Arbor Awards Honor Michigan Businesses for Best Practices in Human Resources
PLYMOUTH, Mich.--Jan. 30, 2001--Five Michigan-based companies will be honored for their innovative human resources practices at the Fifth Annual Arbor Awards for Excellence ceremony on February 1, 2001. Recipients of the Arbor Award for Excellence include: Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition Co., LLC; Borders Group, Inc.; Guardian Industries Corp.; and the Human Resources College-GM University. In addition, Toyota Technical Center will receive a Special Tribute Award.The awards will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at The Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn on Thursday, February 1, 2001. The Arbor Consulting Group and the Eastern Michigan University Master of Science of HR/OD Program are cosponsors of the awards, which recognize best practices and innovations in human resources.
"We began the awards competition to recognize the importance of human resources professionals within their organizations. A human resource professional can have a major impact on his or her company's bottom line, the lives of employees and the community as a whole. Yet, they are largely under-recognized for their contributions. The Arbor Awards seek to make a difference in recognizing the contributions of the human resource professional and the support of their forward thinking CEOs," explains Joan Moore, president of The Arbor Consulting Group.
Moore notes that a common element among this year's award recipients is outreach beyond the usual human resource boundaries to maximize resources and reach more employees in an effective way. A representative of each company will describe the winning project at the awards ceremony.
Awarding-winning human resources programs receiving the Arbor Award for Excellence included:
| -- | A safety video produced in English and Spanish that helped to reduce injuries by 30% among new employees, created by Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition in conjunction with a trade association; |
| -- | A non-profit foundation that enables Borders Group employees to help each other during family or personal crises; |
| -- | GM University's customized interactive distance learning program to provide certification training for human resources staff in 58 locations; |
| -- | Guardian Industries' innovative program to evaluate and improve the human resources function at plants located worldwide. |
| -- | Additionally, Toyota's Travel Training program--an extensive cultural orientation to prepare employees for working and visiting Japan will receive a Special Tribute Award. |
Established in 1996, the Arbor Awards for Excellence are open to all human resources practitioners who have established beneficial human resources program within their organizations. Criteria for the awards include originality in the solution of a human resources problem or issue; impact on the human resources profession; and the program's contribution to meeting organizational benchmarks or increasing revenues.
The Arbor Consulting Group, based in Plymouth, Michigan, is a national human resources management consulting firm specializing in employee relations and retention, affirmative action, compliance and cultural due diligence for mergers and acquisitions. Founded in 1984, The Arbor Consulting Group specializes in Fortune 500 and smaller high technology companies. Its clients include Monsanto, Soluia (a spin-off from Monsanto), TransAmerica, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Flint Ink, Mayo Clinic and The Kellogg Foundation.