Madison, WI (October 8, 2009) - ACS has been awarded the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The Alfred P. Sloan award honors organizations of all sizes and all types across the country that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to increase workplace effectiveness and yield positive business results.

Alfred P. Sloan created the Foundation in 1934 while he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors (from 1923-1946).  Mr. Sloan, a devoted philanthropist, hoped the foundation would "continue as an operating facility indefinitely in the future...to represent my accomplishments in this life." His accomplishments during his lifetime were of the highest order, and in themselves provide the most dramatic and lasting tribute to his extraordinary talent.  The foundation makes grants, seeks research fellowships and grants awards.

The prestigious awards program expanded its application base to organizations nation-wide for the first time in 2009. 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.

 "ACS is proud to receive this award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. From our startup in 1994 through the present, ‘Making Work Work' has always been part of our company philosophy.  In the process of supporting employees' needs to balance their work and their personal lives, we have cultivated our company culture to attract quality employees from near and far.  Once hired, our employees want to stay."  - James R. Corkery, ACS President

Though ACS is being recognized for the first time with the Alfred P. Sloan Award, the company's managing principals have always emphasized flexibility in the work place.  This includes flexible hours, summer hours, accommodations for new families, allowing employees to voluntarily work fewer hours when work is slower (versus mass layoffs), and the company's policy of listening to the ideas and suggestions of employees in developing new areas of expertise for our clients.  Listening carefully has resulted in employee retention, continued job engagement, and aids in attracting more work.  In addition, it encourages employees to think for themselves and to develop their talents to the extent of their ability.

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.

ABOUT ACS

ACS is a nationally recognized firm that provides integrated design, construction and operations solutions for companies that require technically complex facilities, systems and equipment. ACS is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. More information is available on our Web site at www.acscm.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