It’s Good Business to Invest in Child Care

Child Care is central to the economic well being of families, businesses, and communities. According to recent surveys, businesses with child care programs report workplace improvements and bottom-line savings in the following areas:

  • Boosting Recruitment: 85% of employers report that providing child care services improved employee recruitment. About one in three working parents is willing to change employers or trade salary and benefits to work for a family friendly employer.
  • Damping Turnover: Almost 2/3 of employers found that providing child care services reduced turnover. Depending on the type of child care program offered, businesses reduced turnover by 37% to 60%.
  • Lowering Absenteeism: Child care breakdowns leading to employee absences cost businesses 3 billion annually in the United States. Fifty-four percent of employers report that child care services had a positive impact on employee absenteeism, reducing missed workdays by as much as 20% to 30%.
  • Increasing Productivity: Forty-nine percent of employers report that child care services had helped boost employee productivity.
    Strengthening Your Business Image: Communities value and support businesses that address the needs of their employees and the larger needs of the community in general. In one national survey, 85% of employers that offered child care programs reported more positive public relations.

Importance of Child Care

Child care is central to the economic well being of families, businesses, and communities. According to recent surveys, businesses with child care programs report workplace improvements and bottom-line savings.

Refer to statistics and survey questions below to see if investigating child care, as a benefit for your work place is profitable.

  • The average cost of leave for new mothers was 32% annual salary. Management was 39% and non-management was 28%. (Study conducted by AT&T). By comparison the cost of turnover was 150% of annual salary for management and 75% for non-management.
  • The cost of absenteeism is easier to figure. Just a few questions could give you the answer. What are employee ages and benefits for unworked time? How much time does the supervisor spend finding and instructing replacement workers? Does the replacement worker earn overtime pay for doing the work of absent workers? Is productivity reduced by absenteeism as, for example, on an assembly line?
  • The cost of turnover involves many variables. How much time does management spends in exit interviews and paperwork when a worker leaves? Are there severance pay expenses? Does the employer have to advertise to fill the position, or hire a recruiter, or an agency? How much time will personnel staff spend screening and interviewing applicants? Are there pre-employment tests, medical examinations or drug testing? Does the company cover the new hire’s travel or moving expenses? How much time will personnel staff spend orientating and processing paperwork for new hires?

By subsidizing care for employees’ sick children, an average business with 250 employees can save $75,000 per year in lost work time.
(Source: Johnson, G.W. Sick Child Care: An Idea Whose Time Has Come, Presentation at the Emergency Child Care Conference, Indianapolis, 1997.)

Employer Options

 

Looking At Your Child Care Landscape: Understanding the needs of the employer and working families is critical to the bottom line.  Child care issues can impact not only attendance but also productivity as employees juggle and struggle with the who, what, where and how much of their child care needs.

West Central Child Care can help bring to light the child care challenges that impact families and the resources available in their communities.  We are available to listen to your specific needs and assist you in creating a single session or series of brown bag lunch and learns.

Lunch and Learn On-Site Parenting Sessions: Professional specialists are available to bring parenting and child care topics in an interactive format to your group during lunch breaks. Handouts and parenting resources will be distributed to all who participate.
Cost: To be determined

 

Call (217) 222-2550 or 1-800-782-7318 for more information.