Working parents have long faced a balancing act between
Challenges around child care and caregiving frequently lead to absenteeism, decreased productivity and higher turnover. For HR and benefits leaders, addressing these pain points is no longer optional, but a strategic necessity.
The Best Place for Working Parents, a national network of businesses committed to family-friendly practices, has introduced a new solution designed specifically to meet this need. The Employee Survey, Solutions and ROI Assessment (SSRA) tool equips employers with clear, data-driven insights into how caregiving challenges affect their workforce, along with tailored recommendations to address them.
"The goal of the new SSRA is to help organizations understand and address their workforce's unique child care challenges by providing actionable insights and tailored strategies, with a tangible ROI," says Sadie Funk, national director of The Best Place for Working Parents. "By using a confidential, research-based employee survey, the tool identifies the impact of child care and caregiving challenges on employees' work performance and calculates the potential ROI of implementing family-friendly workplace policies."
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Today, three out of four children under five have both parents in the workforce and 75% of the overall workforce are caregivers, Funk shared. Data from The Best Place for Working Parents from 2021 found that 78% of unemployed parents said
"Working parents today do face the very real challenge of balancing work and home responsibilities," Funk says. "What is exciting is the tangible ROI that awaits those employers that are truly leaning in to listen and learn, and then implementing responsive benefits."
For benefit managers, the SSRA provides a clear roadmap to transform data into action, Funk says. Rather than relying on assumptions about what employees need, leaders can access concrete insights into how child care gaps are affecting their teams — and where investments in benefits will yield the greatest returns.
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Why this matters for benefit leaders
The launch of SSRA reinforces a critical point: When employers take steps to support working parents — through flexible schedules, backup child care options, or other caregiving benefits — they aren't just offering perks. They are directly addressing some of the leading drivers of attrition, disengagement and lost productivity.
For organizations looking to stay competitive in a tight labor market, tools like the SSRA provide the evidence HR leaders need to build the business case for
"By utilizing the SSRA, we hope to support companies' ability to increase retention and productivity by addressing caregiving-related work disruptions and challenges," Funk says. "Those employers who participate and then implement the recommendations can expect to benefit from reduced employee attrition and lower absenteeism thanks to supportive workplace policies."
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Beyond this survey tool, Funk encourages benefit leaders to invest in a suite of benefits that support their population, and communicate with parents directly to hear what they need and how it would impact their day-to-day lives.
"Equally as critical is educating employees about their current benefits," Funk adds. "Many employers offer policies that their employees simply aren't aware of, so making it a habit to check in with employees regularly about workplace policies is vital, whether that is through calls, emails, surveys or just anecdotal employee feedback."
There isn't a "silver bullet" when creating an inclusive parent-friendly culture, Funk says. The best employers will be flexible and innovative to support parents at every stage.
"As employees progress along their parenting journey, needs can change too," she says. "Every business has the opportunity to innovate and take action on becoming a more family-friendly organization."
