02 Sep Best Practices for Employers & Working Parents

What are some the best practices for employers and working parents as we are approaching the back-to-school season? In our client Zoom call yesterday, while discussing staffing trends and marketplace challenges, the discussion arose regarding the stresses working parents are facing as they are trying to balance work, family, mental health during a global pandemic, and kids going back to school whether remote or taking a hybrid approach (as many schools are implementing) while working a full-time job.  With school right around the corner and our clients trying to navigate this unchartered territory, Integrated Staffing thought this would be a timely and important topic to raise by providing best practices from top workplaces for employers and working parents to help navigate a team of productive, happy, and resilient employees.

Is your company up for the challenge of supporting working parents as they face more months of the childcare crisis?  We turned to HR leaders from top companies to gather best practices to improve the health, well-being, and productivity of parents.

Provide open communication and resources.

• • • Survey parents on a monthly cadence to ask: “What do you need from your manager, your team, the company?” Report on what you heard and take action on the feedback regularly.
    • Institutionalize meeting best practices by setting company-wide standards to help eliminate unnecessary meetings. Schedule 3-hour, once-per-week ‘no meeting’ blocks at the company or team level.
    • Remind parents to tap into existing benefits. Chances are you have benefits and policies in place to help working parents – share quick links and resources regularly to save them time.
    • Encourage community through an Employee Resource Group for parents. Set up virtual, meet-ups for parents and an internal chat channel for them to share activities, tips, and tricks.

Revisit and update your policies and benefits.

• • • Help parents navigate childcare options by providing expert counseling, 1:1 guidance, and local resources.
    • Increase mental health support for stressed parents and their kids. Telehealth access to therapists and parenting coaches is more important than ever to help the whole family.
    • What is your work remote policy and is their flexibility for working parents to work from home on days children will be home from school, so they can support their children on an emotional level? Can you find creative ways to offer leave policies.

Provide training to your managers to help them understand the needs of parents and provide a positive support system.

• • • Train people managers to be empathetic to the needs of parents. Here are the top 3 questions your managers should ask parents in each 1:1:
      1. 1. How is your work and childcare schedule?
         2. Are your goals and priorities clear and realistic?
         3. What kind of support from me and the team would help you most right now?
    • Bring in experts to lead webinars with working parents on topics like avoiding burnout, checking in on kids’ emotional well-being, and talking to managers about what they need.

These are just a few best practices to help our clients, other employers, and our associates to think about as they are working through these challenges.  “More and more companies are realizing that maintaining an engaged, productive workforce means appreciating that breadwinning and caregiving are inextricably connected,” she said. “Providing care support for their teams results in greater overall performance and bottom-line results,” said Alyssa Johnson, vice president of global account management for Waltham, Mass.-based Care@Work, which provides employers with benefit programs to help workers care for children, seniors, pets and their homes. “New caregivers, new schedules and new after-school programs all require a period of adjustment that working parents are balancing with their responsibilities in the office.” 

In short, through collaboration and communication with employees, employers can successfully continue to navigate the uncertain COVID-19 terrain. Integrated Staffing workforce solutions team has been regularly advising employers on creative staffing solutions. We stand ready to assist as needed.

For more ideas and best practices, check out these article links that we found are helpful and insightful.

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/back-to-school-.aspx

https://www.inc.com/bernard-coleman/5-ways-to-manage-work-life-blur-in-covid-era.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/07/16/covid-19-back-school-complications-employers-and-working-parents-column/5429833002/

https://ceoworld.biz/2020/08/19/4-ways-employers-can-help-parents-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/vv