How to offer childcare benefits for employees at your company
Childcare benefits and backup childcare assistance are gaining traction as a revolutionary way to attract new employees and support your team, all while minimizing disruptions to the company’s workflow and output. We have previously covered how offering corporate childcare benefits can help you snag the best hire, but how does it work once the candidate is on board?
In this post, we will guide you through the details of offering childcare benefits for employees at your company.
What is corporate backup childcare?
Corporate backup care is a benefit provided by an employer that gives employees alternatives when their regular childcare solution is not available. This might happen if an employee’s nanny is on vacation or sick, during preschool or school closures, or for other reasons affecting the family’s routine.
If your employee has access to backup childcare, they may be able to drop their child of at a daycare center on-site, or a professional childcare provider is dispatched to their home to cover the gap in childcare. Typically, when offered as a benefit, this service is covered or subsidized by the employer.
One study by the Council for a Strong America found that companies lose $12.7 billion dollars each year as a result of childcare challenges among their employees. Since access to backup childcare benefits means your employee doesn’t have to choose between coming in to work and caring for their child, the end result for you as an employer can be immense.
By not losing out on employee productivity or risking an interrupted workflow of your team or organization, you also do not lose out on your share of those $12.7 billion dollars.
Types of corporate backup care
There are many ways employees can access backup care when their regular childcare is unavailable. The right option for your company may depend on budget, size of the organization, and community where your employees live.
On-site corporate daycare
With on-site daycare, employees can bring their kids straight to work and drop them at a daycare center in the building, with screened and experienced childcare providers ready to greet the children and care for them through the day. This option is most advantageous for larger corporations with enough employees to make it a financially beneficial option, like JPMorgan Chase has opted to do in partnership with Bright Horizons (which you can read more about here in Forbes Magazine).
Off-site daycare company affiliates
Daycares can be an option even for smaller organizations by partnering with daycare providers in a backup care arrangement. This way, the parent can drop off their child in a daycare either near their home or near the workplace and pay a subsidized rate, while the employer covers the rest via their arrangement with the daycare facility.
In-home childcare for employees
With in-home childcare as a backup care option, a vetted and screened childcare provider comes directly to the employee’s home, essentially taking the place of a nanny or babysitter. This, too, is arranged through a licensed childcare partner, and the employee will pay a subsidized rate for the arrangement.
Smart Sitting provides in-home backup childcare both through our partnership with Bright Horizons, the nation’s leading provider of backup care solutions, as well as directly to organizations in our curated childcare solutions tailored directly to our clients’ needs.
Childcare reimbursement for employees
With this option, employees arrange the backup childcare of their choice, then submit receipts to the employer for reimbursement. This method may be a way to provide childcare benefits in smaller companies or businesses in regions where larger backup care providers are not available.
For both in-home and onsite childcare, the process is designed to be as smooth as possible, both for you and your employee who needs it. The employee either fills out a form online or uses an app to request care, and your backup care partner handles all paperwork, insurance, and payment, providing you with a rundown of services used at agreed upon intervals.
Need help adding childcare benefits for employees?
At Smart Sitting, we have long partnered with both large and small organizations to help them figure out their backup childcare needs and how best to support their team members. Through our partnership with Bright Horizons, the nation’s leading provider of backup childcare, we have helped countless families with emergency childcare - and several found their long-term nanny or babysitter in the process.
We also customize backup care solutions directly with our corporate clients, helping with on-site and in-home childcare, both for emergencies and for the long term. Our dedicated, experienced team know the stress of finding trustworthy, engaging childcare providers with short notice, and we have provided that peace of mind for families for nearly a decade.