Tuesday, April 29, 2003: 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Donna Klein is vice president of workplace effectiveness
programs for Marriott International, which has 135,000 employees
worldwide. Since 1990, she has developed what has become one
of the country's most celebrated array of work-life programs.
Keeping work and life in harmony is a challenge most people
face daily, but hourly workers, who are a significant part
of Marriott's workforce, often have more difficulties. They
have less disposable income to help resolve problems with
child care, housing, transportation and other issues that
may become obstacles in getting to or staying on the job.
Working Mother magazine has eight times named Marriott
International to its list of best employers for working mothers.
It has been on Business Week's annual rankings of most
family friendly companies, and has also been honored by Fortune
magazine as one of the 100 best companies for which to work.
In 1999, Marriott received the Corporate Advancement of Women
Award from the National Council of Women of the U.S., Inc.
Klein has also been recognized as the driving force behind
Marriott's fatherhood initiatives, developed with the help
of the Fatherhood Project at the Families and Work Institute.
The program teaches fathers from different parts of the company
how to lead richer lives with their families. One is "Effective
Fathering," a course aimed at front-line employees. The
other is "Daddy Stress/ Daddy Success," a seminar
that targets executives.
"People have an understandable tendency to see this
as a zero-sum game," Klein says. "They think that
devoting time to and being good at one goal - your job - necessarily
means doing less well at the other - your family. But if people
feel productive and worthwhile as parents, that self- esteem
carries over into the job. And many of the techniques that
help people succeed at work can also help people succeed with
their kids."
In the National Study of the Changing Workforce, the Families
and Work Institute concludes that employees who work in environments
that are broadly supportive, respectful, fair and responsive
to their needs as people with lives off the job are most committed
to helping their employers succeed. Marriott is seeing proof
of that - including a reduction in turnover, absenteeism,
and tardiness.
"For every dollar we have invested in the program we
are able to track a conservative 4:1 return. And that's just
our ability to measure the workplace impact in turnover and
absenteeism." Klein said.
In addition to her position at Marriott, Klein is the founder
of a 24 hour non-profit child and family care center in downtown
Atlanta, Atlanta's Inn for Children, and is working to establish
a similar center in Washington D.C. She is also a founder,
along with the Families and Work Institute, of The Employer
Group, a think-tank whose members come from leading employers
in the service industry who employ large numbers of hourly
employees.
The MARIAL Center
Emory West, 4th Floor, Room 415E
Open to the public
Refreshments will be served
