Internal communications agency Tribe, Inc., wins at the state level, moves on to the national competition

Tribe, Inc. has been named the winner in the small business category for the 2012 Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award. Nominated companies were evaluated by the Georgia Psychological Association (GPA), the local chapter of the American Psychological Association (APA). Now, Tribe competes at the national level for the APA’s National Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award.

The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards are designed to recognize organizations for their efforts in fostering employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance. Applicants are evaluated on their efforts in employee involvement; work-life balance; employee growth and development; health and safety; and employee retention. The award program highlights a variety of workplaces, large and small, profit and non-profit, in diverse geographical settings.

“We find wellness to be good business,” says Sandy Springs resident Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin, Tribe’s founder and CEO. “Good ideas are what our company sells, and employees have more good ideas when they’re living balanced, healthy lives. That foundation of wellness helps us do better work for our clients.”

The Best Practices Award nominees are selected from a pool of state-level Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award winners and submitted for consideration by the psychological association in the state in which the company is located. Following a competitive evaluation and judging process, the top 10 best practices are selected for national recognition by the APA.

“The values we talk about at Tribe a lot are kindness, generosity and curiosity,” Baskin says. “We use those values in our relationships with clients, in the way the company relates to employees and in the way we treat each other at work day-to-day. Those values are also behind what we do in the community, from giving 10 percent of our annual profits to charitable organizations to staging a career day for the kids at The Study Hall (an after-school program in Atlanta’s Peoplestown community).”

When a team from the GPA did a site visit to Tribe as part of the selection process, they learned, among other things that the agency has what Baskin describes as “a ridiculously low number of sick days.” In 2011, the per-employee average number of sick days was 2.1. “That’s not only a way to see that our health and wellness initiatives are paying off, but also a reason we can afford to give generous vacation time, holidays and extra days off for team competitions or the employee peer recognition program.”

Tribe received its Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award at a ceremony November 6 at the offices of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The APA’s National Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award winners will be announced in March.

About Tribe, Inc.
Tribe (www.TribeInc.com) develops strategic plans, employee communications and engagement programs to build internal culture. It works with national and global brands including UPS, Porsche, Target and Coca-Cola Refreshments. Tribe gives 10 percent of its annual profits to organizations that create better futures for children and young people. This year, Tribe celebrates ten years since the company was founded on 04-03-02.
 
About the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program (PHWP) is a collaborative effort between the American Psychological Association and the APA Practice Organization designed to educate employers about the link between employee health and well-being and organizational performance. The PHWP includes APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards, a variety of APA Practice Organization resources, including PHWP Web content, e-newsletter, podcast and blog, and support of local programs currently implemented by 56 state, provincial and territorial psychological associations as a mechanism for driving grassroots change in local business communities. Collectively, these associations have honored more than 500 organizations across North America.