AzulaySeiden Law Group Recognized by National Organizations for Workplace Flexibility and Effectiveness
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kristine Michel
AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP
312.832.9200 x140
kmichel@azulayseiden.com
Shanny L. Peer, Ph.D.
Families and Work Institute
212.465.2044 x217
speer@familiesandwork.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 21, 2008
AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP RECOGNIZED BY NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS
AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP awarded the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award in an event hosted by Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
[Chicago, IL] – AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP was named a winner of the 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility today, distinguishing the employer as a leading practitioner of workplace flexibility in Chicago and across the nation. AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP was recognized at Chicagoland Chamber’s Board of Director’s meeting on October 21, 2008.
The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are part of the When Work Works project (www.whenworkworks.org), 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, and share the results of research on creating effective and flexible workplaces that meet the needs of the 21st century.
For years, AZULAYSEIDEN has been implementing policies that respond to the changing workplace and that place a focus back on employees. As offices have opened in different time zones and parts of the world, the realities of these changes become more apparent, from an increasing reliance on technology to make every location a potential workplace (whether home, another city, or the local coffee shop), to adjusting work schedules because of family, school, transportation or other obligations based on a flexible concept of the standard work day. AZULAYSEIDEN has also implemented job sharing among employees and follows a philosophy that employees are the backbone of their organization. AZULAYSEIDEN understands that these practices are not revolutionary for business today, but believes that the legal profession is usually slower to adopt more modern approaches.
The Sloan Awards recognize organizations that are dedicated to making work “work” for both the employer and the employees. Representing employers of all sizes and all types, winners of this prestigious award not only offer excellent workplace flexibility practices, but they also use flexibility as a strategic business tool to enhance organizational effectiveness while also benefiting employees.
“A flexible workplace has allowed us to hire and retain people that years ago we may have lost,” said Ira Azulay, CEO of AZULAYSEIDEN. “Adapting our policies provides benefits in client service, training, recruiting and overhead, always important areas, but that much more noticeable during the current economic times.”
“Employers must develop new recruitment and retention policies. Unprecedented conditions — a multi-generational workforce, a shrinking labor pool and an increasing demand for skilled workers — dictate that they do so,” said Greg Roth, Senior Manager of Workforce Education Programs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce.
Other local winners of the 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility announced at the awards ceremony include:
• BDO Seidman, LLP • Plante & Moran, PLLC
• Deloitte, LLP • Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman, LLP
• Ernst & Young • Shakespeare Square
• Frost, Ruttenberg & Rothblatt, P.C. • Teen Living Programs
• IBM – Central Region • True Partners Consulting, LLC
• KPMG LLP • Turner Construction Company – Chicago Business Unit
• Microsoft Corporation
• National Able Network • Type A Learning Agency
• Perspectives, Ltd. • Vox, Inc.
Applications for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards were open to all organizations in the greater Chicago area with more than 10 employees that had been in business for at least one year. 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.
“Sloan Award winners have put into practice their bold ideas about how to make work work in the 21st century, and they have shown how they can support the needs of their employees while also making their organizations more effective and successful,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of Families and Work Institute. Each of the 2008 Sloan Award winners will also be recognized nationally, including a full-page congratulatory ad in USA Today, and will be featured in the 2009 issue of the Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work, published by Families and Work Institute.
Chicago is one of 30 select communities nationwide chosen to host and participate in the When Work Works initiative. Other communities participating are: Arizona (statewide); Atlanta, GA; Aurora, CO; Birmingham, AL; Boise, ID; Brockton, MA; Charleston, SC; Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Durham, NC; Houston, TX; Lexington, KY; Long Beach, CA; Long Island, NY; Louisville, KY; Melbourne-Palm Bay, FL; Michigan (statewide); Milwaukee, WI; Morris County, NJ; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; Rochester, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; San Francisco, CA; Savannah, GA; Seattle, WA; Spokane, WA;; Washington, DC; and Winona, MN.
For more information about When Work Works or the Alfred P. Sloan Awards, please contact Shanny Peer at 212.465.2044 x217 or at speer@familiesandwork.org; For more information about AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP, please contact Kristine Michel at 312.832.9200 x140 or at kmichel@azulayseiden.com.
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ABOUT AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP
AZULAYSEIDEN LAW GROUP (www.azulayseiden.com) is Chicagoland’s largest immigration law firm and is among the largest immigration firms in the country. The firm provides U.S. immigration legal services for businesses and individuals (including visa petitions, green card services, consular assistance, naturalization proceedings, immigration representation in all U.S. Courts, and appellate work), immigration consulting to businesses, as well as immigration related legal services (e.g. family law, criminal law). Its main office is located at 205 N. Michigan Ave., 40th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 with other offices in the Chicagoland area, as well as AZ, FL, TX, WI, Serbia, and the Philippines.
ABOUT WHEN WORK WORKS
When Work Works is a nationwide initiative to highlight the importance of workforce effectiveness and workplace flexibility as strategies to enhance businesses’ competitive advantage in the global economy and yield positive business results. When Work Works is a project of Families and Work Institute in partnership with the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Twiga Foundation, with funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. For more information, visit www.whenworkworks.org.
ABOUT FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE
Families and Work Institute (FWI) is a nonprofit center for research that conducts extensive research on the changing workforce, changing family and changing community. Founded in 1989, FWI’s research typically takes on emerging issues before they crest. The Institute offers some of the most comprehensive research on the U.S. workforce available. For more information, visit 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. ICW promotes high educational standards and effective workforce training systems, so that they are aligned with each other and with today’s rigorous business demands. Through policy initiatives, business outreach, and a strong grassroots network, ICW is finding solutions that will preserve the American workforce as this country’s greatest business asset and its strongest future resource. 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. The Twiga Foundation acts as a liaison to key stakeholders in the When Work Works communities to address the issue of flexibility in the workplace. The Foundation helps build a broader leadership constituency for workplace flexibility within each community. For more information, visit www.twigafoundation.org.
