The top 20 percent. That’s where Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2 now finds itself in terms of public AND private employers in terms of programs, policies and culture for creating an effective and flexible workplace.
EODTEU 2, located in Virginia Beach, Va., received the 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility from Rear Adm. Michael Tillotson, the commander of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, during an awards ceremony Feb. 4.
“It’s fantastic to be recognized,” said Lt. Cmdr. Oliver Herion, the executive officer of EODTEU 2. “Our team at all levels, officer, enlisted and civil service employees, work hard on the programs that benefit the command and its personnel.”
The Sloan Award recognizes public and private organizations for innovative and effective workplace flexibility practices. Sloan Award judges use a rigorous scoring methodology to determine if an organization ranks in the top 20 percent of the nation’s employers in that regard.
In one example of workplace flexibility, the command recently established an internal college degree program that allows command members to take college classes within its workspaces after-hours and on average, Herion said, “complete an associate’s degree within 18 months.”
Such innovation is essential for EODTEU 2, which provides advanced pre-deployment training to Atlantic Fleet EOD platoons and Mobile Diving and Salvage companies. The unit’s training calendar contains more than 300 days of events, including night shifts and week-long evolutions, according to the command.
To give the unit a breather, the operations department schedules two weeks every July without training.
Sloan Award honorees become part of a national flexibility leadership network representing employers of all sizes and from all sectors to share best practices, exchange ideas and serve as models for other employers and community leaders. Exclusive learning opportunities will be shared with this network throughout the year.
