Many organizations have rapidly shifted to remote workforce to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. Those changes are expected to last well after the threat is over.
As employers adapt to a new reality, they must consider the long-term implications of having a larger remote workforce. The entire culture will change to accommodate the transition. One critical aspect that companies must address is childcare benefits for working parents, especially those with young children, because they have struggled the most during the pandemic lockdowns.
The evolution of childcare benefit practices are needed to address the challenge of a remote workforce. These benefits have the largest potential to improve the productivity of remote workers and increase employee retention. Arvorie sees five essential aspects to creating best-in-class childcare benefit programs. They must be:
Every family has its unique childcare needs and preferences. As remote work grows in acceptance, employers will require individualized solutions that fit the new environment.
Most families pay a high price for primary childcare. In fact, childcare costs more than public college tuition in 30 states. Employers that support better primary care with their benefit programs will have a greater impact on the productivity and well-being of their employees. Assistance focused on affordable primary childcare helps parents miss fewer workdays, have fewer schedule changes and lose fewer overtime hours.
Benefit programs must be designed to leverage every single dollar in federal and state tax incentives for both employers and families. Employers that do this can save up to 70% on program costs.
Childcare is often a working family’s top expense. Employers can make a measurable difference in the quality of childcare parents have access by providing better benefits and tools to find the top providers.
Companies of all sizes should be able to tailor their childcare programs based on employee demographics, the footprint of the workforce and budget.
Employers have to maximize the efficiency of their benefit programs and direct efforts where they can have the most impact.
Childcare is one area in most need for both employees and employers. Nearly 80% of employers, regardless of size, said childcare was top concern their employees had about returning to the office full time, according to an August survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Dollar-efficient childcare benefits, such as those offered by Arvorie, can help your company do more with its resources. Working from home and flexible hours are not enough when parents need to oversee young children. Step up your game by helping these parents access high-quality childcare that best develops their children.
Tailor-made programs for remote workers can attract and retain key talent during volatile times. Childcare accessibility affects employees at all levels of your company. Before the pandemic, nearly half of households earning more than $100,000 per year had difficulty finding quality childcare, according to a study by the Center for American Progress.
Your company’s ability to offer childcare benefit programs to remote workers can build a competitive advantage. These benefits can build stronger teams by helping parents miss fewer workdays because of childcare, boosting their job satisfaction and lowering employee turnover.
Millennial parents will be a growing constituency of remote workers to address with better benefit programs. Reliable childcare is critical for remote millennial employees, who make up one-third of the workforce. More mothers are having children later in life and are the main breadwinners in their households with higher income in key positions at their companies.
Arvorie’s open, distributed and tax-efficient platform enables your company to provide customized childcare benefit programs for a remote workforce.
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