More Info
To learn more online, see www.connect.chattanooga.gov/family/
Participating employers
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee - The Bread Basket - The Company Lab (CO.LAB) - The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce - Chattanooga State Community College - EPB - Epiphany Day Spa & Brow Couture - Ovalle's Catering Company - The University of Chattanooga at Tennessee - CO.STARTERS Source: City of Chattanooga
Mayor Andy Berke laid down a challenge Wednesday for Chattanooga businesses to be more family-friendly.
"There are lots of options for different employers and every business has to find their own solutions," Berke said at a launch event for the Family Friendly Workplace Challenge held at the Edney Building near City Hall. Berke first announced the challenge two days earlier during his third annual state-of-the-city speech.
"We're going to ask companies to engage their employees, talk to them," Berke said.
At the end of a year, the city will highlight success stories and use them as a model for other businesses throughout Chattanooga, Berke said. The mayor said the move toward creating more family-friendly workplaces was a recommendation made by the Economic Committee of the Mayor's Council for Women.
"Women are one of our greatest resources and they are the majority of our citizens," said City Councilwoman Carol Berz, who serves as the women's council's chairwoman.
There's nothing mandatory about the family-friendly workplace challenge, but the mayor predicts that businesses will see what their peers do and follow suit. To help employees with families, many businesses offer paid maternity or paternity leave for employees, flexible hours to accommodate parents helping out their children at home or school, and other support and social programs for family members.
"It's the right thing to do," said Berke, who said he looked for ideas to make his 11-employee law firm family-friendly before becoming mayor. "It makes them a much better company, and it grows their bottom line."
Tennessee American Water, the privately-owned water company that serves Chattanooga, is one of the businesses that has accepted the mayor's challenge.
"There are things that we are doing already, and we can build on that," Tennessee American spokeswoman Daphne Kirksey said during her turn at the podium. "We really like the flexibility that Mayor Berke's program is offering."
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee is another of what the city calls the "first set of employers" to participate.
"Honestly, we already have this embedded as part of our culture to attract and retain top talent," Gary Steele, vice president of human resources for the health insurance business' Chattanooga operation, said by phone after the event.
Steele cited such family-friendly practices as having an on-site doctor, pharmacy and fitness center, as well as a family fund that allows employees to apply for up to $2,500 in case of a dire need, such as an unexpected illness.
Ovalle's Catering Company is one of a number of small businesses to accept the challenge.
"Ovalle's is not the biggest company out there, nor are we the flashiest, but we are a company that puts our employees and their families first," business owner Erwin Ovalle said.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.