Baird Recognized For Exemplary Workplace Practices

Baird awarded the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award at FUEL Milwaukee event

For the second consecutive year, Baird was named a winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The 2009 award was presented at an awards ceremony on Sept. 10, hosted by FUEL Milwaukee, a work force development affiliate of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

The Sloan Awards honor organizations of all sizes and all types in Milwaukee and across the country that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to increase workplace effectiveness and yield positive business results.

“We are honored to receive this recognition for offering our associates flexibility, which we believe helps them be their best both personally and professionally,” said Lori Lorenz, Baird’s Director of Human Capital. “Helping associates find a balance between home, work and community through flexible work arrangements is an essential part of our strategy to attract and retain the best people.”

The current recession – considered one of the worst since the Great Depression in the 1930s – is proving to be a “game changer” for organizations in all sectors of the economy. A study conducted by the Families and Work Institute in May 2009 found that most companies (81%) are maintaining the workplace flexibility they offer during the recession and another 13% are increasing it. The question remains: to what extent are employers able to continue be good places for employees to work while dealing with these very difficult business survival issues?

The winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility offer a unique picture of organizations that are finding this middle ground. “From new forms of flexible work arrangements that minimize lay-offs, to creative cost-cutting that retains core medical benefits, to providing financial information and support to employees, these employers are braving the economic storm through innovative policies that prevent undue shock to their workplaces and their employees,” said Ellen Galinsky, President, Families and Work Institute.

Baird offers flexible work arrangements, such as part-time/reduced hours, job sharing, compressed workweeks, flexible hours, telecommuting and remote office locations, which meet associates’ needs while also meeting Baird’s business needs. More than 26% of Baird’s non-commissioned work force has a formalized flexible work arrangement, according to an internal survey conducted in 2007. In addition, many other associates have informally arranged some form of flexible work schedule with their managers that is not reflected in that number. Associates also receive an additional paid day off each year to perform volunteer service through the “Baird Cares” program.

The Alfred P. Sloan Awards 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 (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. The project shares the results of research on creating effective and flexible workplaces that meet the needs of the 21st century.

Each of the 2009 Sloan Award winners will also be recognized nationally and will be featured in next year’s edition of the Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work, published by Families and Work Institute.

Now in its fifth year, the prestigious awards program expanded its application base to organizations nation-wide for the first time in 2009. With the introduction of an “at-large” category and 30 participating communities across the country, any organization in the U.S. was eligible for the award. 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.

For more information about When Work Works or the Alfred P. Sloan Awards, please contact Tyler Wigton at (212) 465-2044 or twigton@familiesandwork.org or Kelly Sakai at (212) 465-2044 x 211 and at ksakai@familiesandwork.org.

About Baird
Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Established in 1919, Baird has more than 2,400 associates serving the needs of individual, corporate, institutional and municipal clients. Baird oversees and manages client assets of $66 billion. Committed to being a great place to work, Baird ranked number 14 on the FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2009 -- its sixth consecutive year on the list. Baird’s principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. in the United States and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird also has an operating subsidiary in Asia supporting Baird’s private equity operations. For more information, please visit Baird’s Web site at www.rwbaird.com.

About Families and Work Institute
Families and Work Institute (FWI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that studies the changing workforce, family and community. As a preeminent think tank, FWI is known for being ahead of the curve, identifying emerging issues, and then conducting rigorous research that often challenges common wisdom and provides insight and knowledge. As an action tank, FWI conducts numerous studies that put its research into action and then evaluates the results. Its purpose is to create research to live by. For more information, see 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 and is working to ensure that businesses have access—today and tomorrow—to an educated and skilled workforce. ICW’s primary responsibilities for the When Work Works project are to provide support to the communities and connect local initiatives to national Chamber efforts. 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. Twiga’s primary responsibilities for the When Work Works project are to provide support to the communities, acting as a liaison to key stakeholders in the When Work Works communities to build a broad local leadership constituency for creating better workplaces that meet the needs of employees, employers and communities. For more information, visit www.twigafoundation.org