[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11569-S11570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO FIRST TENNESSEE BANK

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise today to salute First 
Tennessee National Corporation, an innovative company that maintains 
company success by focusing on a family-friendly environment. First 
Tennessee Bank's success can be attributed in part to the amount of 
time and effort they put into maintaining a positive employee-company 
relationship.
  Three years ago, First Tennessee developed its Family Matters program 
to address concerns that involved the work-family relationship. They 
realized early on that employee job performance did not rely solely on 
the working conditions at the office. Personal time influenced 
employees' overall attitude, and in turn, their attitude toward work. 
First Tennessee adopted a non-traditional work schedule that gives 
employees more freedom to adjust their schedules around personal needs 
or family obligations. Family Matters trained managers and supervisors 
to work with employees who wanted flexible work hours to give them the 
time they needed without sacrificing job productivity. Variations of 
the flexible hours differ, but one good example can be seen at First 
Tennessee's downtown Chattanooga branch office. Richard Grant, Vice 
President of

[[Page S11570]]

Business Development and Manager of the word processing center, was 
approached by two of his employees in the word processing center who 
wanted to stagger their work hours and give themselves a day off every 
other Friday. He agreed, and the women were not only happier, their 
productivity in their high stress jobs has increased. Now they work 
longer 4-day weeks one week, followed by a regular 5-day work week the 
next.
  Mr. President, First Tennessee's efforts have paid off. They were 
recently named the number one family-friendly company by Business Week 
magazine. This is a fine example of how change and risk-taking are 
beneficial to the growth of companies. First Tennessee has seen the 
benefits of its Family Matters program and other family friendly 
programs in elevated company morale, improved productivity and 
increased employee tenure.
  First Tennessee's interest in improving itself from the inside out is 
an example to us all that every organization can make improvements. 
Taking a proactive approach and involving employees in the learning 
process is a greatly admired advance toward company improvement. First 
Tennessee has been innovative and is sure to continue to see added 
improvements and benefits due to its responsibility to its employees as 
well as its customers.

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