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| Pittway Corporation |
System
Sensor, a division of the Pittway Corporation, is the world’s
largest manufacturer of commercial smoke detectors. In the mid-1990’s,
Pittway executives observed a problem at their System Sensor plant
in St. Charles, IL, a suburb located 40 miles west of Chicago. Because
housing near the plant was expensive, many workers were forced to
commute from Chicago where housing was more affordable. Unfortunately,
this long haul took its toll on the workers in the form of low morale
and high absenteeism and turnover.
In 1999 Robin Snyderman, the Housing Director of Chicago’s Metropolitan
Planning Council (MPC), approached King Harris, President and CEO
of Pittway, and suggested that Pittway consider implementing an Employer
Assisted Housing (EAH) program at its System Sensor facility. Already
concerned about the jobs/housing mismatch affecting Chicago area employers,
Harris recognized that an EAH program would provide Pittway with an
innovate, effective, and potentially cost saving way to address its
St. Charles manpower problem. He agreed to have Pittway sponsor a
trial EAH program over a two year period and committed up to $300,000
for employee loans, employee credit counseling, and MPC evaluation
of the program.
As documented in the recent MetroBusinessNet
report "Imagine a Region," the System Sensor EAH program
became a major success. Over 100 of System Sensor’s 850 eligible
employees expressed interest in the program and over 40 became homeowners
over the next three years utilizing Pittway down payment assistance
loans. Follow-up evaluation by the MPC indicated that Pittway had
generated savings of $100,000 per year due to reductions in turnover
and absenteeism.
King Harris soon realized that a single company could not solve such
a deep-seated regional problem. So he joined forces with Chicago
Metropolis 2020, a new regional policy and advocacy organization
formed by Chicago business leaders, to tackle the geographic mismatch
between jobs and affordable housing.
In an attempt to minimize the jobs-housing mismatch, Chicago Metropolis
2020 drafted the Metropolis Principles, a pledge by business leaders
to consider affordable housing and access to public transportation
in expansion or relocation decisions. Over 100 local business leaders
have already signed the pledge and more than 22 Chicago-area employers
now help workers buy homes closer to work. The pledge is a win-win
for Chicago-area businesses and the surrounding community. By boosting
morale and improving retention, businesses see it as an investment
in workers that would be expensive to replace, and workers welcome
it as a way to own homes and spend less time commuting.
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