PUBLIC POLICY ASSOCIATES, INC. RECOGNIZED FOR EXEMPLARY WORKPLACE PRACTICES

Public Policy Associates, Inc. awarded the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility.

Lansing, Michigan (September 30, 2009) – The current recession—considered one of the worst since the Great Depression in the 1930s—is proving to be a “game changer” for organizations in all sectors of the economy.  A study conducted by the Families and Work Institute in May 2009 found that most companies (81%) are maintaining the workplace flexibility they offer during the recession and another 13% are increasing it.  The question remains: to what extent are employers able to continue to be good places for employees to work while dealing with these very difficult business survival issues?

As a winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, Public Policy Associates, Inc. (PPA) offers a unique picture of an organization that is finding this middle ground.  

The Sloan Awards honor organizations of all sizes and all types in Michigan and across the country that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to increase workplace effectiveness and yield positive business results.  “From new forms of flexible work arrangements that minimize lay-offs, to creative cost-cutting that retains core medical benefits, to providing financial information and support to employees, these employers are braving the economic storm through innovative policies that prevent undue shock to their workplaces and their employees,” said Ellen Galinsky, President, Families and Work Institute.

“We are proud to be a flexible workplace not because of the recognition but because it is a smart business practice,” explains Jeffrey D. Padden, President of PPA, “It helps us recruit and retain brilliant people who have lots of alternatives.  We focus on producing high-quality work for our clients and understand that such work is not always produced between 9 and 5 in the confines of a cubicle.  By recognizing that our employees have diverse family and life situations and embracing those differences, we position our staff to make their best contributions in the ways that work for them.”

The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are part of the When Work Works project, an ongoing initiative of Families and Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (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.  The project shares the results of research on creating effective and flexible workplaces that meet the needs of the 21st century.

Each of the 2009 Sloan Award winners will also be recognized nationally and will be featured in next year’s edition of the Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work, published by Families and Work Institute.

Now in its fifth year, the prestigious awards program expanded its application base to organizations nationwide for the first time in 2009.  With the introduction of an “at-large” category and 30 participating communities across the country, any organization in the United States was eligible for the award.  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.

For more information about When Work Works or the Alfred P. Sloan Awards, please contact Tyler Wigton at (212) 465-2044 or twigton@familiesandwork.org or Kelly Sakai at (212) 465-2044 x 211 and at ksakai@familiesandwork.org.  

 
About Public Policy Associates, Inc.
Founded in 1991, Public Policy Associates, Incorporated (PPA) is a national public policy research, development, and evaluation firm located in Lansing, Michigan.  The firm serves clients in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors at the national, state, and local levels by conducting research, analysis, and evaluation that supports informed strategic decision making.  For more information, see www.publicpolicy.com.

About Families and Work Institute
Families and Work Institute (FWI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that studies the changing workforce, family, and community. As a preeminent think tank, FWI is known for being ahead of the curve, identifying emerging issues, and then conducting rigorous research that often challenges common wisdom and provides insight and knowledge.  As an action tank, FWI conducts numerous studies that put its research into action and then evaluates the results. Its purpose is to create research to live by. For more information, see www.familiesandwork.org.

About The Institute for a Competitive Workforce
The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) is a 501(c)(3) affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is working to ensure that businesses have access—today and tomorrow—to an educated and skilled workforce. ICW’s primary responsibilities for the When Work Works project are to provide support to the communities and connect local initiatives to national Chamber efforts.  For more information, visit www.uschamber.com/icw

About The Twiga Foundation
The Twiga Foundation is dedicated to inspiring, promoting, and maintaining a family consciousness at home, in the workplace, and in the community. Twiga’s primary responsibilities for the When Work Works project are to provide support to the communities, acting as a liaison to key stakeholders in the When Work Works communities to build a broad local leadership constituency for creating better workplaces that meet the needs of employees, employers, and communities.  For more information, visit www.twigafoundation.org