FIFTH ANNUAL TOP 40 FAMILY-FRIENDLY N.C. COMPANIES Flexibility Is Key for Working Parents By Carolina Parent, Charlotte Parent and Piedmont Parent - 2003 Parents who spend most of the day, most of the week and almost all of the year working outside the home often lack a crucial piece of the family well-being puzzle: flexibility. Companies that allow workers to respond to the dizzying needs of family life with flexibility and understanding win the hearts and loyalty of their employees and, in turn, secure a place among companies honored on our annual N.C. Family-Friendly 40 list. Time and again, research shows that family-friendly companies experience less turnover, enjoy higher productivity and elicit the best form of PR — company pride. Many family-friendly companies also attract the best of the best. Top-notch employees prefer to work for companies that repay talent with flexibility, excellent benefits and a family-friendly attitude. As working parents ourselves, we at Carolina Parenting Inc. understand the challenges facing families, and we know that a flexible, supportive workplace can make all the difference in the health and well-being of our families’ lives. We congratulate the companies that address child-care concerns with on-site facilities that provide comfortable, private rooms for lactating moms and that offer alternative work arrangements for employees in all stages of parenthood. We applaud the creative ideas that companies apply to their family-friendly policies: stork parking spots, video-lending libraries, group legal aid, 525 College Savings Plans and full-time benefits for part-time staff, to name a few. To win a place on our N.C. Family-Friendly 40 list, a company must be nominated by an employee or employer. Editors at Piedmont Parent, Carolina Parent and Charlotte Parent magazines select winners based on a combination of compelling testimonials and overall family-friendly benefits. We watch for trends, fresh ideas and exemplary ways that companies can help employees juggle home and work life. This year, in addition to the many benefits that help feather the nest, employees consistently agreed that the most important quality of a family-friendly business is flexibility. Being able to adjust schedules to show up for our families and our employers helps make us better parents and better employees. We hope you’ll take time to read the profiles of our winners — they help set the standard of excellence in family-friendly workplaces for all of us. Monaghan Group PLLC Charlotte, Raleigh Number of Employees: 11 Type of Business: Accounting and consulting Job flexibility tailored around family life is the first priority at this small accounting group based in Charlotte. “If there is a last minute ‘crisis’ or meeting, for which I do not have child care arranged, I feel totally comfortable bringing my two children to the Monaghan Group corporate office,” writes Nancy Brown, who nominated her employer for the family-friendly list. “In all of the Monaghan Group flexibility, we are just as committed to do more than simply serve our clients. We want to understand the client’s culture, their vision and put their needs first.” The consulting firm consists primarily of women, many of whom come from public accounting’s “Big 4.” “We offer highly qualified professionals with numerous years of experience,” said Brown. “These kinds of employees understand how to put client needs first, yet at the same time honor their own lives.” Monaghan also offers its employees phase-back for new mothers, flextime options, support for females in management, and time off for school or community volunteering. Compiled, written and edited by Cathy Ashby, Michelle Byrd, Kathleen E. Conroy, Sheryl Grant, Elaine Heitman and Constance Holloway.