UA Wins Silver Award for Family-Friendly Employment

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Winners of the fifth annual Governor’s Family-Friendly Employer Awards were recognized at a luncheon Thursday, April 5, at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock.  Sixteen Arkansas employers received awards, including the University of Arkansas, which received the Silver Award in the large-size company category. Governor Mike Beebe presented the award.

“When companies implement family-friendly workplace initiatives, everyone wins,” Beebe said. “Companies, like those being honored, provide incredible strength to their employees and, in turn, help to promote a better future for the families of our state. They exemplify excellence in their mission to recognize and support the needs of their employees, and I am proud they have chosen Arkansas for their business endeavors.”

The awards are presented by the Governor’s Family-Friendly Employer Initiative, whose mission is to recognize Arkansas employers for establishing and providing resources that support employees in balancing the needs of both work and family. The University of Arkansas has received an award all five years, getting bronze the first two years the program was created and silver awards the last three years.

Companies that were nominated for the awards were asked to provide information regarding issues such as health benefits, work-time options and childcare assistance. If a company did not have formal work-life policies, informal ways of making the work environment as family-friendly as possible were taken into account.

Partners in the initiative are Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Business Publication Group, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, Child Care Resource and Referral Network, and the Society of Human Resource Managers. The following state offices and agencies are also partners in the initiative: Department of Economic Development, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services Arkansas Early Childhood Commission, DHHS Communications, DHHS Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, DHHS Division of County Operations, Department of Workforce Education and the Office of the Governor.