2014 CARE awards

Application Form

DEADLINE: May 2, 2014

About CARE

Northern Virginia Family Service presents the CARE (Companies As Responsive Employers) Awards each year to employers in Northern Virginia who demonstrate leadership in creating family-friendly environments for their employees. CARE recognizes the movement to develop employee-friendly workplaces is a growing one. The CARE initiative honors those companies who are leading the way in creating a better work-life environment, and assists and encourages companies that are just beginning to implement such policies. The CARE Awards Committee has recognized in recent years that more companies in Northern Virginia are making changes that positively affect working families. Beginning with the 2007 CARE Awards, all applicant companies that meet the CARE standard will be considered for an award. The new format does not group applicants into size categories and presents no limit to the potential number of winners.

What’s new in 2014

We are continuously looking for ways to streamline our application process. A couple years ago, we created and piloted a “Repeat Winner” application that was a consolidated version of the full application for companies that had won the Award the previous year. After further evaluating that change, we have decided to resume back to one Application, regardless of whether your company was a previous winner. We felt that the Repeat Application did not adequately reflect the key benefit and work-life programs that the Nominating Committee needed to fairly evaluate applicants.

Mentoring Program

We implemented a Mentoring Program several years ago to help companies through the application process. Any company applying for the first time and/or any company that requested so was assigned a Mentor. The individuals that serve as Mentors are volunteers that have either been through this application process themselves and/or participate on the CARE Advisory Committee and are very familiar with the process. The mentor helps explain the program, application steps, and bottom-line benefits of the CARE Award and guides their companies through the early stages of the application process as needed.

To Submit an Application

To be eligible for a CARE Award, businesses must be located (not necessarily headquartered) in Northern Virginia. Complete the attached benefits certification and application and return to Northern Virginia Family Service by Friday, May 2, 2014. Previous winners are encouraged to apply again. Semi-finalists also must participate in a confidential web-based survey of all their Northern Virginia-based employees (minimum requirement: 30% response rate). Finalists should be prepared to discuss all information in more detail during an on-site interview. (Each organization selected to participate will receive a copy of their survey results.) Northern Virginia Family Service will send a confirmation upon receipt of the application.

The CARE Awards Process

Applications screened May-June

Semi-finalists notified/participate in CARE survey June

Finalists site visits July-August

Award winners announced at CARE Awards Breakfast November 2014

Finalists will be selected based on cumulative scoring of written application, employee survey and site visit.

The CARE Awards BREAKFAST

The CARE Nominating Committee, which is comprised of business leaders, human resource professionals and former CARE winners, will work throughout the summer and early fall to determine the winners for 2014. The process culminates with the announcement and presentation of awards at the annual CARE Awards Breakfast in November 2014.

If you have any questions about the CARE Awards process, please call Irene LaBranche 571-748-2502 or e-mail .

Investing in Families · Strengthening Communities

2014 CARE Application Employer Profile

Name of Organization: ______

Address: ______

Location of Headquarters: ______

Contact Name & Title: ______

*Please note that this person will be our primary point of contact through the application process. This individual can be different from the individuals that sign the application.

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Company Name______

Phone:

Fax:

Web Address:

Email:

Twitter:

Facebook:

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Company Name______

Core Business/Industry:

Total number of employees in the company

·  Total workforce based out of Northern Virginia office (Metro DC)

·  Total Number of Exempt Employees in Northern Virginia

·  Total Number of Non-exempt Employees in Northern Virginia

·  Median Age of Northern Virginia Employees

2013 Retention Rate: ______

*Please indicate if this is company-wide or Northern Virginia only; provide both if available

Indicate if your company is a past CARE Award winner:

YES______Year(s) Won______NO______

If you selected NO, please indicate whether your company is a past CARE Award applicant:

YES______Year(s) Applied ______NO______

How did you hear about the CARE Award?

Internet _____ Co-worker _____ Business Associate ____ Publication______NVFS ______
Other

If you are a past winner, please highlight any changes and/or new policies since your last application:
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CARE AWARD BEST PRACTICES

All CARE Award applicants must certify the benefits they offer their employees. While we view these specific areas as core benefits, we recognize that some organizations may not have all of these benefits available to their employees. We ask that you please describe your actual benefit offered in detail. Include company name on each page.

