Changing Workforce Demands Benefits for Working Parents
Periodically, I welcome a guest to join me on my blog. Fran Durekas, Chief Development Officer of Children’s Creative Learning Centers (CCLC) has authored the following article in this week’s edition of BusinessWeek. If your employer is considering sponsored care, pass this article on to the appropriate contact in your Human Resources group. It will help them have a better understanding of the working parent and the benefits of employer-sponsored care they can include in their own proposal.
As the demographics of the workforce changes, the needs of the workforce are also changing. The Society for Human Resource Management Workplace Forecast of 2004-2005 found that an increase in workers with elder care responsibilities and an increase in workers with both childcare and elder care responsibilities were the primary upcoming demographic trends in the workforce.
As I talk to my clients, this is indicative of a prominent dilemma these days – specifically the changing landscape of work-life balance for parents. Especially with the new economic environment, employees want to be visible, engaged and demonstrating value. So, employees worry, “How can I continue to show up to work every day, without worrying about my child care and/or elder care responsibilities?”
As a working mom growing my own business, I know first-hand how hard it can be to balance my work and my life at home. Employers today need to look at policies and benefits that will support the “sandwich generation” and allow them to maintain their skilled workers and their productivity.
Are You Willing to Make the Change?
Offering a spectrum of dependent care benefits that support the work/life balance of employees can produce a win-win solution resulting in loyal, satisfied employees that improve an organization’s overall productivity and reputation in the market. By supporting retention of employees, and solutions that tend to lower family-related absenteeism and subsequently increase productivity, these programs also generate a substantial return on investment.
One of my clients puts it this way:
“We know employees have lives outside of work,” says Pamela Faccone, manager, Health and Wellness at Prudential Financial. “And we’re committed to helping them succeed both professionally and personally. Our employees have access to an excellent network of in-home, on-site and near-site child care providers, adult care services, flexible work arrangements, wellness programs and a variety of other work/life programs all designed to create a highly supportive and productive workplace.”
Other employers are starting to respond to this change as well by adjusting their benefits offerings to meet current employee needs. According to the Families & Work Institute’s 2008 National Study of Employers, 79% of employers now offer employees some level of flexibility. Child care assistance benefits have remained stable over the years even through the down economy and assistance accessing information on elder care services is offered by more employers today (29%) than in previous years.
The Future of the Benefits Package
In the current economy, it is as important as ever to find and retain the best employees and to ensure that dollars spent on employee benefits are spent wisely. According to the 7th annual MetLife Annual Employee Trends Study, 54% of employers cited retention of employees as one of their top three benefits objectives for 2009 and close to a third of employers feel that offering work/life benefits is a key strategy to accomplish this goal. However, I find it concerning to see that the study reveals only 8% of employers feel the need to offer benefits that meet employees’ diverse needs, while 46% of employees would like to see this kind of customization of benefits.
As an employer, if you really want to ensure your dollars are spent effectively, you need to align your organization’s benefits offering with the specific needs of your workforce and offer your employees benefits packages that address their diverse needs.
Organizations that are willing to design this type of benefits package that will cover a range of employees’ diverse needs and simultaneously respond to the changing demographics of the workforce, such as dependent care access or financial assistance programs that cover both child care and elder care are the ones that will ride out the wave as the economy ebbs and flows. They will see direct benefits through lowering turnover and absenteeism, increasing productivity and enhancing the corporate image as an employer of choice. In addition, offering employees benefits that meet their current needs will result in a more engaged, more loyal workforce and assist employers in the consistent, primary goal of employee retention.
Steps You Can Take to Create Customized Benefits Offerings
- My recommended first step to evaluate the potential impact of any employee benefits option is to survey your employees.
- Once the basic needs have been identified, organizations can gather information on ways to meet identified needs and research existing resources and programs in the market or industry.
- Organizations will likely want to look into ways that other organizations meet similar needs in their employee populations, and analyze potential return on investment statistics where available.
For example, an organization is interested in examining the potential to provide dependent care assistance, but doesn’t know where to begin. Through a dependent care needs assessment survey, you can identify challenges and needs. Do your employees need help finding convenient, quality child care or elder care centers in the community? Is there a greater need for emergency care? Do workers need help in paying for quality care for their dependents? Are there resources in the market currently that can be leveraged to support these types of demands?
Once needs have been identified, you can evaluate options such as offering access to traditional dependent care facilities, such as on-site or near-site care or non-traditional options that are becoming more in demand as backup care, access programs, financial assistance programs or resource and referral programs.
A look at best practices offered both in the market and by other organizations to meet similar needs can help the organization narrow down their options, identify key issues to consider in the evaluation process and decide whether to design a new program or develop partnerships with existing providers.
Working with a benefits consultant or other third party resource can help you evaluate and research options appropriate for your organization and ensure that you are effectively aligning your organization with current best practices and providing employees with benefits that are both meaningful and relevant in today’s workforce.
About Fran Durekas, Founder and Chief Development Officer, CCLC
Fran Durekas is Founder and Chief Development Officer for CCLC, a leading provider of employer-sponsored early childhood education and care. In this capacity, she provides executive leadership and support for new center openings, long-term strategy development for centers and client relations. She also assists with CCLC center design, construction and program recommendations. You can find out more about Fran and the high-quality employer-sponsored care that CCLC offers at www.cclc.com
Uncategorized | Elanna | 
September 22, 2009 9:41 am
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