The William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies has been honored with a 2017 When Work Works Award for exemplary workplace practices.

The prestigious When Work Works Award is part of the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) When Work Works project, a national initiative that helps employers become more successful by transforming the way they view and adopt effective and flexible workplaces.

The award recognizes employers of all sizes across the country that are excelling at offering a variety of top-rated employee initiatives such as work-life fit policies, flexible scheduling and transition to parenthood programs. The award goes beyond work-life programs and includes initiatives that address the additional evidence-based aspects of effective workplaces, such as opportunities for learning, a culture of respect and trust, and job autonomy.

“We are honored to receive this award for a second year in a row,” said Mark Wilkins, Director of the Perry Center. “We have found that having a strong workplace flexibility program helps us meet our mission requirements as well as enhance employee work-life balance. I recognize that we are fortunate that the nature of our work, but especially the quality and professionalism of our employees, are such that we can offer flexible options. I am absolutely convinced our program is key to both sustaining a robust operational pace and attracting and maintaining the very best employees. I am proud to be part of such a great organization and hope that our positive experience with workplace flexibility might serve as an example to other agencies or institutions.”

In applying for the award, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies was evaluated on factors associated with employee health, well-being and engagement: opportunities for learning; a culture of trust; work-life fit; supervisor support for work success; autonomy; and satisfaction with earnings, benefits and opportunities for advancement.

The award is earned after a rigorous assessment that emphasizes the real-life experiences of employees and incorporates national benchmarks of employer practices from the National Study of Employers and the employee experiences from the National Study of the Changing Workforce. Two-thirds of an organization’s winning score is based on a survey of its employees.