American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Receives Two Workplace Awards

(Rockville, MD) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recently received two leading awards that focus on Washington, D.C., area employers as highly rated places to work.

For the seventh time, The Washington Post recognized ASHA as part of the newspaper’s “Top Workplace” awards program. More than 3,500 area companies and organizations were invited to participate, 200 of which were ultimately selected as top workplaces based on surveys of employees conducted by the program. ASHA was one of only four area associations to be recognized.

Also, for the second time, ASHA received a 2021 Employer Recognition award from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Commuter Connections program.

During the pandemic, ASHA moved to an entirely remote workforce. To ensure that employees had needed equipment at home, ASHA provided them with laptops and allowed its staff to take home monitors and desk chairs. A “Wellbeing Navigator” provided ergonomic sessions so that employees could remain comfortable within a home-office setting. Additionally, each employee received $500 to offset the costs of outfitting their home offices with needed supplies.

Before the pandemic, ASHA had grown its telework program from one of every six employees teleworking part of the time—the ratio when it received its first Commuter Connections award in 2004—to one of every two. Slightly more than half (51%) of ASHA’s 292 staff members in the Washington, D.C., area teleworked up to 60% of their total workdays. Among other things, the organization also offered flextime, where staff had more control over the timing of their work hours and the opportunity to have compressed work weeks in summer.

Before the pandemic, ASHA’s telework policy and alternative work schedule programs annually helped reduce employee commuting by 700,650 vehicle miles and saved an estimated 31,848 gallons of gasoline.

“We congratulate ASHA for their teleworking program, which helped to ensure a smooth transition to remote work at the beginning of the pandemic, while providing teleworking employees with the supplies and support needed to carry out their responsibilities from home,” said Nicholas Ramfos, Director of Commuter Connections. “We encourage other employers to take a look at ASHA’s robust telework program as a model to supplement and develop telework programs of their own.”

“We are very excited to again be recognized by both The Washington Post and the Commuter Connections program,” said ASHA Chief Executive Officer Arlene A. Pietranton, PhD, CAE. “ASHA strives to be a workplace that offers employees a positive work environment as well as to be a socially responsible member of the Washington, D.C., area community. These awards inspire us to continue to strive in both regards.”

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 218,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders.