Comerica, NSF International, R.L. Polk and University of Michigan Take Top Arbor Award Honors

Gen-Y Recruiting, Listening Up, Virtual HR Learning, and Innovation Teams Take Top Honors at 2009 Arbor Awards for Excellence

R.L. Polk & Co., University of Michigan, Comerica and NSF International honored Thursday, March 12 by The Arbor Consulting Group and Eastern Michigan University for best practices in human resources

Northville, Michigan… Four Michigan employers are the recipients of the prestigious 2009 Arbor Awards for Excellence in recognition of their innovative human resource strategies that are helping to build Michigan's new knowledge-based economy. The awards were presented Thursday, March 12 at a special breakfast ceremony courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn, Michigan.

The 2009 Arbor Awards for Excellence recipients are:

• R. L. Polk & Co., a global company that specializes in automotive information and marketing solutions. Based in Southfield with offices worldwide, R. L Polk & Co. is pioneering new methods of recruiting high tech talent using social media strategies such as chat rooms, Facebook, Twitter and a robust internship program, strategies that enable job candidates, in particular techies from Generations X and Y, to "experience Polk." Polk has developed a pipeline of qualified candidates and talent pools. Their philosophy is to "Hire slow. Hire tough," taking two to three months or longer to make the right hire. As a result of Polk's Recruiting for Results strategy, employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction have increased dramatically. Named as a "Cool Place to Work" by Crain's Detroit Business in 2007, 86.5% of employees surveyed recently would recommend Polk as a place of employment.

• University of Michigan (U-M). U-M employs a staff of more than 27,000 people involved in higher education, research and health care. Communicating throughout the decentralized organization presents an opportunity and a challenge to its leaders. Voices of the Staff is an award-winning initiative that annually rotates participation for approximately 120 people from all areas of the university and health system to share ideas and concerns and create a dialogue with President Mary Sue Coleman and top administrators. This "bottom-up" communications initiative has been successful in contributing to major changes such as improved parking and transportation, creating a career development website for employees, and helping evaluate an enhanced dental plan. In addition, Voices of the Staff core team members serve as a sounding board on challenging issues such as pandemic planning. U-M's human resource experts place a high value on the program because of its positive effect on employee engagement.

• Comerica Incorporated. Comerica Bank, a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated, has a business footprint across five states: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Texas, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as Canada, China and Mexico. In 2006 Comerica invested in HR by building its HR Academy, an internal service and career development learning center for human resource professionals at every level of the organization. More than 130 HR colleagues (40% of whom were new in 2006), have/are participating in the HR Academy's virtual learning program that, among other benefits, enables HR professionals to build contemporary HR competencies, a personal career plan and a deeper business skill set. As a result Comerica has gained a highly-qualified HR partner who is forming strategic business relationships within the bank that better serve its internal customers - a particularly valuable asset in this turbulent time.

• NSF International, a not-for-profit global public health and safety certification organization based in Ann Arbor, is expanding its business by making sure that toys are safer thanks to an innovative idea from an employee. Best known for certifying products and writing standards for food, water and consumer goods, NSF is growing its business by listening to its employees at all levels and functions in the organization. Developing Employee Innovation Teams is a structured method to motivate and engage employees in idea generation, ensuring that anyone with a good idea is heard, and evaluating ideas for their market potential. Employees' ideas are being implemented with a positive effect on NSF's bottom-line. Recently, an Employee Innovation Team developed the idea of testing toys for safety. It was this idea that launched the framework for NSF's Toy Safety Program, which began at the height of the toy recalls during the fall, 2007. More than 100 ideas have been submitted since the start of the Employee Innovation Teams in 2007. A second Employee Innovation Team explored nutritional labeling on packaged foods, which resulted in a new "Smart Choices Program," alerting consumers to smarter food choices while shopping. Products with the Smart Choices Mark will be rolled out in June.

The Arbor Awards for Excellence which recognize best practices and innovation in human resources are sponsored by The Arbor Consulting Group, Inc., a national human resource management consulting firm based in Northville and Eastern Michigan University, Master of Science HR/OD Program. The Arbor Awards for Excellence program which was established in 1996 to recognize excellence in human resources is conducted biannually. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the awards ceremony.

"As Michigan employers face unprecedented challenges, the strategic leadership role of human resources professionals has never been more important," says Joan Moore, J.D., SPHR, president of The Arbor Consulting Group, Inc. "If we are to succeed in moving to a knowledge-based economy, we need to invest in the development of our greatest asset, our people. HR plays a key role in attracting and developing Michigan's talent pool. We have strong leadership in the field of human resources in Michigan and, as our Arbor Award winners demonstrate, these talented professionals can help make the difference in our state's success."

The Arbor Consulting Group specializes in affirmative action, human resources compliance, employee relations and retention.

www.arborhr.com