The Horizons of Excellence awards, presented for the first time at this year's event in Austin, honors those who have raised the bar in our field; organizations from diverse industries with truly forward-thinking approaches to cultivating success through positive business cultures.
As part of the award, all four winners were invited to present their strategies and success stories to the Bright Horizons Solutions at Work LIVE audience of top HR leaders. We'll be featuring more about their stories in the weeks to come.
Four Organizations Who Are Cultivating Culture
Congratulations to our 2017 winners:
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - Global Commitment to Work/Life Balance
New York's One World Trade Center is but one of the super-tall buildings in the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) crown; but it's far from their only towering achievement. The organization has also drawn kudos from the likes of Architect Magazine for its support structure that takes on employee challenges at every stage of the workforce. "My team is tasked with providing the services and benefits so that [employees] can deliver...without needing to worry so much about 'how am I going to take care of my children or take care of my parents?'" said SOM CHRO Suzanne Pennasilico (pictured, accepting the award). Congratulations SOM for a dozen years of building some of the most progressive programs around.
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - Commitment to Wellness
How do you help healthcare providers support patients? University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center does it with a commitment to wellness that tends to mind, body, and family. Stress is the number one challenge, said wellness team member Fareeda Momin (pictured accepting the award). So the organization's philosophy is that all benefits that help manage that stress (from fitness centers to back-up care) put an important check under employee wellness. Congratulations Fareeda and the whole University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center organization for the kind of outstanding wellness programs that are making the entire organization feel great.
HCA - Commitment to Employee Needs
At healthcare provider HCA, taking care of children is essential to everybody's well-being. Patient caregivers, said VP of HR Beth Brill (pictured, accepting the award from Jonathan Dotson), are mission driven. And child care helps them deliver on that mission. "Knowing that they have the center... so they can take care of their patients," she said, "truly brings them the best gift they could have."
Congratulations to HCA for a center dedicated to bringing up decades of HCA children. We eagerly anticipate your next special delivery - a second center slated to open this fall!
JP Morgan Chase - Commitment to Nurturing Talent
Four-thousand-plus participants in tuition assistance and counting! It's all part of JPMC's dedication to employee growth, and to "doing first-class business in a first-class way."
Congratulations JPMC and Vice President of Employee Programs Angie Wissinger for a truly forward-thinking benefits program that continues to inspire job advancement, career growth (and retention!) for the whole workforce.
