Promoting sustainable growth and prosperity for all

Adjust the Balance (AtB) is a West Midlands based DevelopmentPartnership, (DP) which has obtained over £6.3m funding from EqualESF to focus on raising the adaptability of business and people.The work of the DP contributes to the Government's aim to encourage employers to adopt inclusive and supportive working practices which benefit both their businesses and their employees.

The DP aspires to develop a regional Work Life Balance strategy as part of a regional strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility, thus highlighting the West Midlands as an attractive region in which to invest, work and live.

The DP develops and pilots innovative approaches to policy areas such as improving employment rates, 'Welfare to Work', raising the levels of skills in the workplace, improving business performance, as well as tackling Social Exclusion. This is done through research, engaging with employers and ensuring qualifications and standards in this sphere are relevant to current and future needs.

AtB investigates and works within a broad agenda for Work Life Balance, and includes the older worker project 'Grey Matters'.

The Grey Matters project is designed to examine the use of flexible working practices in managing the retention of older workers, and to understand how the recruitment process can support the employment of older workers.

The project is a partnership between Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council and Coventry Building Society. The project will include activities that help:

• Gain a better understanding of Age demographics in the workplace.
• Gain an improved understanding of the skills gaps in the workplace.
• Understand the skills of older workers.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of current work life balance policies for older workers.
• Consider a number of flexible work life balance options, including a more creative approach to retirement and longer leave opportunities.
• Identify how the use of IT can better support home- and flexible working.
• Develop a new protocol around work life balance and older workers and a new recruitment strategy.
• Target managers, Human Resources officers, regional employers and policy makers.

In order to showcase this and other DP projects, the DP is hosting an event at International Convention Centre, Birmingham on 11th December 2006, "Social Footprints: www.apricot-events.com/csr.htm The AtB Symposium on Corporate Social Responsibility".

Employers of all sizes and sectors are invited to attend the event during which they will be able to:

• Access information, advice and support on Work Life Balance and Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Learn about the business benefits of adopting good practice in Work Life Balance and Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Take up the opportunity to put questions to key leaders in the field of Work Life Balance and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The main aims of this event are to:

• Raise the awareness with policy makers of the need to include Work Life Balance strategy as part of a strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility promoting economic and social prosperity.
• Raise awareness amongst the employer community of the business benefits of CSR, and that CSR is for everyone, regardless of size or sector.
• Further the debate on the importance of ?Social Reporting? where companies in the region report on how their activities impact on human capital, as well as environmental and economic reporting.
• Showcase regional good practice and the work of The Adjust the Balance Development Partnership.