Intermountain Financial Group was awarded the Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility

Chamber Recognizes Utah Employers for Workplace Flexibility
By Salt Lake Chamber

Fourteen local organizations received the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility at the Work-Life Harmony Conference. The awards, presented locally by the Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center, recognize organizations that strive to find new ways to make work, work.

Local recipients of the 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are:
o 1-800 CONTACTS, inc.
o Café Rio Mexican Grill
o Christopherson Business Travel
o CRSA
o Deloitte
o Employer Solutions Group
o Futura Industries
o Intermountain Financial Group, LLC
o Intermountain Healthcare
o McKinnon-Mulherin, Inc.
o Nelson Labs, Inc.
o Software Technology Group
o Utah Food Services
o United Way of Salt Lake (honorable mention)

“Businesses know how important it is to keep quality employees and that often means a break from the traditional workday,” said Lane Beattie, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber.

“These organizations have shown that implementing workplace flexibility increases effectiveness and yields positive business results, and we’re proud to recognize their willingness to work with their employees.”

Gov. Gary Herbert presented the awards after lauding the state’s efforts to allow flexibility. Utah adopted a four-day workweek when he was Lt. Governor. The governor shared statistics from a survey showing state employees like the Work 4 Utah program and that productivity has improved in many departments.

“I am not a fan of one-size-fits-all solutions. I believe we need flexibility in many things, including employment, whether it's at the private, local or state level,” said the governor. “In Utah state government, for example, we have offered our employees options that range from telecommuting for some employees to a four-day workweek for thousands of others. Utah is leading the nation in this effort. We’ve also made many state services available online to help our customers, the citizens, find flexibility in their interaction with state government.”
Implementing flexibility in the workplace provides benefit to both the organization and the employee.

“We’ve found that being flexible has increased the level of employee engagement and it increases productivity,” said Brad Flitton, human resources manger at Intermountain Healthcare. “It’s a way to show we care about them, because we do.”

Sherri Robbins has worked at Nelson Labs for over a decade—it’s where she met her husband. The two now have four children and she credits her employer’s flexibility plan for her ability to balance two important roles in her life.

“I get the best of both worlds,” said Robbins. “I get to achieve my career goals and also get to be in my role as a mother. I feel very lucky to have benefitted from the flexibility Nelson Labs has provided me.”

The Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility is presented locally by the Salt Lake Chamber at the Work-Life Harmony luncheon, scheduled for 11 a.m. October 20, 2010 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

The Alfred P. Sloan Award 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 and the Twiga Foundation. 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 2010 Sloan Award winners will also be recognized nationally and featured in next year’s edition of the Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work, published by Families and Work Institute.