Join us! The Employee Advisory Council (EAC) will hold its annual elections in October to replace one representative from the Asia/Europe/Near East/Jordan region. In this e-mail you will find information about the EAC and the election process. It includes descriptions of the EAC (see attached), who is eligible to run, and how to nominate yourself, along with a schedule of deadlines.

The nomination period does not begin until next week but we wanted to give you a heads up to consider running.

What is the EAC?
The EAC is an advisory group whose role is to serve as a communications link between Abt Associates staff and senior management to provide advice on issues raised by both management and staff, and to provide employee perspectives on company issues. Through the EAC staff survey, meetings with staff, and communication with the Management Advisory Group (MAG), the EAC facilitates informed decision-making and representation.

Who Is Eligible to Be Elected to the EAC?
Potential members of the EAC are those staff with particular interest in employee issues and concerns and in representing diverse employee viewpoints, and who have the ability to communicate and work well with others. 

In order to be eligible to run as a representative on the EAC for the Asia/Europe/Near East/Jordan region, you must be:

·         A regular (not temporary) employee of Abt Associates for at least 12 months prior to October 21, 2014.

·         Fluent in written and spoken English.

·         Able to attend EAC 2 hour monthly meetings (by telephone conference call), attend an annual meeting of three days in person in the United States in January of each year and commit a small percentage of your time towards working on key initiatives raised by staff. Yes, charge time is provided.

·         An Abt employee in the Asia/Europe/Near East/Jordan region

Nominations for Election
Employees nominate themselves to run for the EAC. Please consider nominating yourself, or encourage co-workers to consider nominating themselves for a position on the EAC. To nominate yourself, you will be required to submit a brief (one-half to one page) biographical statement including a summary of work experience and special skills, interests and experience that make you a good candidate and, if elected, a great representative for the EAC.  We will send you more details when the nomination process formally begins, on October 21, 2014.

Why would you want to run for the EAC? 

The simplest answer is:  to be involved.  Current and past EAC members have found it to be a rewarding experience in which they get to be directly involved in the communication and discussion of major ongoing initiatives at Abt.  Currently, the EAC is involved with:

·         Launching the annual EAC Employee Survey

·         Assisting HR to start the Internal Mobility Program

·         Working on the Workplace Initiative

Election Process
After the nominations have been received, candidate biographical statements and voting instructions will be e-mailed to all Asia/Europe/Near East/Jordan staff. Once the election period has ended, the winner will be announced.

Asia/Europe/Near East/Jordan Region Election - Key Dates

·         Oct 21 - Nov 4: Nominations for Candidates can be submitted

·         Nov 6: Candidate Bios available to all staff

·         Nov 6 - Nov 20: Voting period

·         Nov 24: Results announced

Questions
If you have questions about serving on the EAC or the election process, please visit the EAC Elections page, contact any current member of the EAC, or reply to this email.

-          Your EAC

Katie Speanburg, Patricia Rowan, Joseph Addo-Yobo, Amina Aminu, Elizabeth Copson, Santiago Enriquez, Peter Levine, Rachel Luck, Dan McMartin, Miriam Mokuena,  and Alice Tome