Employers are losing talent due to child care. Child care challenges force parents to make difficult choices, sometimes leaving them no choice but to exit the workforce, reduce their hours, and turn down job promotions. or stay out of the workforce altogether.
This leads to significant workforce and economic impacts for employers and communities looking to grow.
Most employers have a multi-generational workforce and child care is impacting all working generations. In a parent survey conducted by Kindercare, parents want these child care benefits from employers:
- Parents would switch jobs for on-site child care or financial assistance from employers to cover child care costs.
- Parents would choose child care benefits before health insurance benefits when considering whether to stay or leave their current job.
- Parents would accept a job that pays less but offers more flexibility when it comes to finding affordable child care.
Access to child care is vital for ensuring families can participate fully in work and community life while giving children a strong start.
Transform Consulting Group (TCG) has been working with community leaders and employers to help them address the lack of child care in their communities and develop solutions that benefit parents, employers, and communities.
How Can Employers Support Their Workforce’s Child Care Needs?
There is a continuum of child care benefits and supports that employers can provide for their workforce. Those benefits truly depend on the needs of their workforce, budget, and goals.
We recommend employers consider these guiding questions to pull helpful data and better understand how child care might be impacting their workforce and bottom line.
Who is in your workforce?
- More specifically, what is the representation of generations in your workforce as they have different needs?
- Do you have an aging workforce, and will you need to replace them with a younger workforce?
- What percentage of your workforce has dependents who may need child care?
What challenges do the parents in your workforce face?
- Do they frequently miss work or arrive late due to unreliable child care?
- Do they have back-up care available when their child is sick?
- Are they less productive or distracted when child care is unstable?
What HR data are you collecting?
- What is your turnover rate?
- What is your cost of attrition?
- How much are you losing when you lose a team member or have an unfilled position?
We have developed some helpful resources for employers and community leaders.
- Business Case for Employers to Invest in Child Care
- Overview of 8 Employer-Sponsored Child Care Models
- Fact Sheet on 8 Employer-Sponsored Child Care Models
- Data Fact Sheets on Community and Employer Workforce Child Care Needs
- Trainings to Promote and Implement Employer-Sponsored Child Care Models
You can find some of these resources here and read more about our work with employers and community leaders here.
Do you see the lack of child care in your community impacting residents’ quality of life? If you are, and you’re seeking solutions, we are ready to help you!
If you are an employer seeking to understand or support your workforce’s child care needs, we can also help you.
Contact our team to schedule a free consultation!
