Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office has been honored with a 2017 When Work Works Award for Exemplary Workplace Practices. The award is part of the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM’s) When Work Works project, a national initiative that helps employers become more successful by transforming the way they view and adopt effective and flexible workplaces. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office is the only law enforcement agency in the country, and the only employer in Louisiana, to receive the award this year.

The When Work Works Award recognizes employers of all sizes across the country that are excelling at offering a variety of top-rated employee initiatives such as work-life fit policies, flexible scheduling, and transition to parenthood programs. The award goes beyond work-life programs and includes initiatives that address the additional evidence-based aspects of effective workplaces, such as opportunities for learning, a culture of respect and trust, and job autonomy.

“We have gone far beyond being simply an equal opportunity employer,” said Sheriff Webre. “We continue to develop professional policies and institute best practices which have led to our national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement since 2000, and an award for excellence during our last re-accreditation. The When Work Works Award is a further testament of how we are continuing to ensure excellence in our service to the public.

Captain Karla Beck, LPSO Personnel Commander, said, “To receive this award is a great honor for our agency. It proves that we cherish our greatest resource – our employees. We work hard to recruit and hire the very best, and we make sure that we continue to provide an unparalleled environment for them.”

In applying for the award, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office was evaluated on factors associated with employee health, well-being and engagement: opportunities for learning; a culture of trust; work-life fit; supervisor support for work success; autonomy; and satisfaction with earnings, benefits, and opportunities for advancement.

“Considering that 78 percent of employers report difficulty recruiting employees for highly skilled jobs and 38 percent report difficulty recruiting for entry-level hourly jobs, When Work Works Award winners have leveraged this recognition opportunity to distinguish themselves as exemplary employers that offer new or enhanced options that help them attract and retain top talent,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute, the original creator of this award, and senior research advisor at SHRM.

“These winners have reinvented their workplaces in ways that benefit business and employees alike and are reaping the benefits in terms of employee job satisfaction and retention,” said Cassidy Solis, senior advisor, workplace flexibility, at SHRM.

The award is earned after a rigorous assessment that emphasizes the real-life experiences of employees and incorporates national benchmarks of employer practices from the National Study of Employers and the employee experiences from the National Study of the Changing Workforce. Two-thirds of an organization’s winning score is based on a survey of its employees.

To learn more about the When Work Works initiative and awards, visit their website at www.whenworkworks.org.