What benefits do your working parents actually need?

By Lee Hafner June 11, 2025, 3:00 p.m. EDT 3 Min Read

Mom holding child in lap while on phone and working at computer

First in a series

For benefit leaders looking to pack their workforce with top talent, it's time to re-evaluate how parental benefits are chosen.

Designing benefits and policies that attract and retain talent is crucial, but something's missing from this mindset, says Danaya Wilson, a mom, author and CEO of BetterCertify, a compliance solutions provider. Leaders need to think about how their offerings demonstrate appreciation for the time and effort employees are dedicating to their work — especially when it comes to working parents.

"We're spending eight hours a day — sometimes more — contributing to an organization," says Wilson. "It's not just about working for money, we're giving a portion of ourselves. If benefits can be restructured to include retention, attraction and also appreciation, this is a key component to having a culture that will allow workers to give parts of themselves."

For working parents, it starts with understanding their need for flexibility, emphasizes Wilson. Some companies are able to implement this more easily than others, but benefit leaders can often get creative to ensure it exists at some level, she says. Even for parents in frontline positions like retail and healthcare, flexible schedules are possible. For example, two parents could potentially divide a shift, Wilson says, one working the first half and the other working the second. It's about assessing people's roles, and injecting flexibility if possible.

"There are so many solutions; it's just whether or not it's legal, impossible, and most of the time it is," she says.

Child care options are another valued benefit — and another opportunity to think outside the box. On-site daycares may not always be an option, but leaders can look at other forms of child care that are. Wilson makes an example of UPS, which offers on-site emergency child care to its shiftwork employees through a partnership with Patch Caregiving, helping avoid absenteeism and reducing turnover.

A study by Boston Consulting Group and Moms First showed that employers offering various child care benefits have experienced a 90% to 425% ROI, and that retaining just 1% of eligible employees can potentially cover the cost. On the employee side, 86% said they are likely to stay with their employer because of these benefits, and 78% said the peace of mind the benefits give them has helped boost their career.

"We have to take into account that school does not cover all of the caretaking needs of a child," Wilson says. "An employer could elect to have child care during those after-hour [times], and it could be as simple as hiring a firm that does that.I just had a book signing, and I hired a firm that provided on-site child care offered to the attendees. That's one universal thing that is needed until children are old enough to stay at home."

Wilson suggests other supportive benefits such as summer camp and extracurricular stipends — things that help parents save money and provide good experiences for their children. Benefits like this can also be more broad, allowing parents to use them for anything caregiving related, she says. By regularly evaluating benefits to see where potential cutbacks can be made, money can be reassigned to offerings that have a greater impact, Wilson adds.

"If you want to get strategic with benefits, don't just go with the same old things," she says. "If people aren't using certain offerings, get rid of them and add in things [that people really need.]"

Read about more ways to support working parents:

Lee Hafner

Editor, Employee Benefit News