BENEFIT / GUIDELINES / ACTUAL BENEFIT OFFERED
Medical / Include any unique features to your Medical benefit program
Include % you subsidize for employees and dependents
Dental / Include any unique features to your Dental benefit program
Include % you subsidize for employees and dependents
Vision / Include any unique features to your Vision benefit program
Include % you subsidize for employees and dependents
Life Insurance / If you offer basic life insurance, include what level you provide and whether it is paid by you or the employee
Short-term Disability / If you offer disability, include if any days are provided by the employer as part of this benefit (i.e. sick days).
Include the % of STD or salary continuation benefit
Include % of premium cost paid by company, if applicable
Long-term Disability / If you offer disability, include the % of LTD or salary continuation benefit
Include % of premium cost paid by company, if applicable
Paid Leave / Please list the specifics of your paid leave program. This should include, but is not limited to:
·  PTO or vacation/sick time
·  Holidays/floating holidays/personal days
·  Bereavement
·  Parental Leave
Flexible Spending Accounts / Please note any Health FSA and/or Dependent FSA program in place
Employee Assistance Program / Formal program in place
Voluntary Benefits / Please list any of your voluntary benefit programs. Examples of this could include: Legal or Financial Services; Supplemental Life Insurance; Critical Illness; Auto-Home Insurance Discounts
401(k) or Pension Plan / Describe any pension/retirement plans that are offered to your employees. Include the type of plan and company match, if applicable.

We realize that many companies may have had to adjust their benefit programs as a result of the Affordable Care Act or economic downturn. If this applies to you, please describe the changes you’ve had to make, driving factors, and approaches your company has implemented to ensure regular communication with your employees on this topic. If you had to remove specific benefit programs, please indicate if/where you have plans to add any benefits back into your program? ______

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CERTIFICATION BY SENIOR HR OFFICIAL

I certify that my organization provides all of the Required Benefits listed above to the employees in the Northern Virginia area, and makes a good faith effort to exceed these benefits by offering additional options, which are detailed on the application.

Signature of Senior H.R. Official Date
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Title
______
Print Name

PART I – WORK-LIFE PROGRAM INVENTORY

Recipients of the CARE Award are characterized by aggressively adopting programs that go beyond many of the best practices addressed earlier. These special programs fall under five broad categories. In each of these categories, please indicate whether your organization provides the programs listed, and whether they are formally defined by policy/guideline or administered informally case-by-case. If your organization offers programs or services that are not listed, please add those as “Other” programs. In addition to noting the formal/informal programs you have, please describe the key features of your organization’s programs in that category. Also, if you have seriously considered, piloted or implemented, but withdrawn any programs, please explain your reasons for doing so. For organizations with multiple locations, programs included must be available to employees in the Northern Virginia area. If any programs are informal, please provide sufficient detail in each section to describe their scope and utilization. There is no limitation to the text section below each of the tables.

A. FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS

Please check the appropriate box indicating the current status of each of the following programs and services:

Program
/ Formal / Informal / None
Telecommuting
Flexible Work Hours
Job Sharing
Partial year or irregular work schedules
Compressed work week
Part-time employees eligible for benefits
On-line information sharing portals
Cell Phone/PDA Reimbursement
Other (e.g., Commuting Assistance)

Describe and distinguish the key features of your Flexible Work programs. For any formal and informal programs, please include the approximate percentage of your employees who avail themselves of each program. For programs not currently in place, please indicate whether this is a benefit you are considering for your organization.

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B. DEPENDENT CARE

Please check the appropriate box indicating the current status of each of the following programs and services:

Program / Formal / Informal / None
On-site or subsidized child care facilities
Emergency child care support
Paid leave for sick child care
Reimbursement for care required due to overtime or business travel
Paid paternity leave
Adoption leave/subsidy
Resource and referral service
After school program sponsorship or subsidy
Summer camp sponsorship or subsidy
Elder care provisions
Other (e.g., Long-term care insurance, college scholarships for dependent children):

Describe and distinguish the key features of your Dependent Care programs, including the degree to which your employees utilize your most important programs.

