced with a bevy of custom offerings, Mass Career Customization replaces a one-size-fits-all approach to career progression. The goal is to better align the workplace with the needs of the workforce.

About the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility

The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are awarded as part of the When Work Works project, an ongoing initiative of Families and Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Twiga Foundation. Through When Work Works, these partner organizations provide research, resources, and recognition to employers nationwide, and share the results of research on creating effective and flexible workplaces that meet the needs of the 21st century.

The Sloan Awards recognize organizations that are dedicated to making work "work" for both the employer and the employees. Representing employers of all sizes and all types, winners of this prestigious award not only offer excellent workplace flexibility practices, but they also use flexibility as a strategic business tool to enhance organizational effectiveness while also benefiting employees.

"Employers must develop new recruitment and retention policies. Unprecedented conditions -- a multi-generational workforce, a shrinking labor pool and an increasing demand for skilled workers -- dictate that they do so," said Greg Roth, Senior Manager of Workforce Education Programs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce.

Applications for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards were open to all organizations in the greater Seattle area with more than 10 employees that had been in business for at least one year. Applicants were evaluated in a rigorous two-step process, first comparing the employer's application to nationally representative data from Families and Work Institute's National Study of Employers, and then corroborating the employer responses through a survey of employees.

"Sloan Award winners have put into practice their bold ideas about how to make work work in the 21st century, and they have shown how they can support the needs of their employees while also making their organizations more effective and successful," said Ellen Galinsky, president of Families and Work Institute. Each of the 2008 Sloan Award winners will also be recognized nationally, including a full-page congratulatory ad in USA Today, and will be featured in the next issue of the Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work, published by Families and Work Institute.

Seattle is one of 30 select communities nationwide chosen to host and participate in the When Work Works initiative. Other communities participating are: Arizona (statewide); Atlanta, GA; Aurora, CO; Birmingham, AL; Boise, ID; Brockton, MA; Charleston, SC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Durham, NC; Houston, TX; Lexington, KY; Long Beach, CA; Long Island, NY; Louisville, KY; Melbourne-Palm Bay, FL; Michigan (statewide) Milwaukee, WI; Morris County, NJ; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; Rochester, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; San Francisco, CA; Savannah, GA; Washington, DC; and Winona, MN.