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Ryan L. Corl
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| 09/21/2009 9:31 AM |
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Shanny L. Peer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
9-17-09
THE VIA GROUP RECOGNIZED FOR EXEMPLARY WORKPLACE PRACTICES
The VIA Group will be awarded the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility Awards Luncheon hosted by the City of Houston’s Flexible Workplace Initiative Program
Houston, TX (September 17, 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 be good places for employees to work while dealing with these very difficult business survival issues?
The winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility offer a unique picture of organizations that are finding this middle ground. “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.
The VIA Group is being honored by local award sponsor the City of Houston’s Flexible Workplace Initiative Program at an Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility Awards Luncheon on September 17, 2009 at the Wortham Theater Center. The VIA Group’s innovative workplace practices include utilizing technology to provide employees with a flexible workplace environment which enables them to attain a higher level of achievement and drives higher levels of employee satisfaction. With teleworking, remote capabilities and flexible work schedules employees can work from virtually any place in the world while continuing to serve customer’s world wide.
The Sloan Awards honor organizations of all sizes and all types in Houston and across the country that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to increase workplace effectiveness and yield positive business results.
“We are thrilled to receive this recognition for our workplace practices,” said Kevin Carswell, CEO, The VIA Group. “At VIA, people come first. The bottom line is that when our employees are satisfied, our customers will also benefit. We will continue to implement innovative best practices and use technology to provide workplace flexibility and deliver measurable improvements to the business.”
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 nation-wide 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 U.S. 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.
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ABOUT CITY OF HOUSTON’S FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE INITIATIVE PROGRAM
Mayor White's Flexible Workplace Initiative Program was created to promote flexible, productive workplaces. This initiative is focused on improving Houston's mobility and enabling Houston to lead the way in workplace flexibility. For more information, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/flexworks/
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
ABOUT THE VIA GROUP
The VIA Group is a services led solutions provider of unified communications. Leveraging strategic relationships with industry leaders, such as Avaya and Microsoft, the VIA Group works with customers to create a comprehensive plan that builds upon and integrates existing voice and data infrastructure investments. This methodology provides customers with cost effective solutions that integrate multi-vendor systems and disparate data. Customers of all sizes can collaborate with speed and accuracy, increase productivity, drive competitive advantage, improve business processes, operate more efficiently; and, realize a quick return on their investment. For more information call 281.716.1200 or visit www.theviagroup.com.
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