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C. DEVELOPMENTAL/EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Please check the appropriate box indicating the current status of each of the following programs and services:

Program / Formal / Informal / None
Benefits fair
Wellness/health promotion
Online Fitness Portal
Work-life, wellness and benefits workshops
Work-life resource center
On-site fitness center
New employee orientation
Supervisory training related to employee welfare
Diversity Program
Outside training, seminars, and conferences
Internal training options
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Career Development Programs
Respectful Workplace Training (e.g., Diversity, Sexual Harassment, cross generational)
Other (e.g., Computer loans)

Describe and distinguish your Promotional and Educational programs and how they are used to support your work-life philosophy and healthy organization objectives. Please indicate the approximate percentage of employees that participate in your top programs. If you offer a tuition reimbursement program, please indicate the details of that program here (including dollar amount offered).

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D. CREATING A CAREing CULTURE

Check the appropriate box indicating the current status of each of the following programs and services:

Program / Formal / Informal / None
Employee Recognition Programs
Service Awards
Events involving families
Celebrations of team milestones or accomplishments
Special recurring events (bagel Fridays, etc.)
Take Your Child To Work Day
Honoring employees’ birthdays and other life events
Bereavement support
Emergency financial assistance
Opportunities for informal socialization
Other

Describe and distinguish your CAREing culture supportive programs, and how you demonstrate your appreciation for employees.

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E. CAREing FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

Check the appropriate box indicating the current status of each of the following programs and services:

Program / Formal / Informal / None
Workplace giving campaigns
Company contributions to charities
Matching gift program
Jury Duty Leave
Military Leave
Policy on Community Outreach and support (e.g., sustainability, “going green”)
Direct assistance provided to the community (e.g., school partnerships)
Policy encouraging community involvement (e.g., time off for volunteer work)
Other (e.g., Loaned Executive program)

Describe and distinguish your Community supportive programs, and how you encourage employees to serve their community. (Use back of page or separate sheet if necessary.)

PART II – DEVELOPING, COMMUNICATING AND LEVERAGING WORK-LIFE PROGRAMS (Limit three pages for answers to all six questions.)

Highlight the unique features of your work-life policies and programs that make you stand out in comparison to other organizations in Northern Virginia and which you consider to be best practices. Please include how you communicate and promote these policies and programs within your organization.

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Summarize how employees are involved in the development of your work-life policies and programs, including surveys that you routinely conduct to gather their feedback.

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Provide examples of how your organization’s CEO and senior executives demonstrate their commitment to creating and maintaining a work environment that is sensitive to employees’ needs. Also explain how managers and supervisors are held accountable for promoting work-life balance and a CAREing culture.

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Describe any challenges you experience with providing programs above for employees (employees working in the field, employees working remotely or on customer sites) and how you address these challenges.

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Describe your company’s commitment to being a good corporate citizen.

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If you are a previous CARE Award winner, have you used the CARE Award in your company’s promotion of work-life programs? If so, in what ways?

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PART III – PLEASE ENCLOSE A COPY OF THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS:

1.  Benefits Summary or Brochure

2.  Executive Summary of most recent Employee Satisfaction Survey, or similar employee survey if available

3.  Recent sample of Employee Newsletter or screen prints of home page and other relevant pages of the Intranet

Please limit supplemental documentation to 10 pages.

Mail, fax or e-mail completed application by May 2, 2014, to:

Northern Virginia Family Service

2013 CARE Awards

10455 White Granite Drive, Suite 100

Oakton, VA 22124

Phone: 571-748-2502

Fax: 703.385.5261

E-mail:

Print Name & Title, SENIOR HR OFFICIAL Signature

*Required*

Print Name & Title, EXECUTIVE OFFICER Signature

*Required*

*We recognize the information provided in this application is sensitive data. This application will only be distributed and shared about the CARE Award Nominating Committee and all company-specific information will remain confidential.

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Company Name______