Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility

2012 applications are now open. Register and apply for the awards here.

If you have already registered and want to log back in to your application, click here.
To review a copy of the employer application, download this PDF. This PDF is only for review purposes. Official applications must be submitted online.

If you have already registered and want to log back in to your application, click here.

In 2011, hundreds of organizations applied for the Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility, resulting in 450 winning worksites! Since 2005, the Sloan Awards have been recognizing model employers of all types and sizes across the U.S. for their innovative and effective workplace practices. We hope you will join this dynamic and prestigious group of organizations! Learn more:

• About the Sloan Awards
• Application process
• Eligibility
• Deadlines

About the Sloan Awards 

The Sloan Awards are part of When Work Works, a research-based initiative to highlight how effective and flexible workplaces can yield positive business results and help employees succeed at work and at home. When Work Works is a joint partnership between Families and Work Institute and The Society for Human Resource Management. Click here to see 2011 recipients.

It is a site-based award. For employers with more than one location, it is the local worksite that applies for the award. Separate applications may be submitted if multiple worksites wish to be considered.

Worksites located in one of the participating When Work Works partner communities or states should select that community when registering to apply. An employer that does not have a worksite located in one of the participating communities may apply as an "other" applicant. Note that the final deadline for at-large applications is April 16, 2012. However, the application deadline in some partner communities is earlier. Please check the deadline for the community where your worksite is located.

All applicants will receive a Sloan Award Benchmarking Report on Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility comparing their employer and employee responses to other award applicants and winners, and to nationally representative samples. Winners will be profiled in the annual Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work.  

Application Process and Scoring Criteria 

Using a rigorous scoring methodology that emphasizes the real life experiences of employees and incorporates national benchmarks for employer practices, the Sloan Awards honor organizations that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to make work “work” better—for both the employer and the employee. The application process takes place in two rounds.

• In Round I, employers apply by completing an online questionnaire about the flexibility programs and practices at their worksite. For employers with more than one location, it is the local site that applies. Employers may submit multiple applications to apply for different worksites. Responses provided by the employer are then measured against a nationally representative sample of employers, based on Families and Work Instituteʼs ongoing National Study of Employers. Employers that rank among the top 20% of employers in the U.S., when compared with this national data, are selected as finalists and move on to Round II. Official applications must be submitted online. To review the employer application, download this PDF.

• In Round II, employers are invited to have their employees complete a questionnaire, which takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, that asks about their individual use of and experiences with flexibility and other aspects of an effective workplace, the supportiveness of their workplace culture and whether they perceive any negative consequences for using flexibility at their workplace. For organizations with fewer than 250 employees at the worksite, all employees are surveyed. For larger worksites, a random sample of 250 employees is surveyed. Of those surveyed, a 40% response rate is required.  

The final scoring heavily weights the experience of employees. While one third of the final score depends on the employerʼs responses, two thirds of the score is determined by the employeesʼ responses. There is no minimum or maximum number of award recipients. 

2012 applications are now open. Register and apply for the awards here.

If you have already registered and want to log back in to your application, click here.

Eligibility 

Employers of all sizes, in the public and private sectors, for-profit and not-for-profit are eligible for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility provided they meet the following criteria:

• A minimum of ten employees must currently work from or report to the eligible worksite. This does not include contract workers or consultants who are not reported to the IRS, but does include employees who travel frequently or work from home as long as they report back to the eligible worksite.

• The organization must have been in operation for at least one year.

For more information about the awards or about When Work Works, please email us at whenworkworks[at]familiesandwork[dot]org.

Application Deadlines  

Application deadlines vary by community. Please refer to this list for your local deadline. If there is no date listed for your area, please check back again later. This list will be updated on a regular basis.