Nancy Lyons, Clockwork’s CEO, will be a panelist on the first-ever White House Summit on Working Families on Monday, June 23rd. The Summit, hosted by the White House, the Department of Labor, and the Center for American Progress, will explore how workplaces can accommodate the changing demographics of the U.S. workforce to support working families, boost businesses’ bottom lines, and ensure America’s global economic competitiveness in the future.
“A growing number of working Americans – both men and women – struggle to balance the needs of their families with the responsibilities of their jobs,” says the White House document explaining the Summit. “Yet while studies show that family-friendly workplace policies can actually enhance businesses’ profitability, many companies report that they lack the tools and expertise to redesign their workplaces to capture this competitive advantage.”
Since founding her company in 2002, Lyons has actively encouraged a work/life balance among staff, starting with a “one size doesn’t fit all” approach. Clockwork works to understand employees’ situations, professional goals and personal needs. From there, Clockwork offers flexible office hours, working remotely, free medical benefits and 401K matches. Innovations include the Babies at Work program to transition parents back from maternity/paternity leave, and unlimited personal and vacation time. The effort has paid off: Clockwork’s employee retention rate is consistently over 95%.
“We recognize, prioritize, and focus on the whole family – parents and children – in how we operate and interact,” explains Lyons. “By empowering and enabling employees to make decisions about their life and their work, we create autonomy and greater commitment, as well as a shared value system. Feeling good about home and work creates a positive environment, reduces stress and improves performance.”
The Summit will convene businesses, economists, labor leaders, legislators, advocates, and the media for a discussion on issues facing the entire spectrum of working families – from low-wage workers to corporate executives; from young parents to baby boomers caring for their own aging parents.
Through keynote speeches, panel discussions, research presentations and hands-on workshops, the Summit will explore the challenges facing working families; make the business and economic case for policies that support working families; showcase companies doing exemplary work in this space; and highlight model laws and policies from cities and states across the country. The Summit will focus on key issues such as workplace flexibility, equal pay, workplace discrimination, worker retention and promotion, and childcare/early childhood education.
Read Nancy’s reflections and commentary on her experience at the summit.
