Workplace flexibility is a way to define how, when, and where work gets done and how careers are organized. It is not a one-size-fits-all policy or program, but a myriad of work options that reflect job responsibilities, life situations, as well as individual and organizational needs.

Examples include:

• Compressed work weeks

• Job sharing

• Part-year work

• Flex careers, including care giving leaves and sabbaticals

• Phased retirement

Application deadline is March 12, 2010. The application process takes place in two rounds:

Round I: Employer Questionnaire

Employers nominate themselves by completing an online application survey about their workplace flexibility programs, policies and culture. The survey takes approximately one hour to complete. To register and complete the application now go to http://whenworkworks.org/survey/reg.php.

Round II: Employee Survey

For qualifying employers from Round I, a sample of employees will be asked to complete a survey about their access to workplace flexibility programs and about the culture. The survey will take 20 minutes to complete. Eligible applicants will be considered based on their ability to demonstrate that workplace flexibility is being used successfully to meet both business and employee objectives.

Alfred P. Sloan Award recipients will be recognized at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce's Annual Meeting on June 3, 2010.  All applicants receive a customized benchmarking report comparing their effective and flexible workplace practices to a nationally representative sample of U.S. employers and to award winners. In 2009 there were 449 winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.

Past winners in the Charleston area include:

AAI Services Corporation

Barling Bay LLC

Booz Allen Hamilton

Call Experts

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce

Community Management Group

EMES LLC

KFR Services Inc.

Lowcountry Graduate Center

LS3P ASSOCIATES LTD – Charleston

Morris Financial Concepts Inc.

Noisette Company

Santee Cooper

Scientific Research Corporation

Stanley Inc.

Tegron LLC

To be eligible for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, employers must meet all of the following criteria:

• Any employer in the U.S. is eligible to apply in 2010. An employer that does not have a worksite located in one of the participating communities may apply as an 'at-large' applicant. If an organization has multiple locations, separate applications must be submitted for each location that wants to be considered for the award. It is the worksite that is considered for the award, not the organization as a whole.

• 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.

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 Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility provided all of the above criteria are met.

For more information about the awards or about When Work Works, please use the Sloan Awards Hotline number (800.966.2044) or email whenworkworks@familiesandwork.org.