Benefits of Employer-Sponsored Child Care

In November 2008, the Consulting Practice at Bright Horizons released a report entitled "The Lasting Impact of Employer-Sponsored Child Care". Any employer, large or small, reading this report would be hard-pressed to argue against employer-sponsored child care. The data, collected from over 4,000 parents currently using employer-sponsored child care, as well as historical information from 100,000 respondents over the past 10 years, provides compelling evidence of the benefits of employer-sponsored child care. That data was broken into several categories, which allows employers to see the benefits of the type of child care program they are considering.

Full-service child care centers (typically on-site):

• 68% of the respondents stated that the child care program was important in their decision to accept a position with the company.
• 94% of the respondents stated the child care program would be important in a decision to change jobs.

Back-up child care programs (at or near the work-site):

• 74% of the respondents stated that they are more likely to continue with the company due to the presence of a back-up child care program.
• 72% of the respondents stated that they were able to work at least one day in the past 6 months that they would not have been able to work if it had not been for the back-up child care program.

Employee Retention:

• 80% of respondents stated that they are more likely to stay with their employer because of the child care program.
• Employees utilizing the child care program experienced 45% less voluntary turnover than employees who did not utilize the child care program.

Employee Productivity:

• Employees utilizing the child care program were 20% more likely to be rated as "top performers" by their employers.
• 45% of employees not utilizing the child care program reported missing work in the past 6 months because their child's school or daycare center was closed while only 9% of employees utilizing the child care program reported the same difficulties.

No, employer-sponsored child care programs are not a "quick fix". However, with data like this, it is clear that they are highly effective. Let KidCentric help you start a program.

Download the report here.