Working Mother Magazine Names Valassis Among Best Companies for Hourly Workers

LIVONIA, Mich., April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Valassis (NYSE: VCI), one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, announced today its inclusion on Working Mother magazine's esteemed list of the Best Companies for Hourly Workers. The only initiative of its kind, the second annual Best Companies for Hourly Workers list celebrates businesses working steadfastly to provide family-friendly benefits that promote health/wellness, education, flexibility and work-life balance. 

Valassis employs approximately 3,000 hourly employees across the country, largely in its print and shared mail manufacturing locations, where many work compressed work weeks. A typical hourly associate schedule in these facilities is a three-day/four-day work week, offering opportunities for family time. Valassis also offers non-manufacturing hourly associates 2 1/2 hours of paid flexible time each week to use for their personal needs such as parent/teacher conferences or doctor appointments. The company provides a host of convenient services, a testament to its strong focus on a culture where work/life balance is encouraged. Among these amenities are onsite workout facilities and discounts,  health fairs/flu shots, dry cleaning, postal services and discount tickets, to name a few.  

"Valassis' proven commitment to instituting practices that meet the needs of its diverse workforce is what has earned them a spot on this year's Best Companies for Hourly Workers list," said Jennifer Owens, Director of the Working Mother Research Institute. "Working Mother proudly applauds their dedication to creating an inclusive environment where every employee feels valued and respected."

"We strive to offer our employees a variety of benefits recognizing their needs outside of the workplace and the importance of family time as well as opportunities to contribute to the success of our company," said Todd Wiseley, Senior Vice President and General Counsel.  "Our employees give us their best, and in turn, we want to do the same for them."

Nelly Rogers, Valassis Client Services Director in Houston, Texas, began her career with the company 18 years ago as an hourly employee. As a working mother with two young children at the time, Rogers credits the flexibility and support she has received with allowing her to simultaneously care for her family and grow her career.

"Early on, when I was an hourly worker, I was allowed to attend school conferences or other school events without feeling like my job was in jeopardy," said Rogers who moved into a leadership role in 2004.  "Valassis has always made me feel like my family life was just as important as my work life.  I have always felt the support of my leaders and now that I'm a leader, I can reciprocate the support that I have received throughout my career."

Nearly half the U.S. workforce —73 million Americans — are hourly workers. Best Companies for Hourly Workers winners offer benefits such as comprehensive healthcare coverage, tuition reimbursement to workers pursuing degrees and paid job skills training during working hours.  For example, Valassis offers a full slate of training through its Valassis Learning Center; an opportunity to serve on company-driven committees that lead its diversity and giving initiatives; huddles and rap sessions where feedback is encouraged; and regular meetings with leadership where information is readily shared.

The winners are detailed in Working Mother's May issue, at www.workingmother.com/bestcompanies, and on iPad (search: working mother). Corporate Voices for Working Families serves as knowledge partner for the Working Mother Best Companies for Hourly Workers initiative.

Earlier in the year, Valassis was recognized by the Arbor Consulting Group with its Award for Excellence recognizing the company's internal CelebrateUS campaign, which celebrates its culture and employees.

Methodology

The 2011 Working Mother Best Companies for Hourly Workers application was created in partnership with Corporate Voices for Working Families, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit membership organization. It includes some 450 questions on workforce; company culture; benefits; training, development and advancement programs; flexibility policies; paid time off and more. It surveys the availability and usage of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them.

About Valassis

Valassis is one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, offering unparalleled reach and scale to more than 15,000 advertisers. Its RedPlum™ media portfolio delivers value on a weekly basis to over 100 million shoppers across a multi-media platform – in-home, in-store and in-motion. Through its digital offerings, including redplum.com and save.com, consumers can find compelling national and local deals. Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan with approximately 7,000 associates in 28 states and eight countries, Valassis is widely recognized for its associate and corporate citizenship programs, including its America's Looking for Its Missing Children® program. Valassis companies include Valassis Direct Mail, Inc., Valassis Canada, Promotion Watch, Valassis Relationship Marketing Systems, LLC and NCH Marketing Services, Inc.  For more information, visit http://www.valassis.com, http://www.redplum.com and http://www.save.com. To learn about advertising opportunities with RedPlum, please call 1-800-437-0479.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following: price competition from our existing competitors; new competitors in any of our businesses; a shift in client preference for different promotional materials, strategies or coupon delivery methods, including, without limitation, as a result of declines in newspaper circulation; an unforeseen increase in paper or postal costs; changes which affect the businesses of our clients and lead to reduced sales promotion spending, including, without limitation, a decrease of marketing budgets which are generally discretionary in nature and easier to reduce in the short-term than other expenses; our substantial indebtedness, and ability to refinance such indebtedness, if necessary, and our ability to incur additional indebtedness, may affect our financial health; the financial condition, including bankruptcies, of our clients, suppliers, senior secured credit facility lenders or other counterparties; our ability to comply with or obtain modifications or waivers of the financial covenants contained in our debt documents; certain covenants in our debt documents could adversely restrict our financial and operating flexibility; ongoing disruptions in the credit markets that make it difficult for companies to secure financing; fluctuations in the amount, timing, pages, weight and kinds of advertising pieces from period to period, due to a change in our clients' promotional needs, inventories and other factors; our failure to attract and retain qualified personnel may affect our business and results of operations; a rise in interest rates could increase our borrowing costs; we may be required to recognize additional impairment charges against goodwill and intangible assets in the future; possible governmental regulation or litigation affecting aspects of our business; the credit and liquidity crisis in the financial markets could continue to affect our results of operations and financial condition; uncertainty in the application and interpretation of applicable state sales tax laws may expose us to additional sales tax liability; and general economic conditions, whether nationally, internationally, or in the market areas in which we conduct our business, including the adverse impact of the ongoing economic downturn on the marketing expenditures and activities of our clients and prospective clients as well as our vendors, with whom we rely on to provide us with quality materials at the right prices and in a timely manner. These and other risks and uncertainties related to our business are described in greater detail in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including our reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the foregoing information should be read in conjunction with these filings.  We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Valassis