Below are the highlights of some of the various studies* concerning the benefits of employer-sponsored childcare:

RECRUITMENT

According to a June 2007 article published in Managing Benefits Plans, a 2006 study conducted by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (named as a top 100 Best Company to Work For by Fortune Magazine in 2010 for the fifth consecutive year) showed that expanding its dependent-care offerings:

  • Increased the employee retention rate from 83.4% to 88.6%
  • Increased the retention rate for registered nurses from 85.3% to 89.1%
  • Decreased the job vacancy rate from 4.9% to 3.3%
  • Decreased the registered nurse job vacancy rate from 6.6% to 3.7%
  • Increased the rate of employees who returned to work after parental leave from 64% to 92%
  • Increased the use of the company-sponsored child care center from 75% to 100% of available slots
  • Increased the use of the resource and referral by employees from 3% to 7%

According to a study conducted by Simmons College, Graduate School of Management:

  • 93% of parents cite work-site childcare as an important factor in job change.
  • 42% of all employees surveyed said that the availability of on-site child care was an important factor to their decision to join the organization they work for.

RETENTION

A 2003 study conducted at Children's Health System in Birmingham, AL, of the impact of its year old Back-up and Mildly Ill Child Care Center found that turnover was found to have gone down from 22% the previous year, to 12%, and the new childcare center was cited as the main reason for improved job satisfaction in a corresponding employee survey.

  • A retention study conducted for Union Bank's 1,200-employee operations center in Monterey, CA by Burud and Associates found a 2.2% turnover rate for employees who used the on-site childcare center, compared to a 9.5% turnover rate for parents who used other arrangements.
  • A retention study by Circadian Technologies (Lexington, MA) found that turnover rates among extended hour employees decreased to 7.7% from 9.3% when extended hours child care services were available.
  • A case study of the cost of turnover published by William G. Bliss of Bliss and Associates found that the calculations of the costs associated with turnover in any organization could easily reach 150% of the employee's annual compensation.
  • Absenteeism
  • A study by Circadian Technologies (Lexington, MA), of employees whose work hours fall outside the 9-to-5 norm found that companies that offered after-hours childcare could reduce absenteeism by 20%, and recover the cost of the on-site center in 5 years.
  • The 2003 study at Children's Health System, Birmingham, AL found that the Back-Up and Mildly Ill Center helped 336 parents find childcare help, out of an employee population of 2,900, and it saved 4,020 workdays, in 2002.
  • Burud and Associates' study of Union Bank's childcare center showed participants who used the on-site childcare center missed 1.7 fewer days of work than parents who did not use the center. They also found that maternity leaves were 1.2 weeks shorter for mothers who used the center than those who did not.

PRODUCTIVITY

  • Abbot Laboratories, Chicago, IL, found that their workers who used the childcare center scored at the "exceeds expectations" level in evaluations a third more often than the norm.
     

LOYALTY

  • Simmons College's 1997 Study found that 26% of management level employees say they turned down or declined to pursue a job opportunity because they value their existing work-site childcare.
  • In the 2001 Bristol-Myers Squibb On-Site Child Care Assessment conducted by the Boston College Center for Work & Family, Bristol-Myers Squibb employees rated that enrolling their children in the on-site centers positively impacted their plans to stay with the company, as well as their productivity, quality of work, job satisfaction, work/life balance and quality of life.

MORALE

  • Galinsky and Johnson's 1998 study showed that one-third of parents with children under 6 have childcare arrangements that fall apart within 3 months. They also found that employed parents who experience fewer disruptions in their childcare arrangements are less stressed, better at coping, and more satisfied with their jobs in general.

BECOMING THE "EMPLOYER OF CHOICE"

  • Fortune Magazine named Station Casinos of Las Vegas to its list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for" for four consecutive years in 2005-2008.(Children's Choice Learning Centers manages 4 child care centers for Station Casinos). "Each of the areas that was evaluated in this process represents an integral part of Station Casinos' management philosophy. To us, this recognition is a testament that we are succeeding and our team members appreciate the culture we have created," said Valerie Murzl, Station Casinos' Vice President of Human Resources.
  • Medical City Dallas earned the accolade in 2004 as "North Texas' Best Family Friendly Company" in the "Over 2,000 employees" category, just one year after opening the child care center on its campus, managed by Children's Choice Learning Centers. Virginia Rose, Vice President of Human Resources, says "the value of that recognition alone is estimated to exceed one million dollars in advertising and public relations."

THE BOTTOM LINE

  • A study in the 2000 edition of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" showed that such efforts bring financial rewards. Over the previous three years, firms on the list had an average rise in their stock value of 37%, versus an average rise of 25% for the general stock value market.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Embedded in these studies is the fact that turnover and absenteeism has a direct cost to businesses. By using our ROI tool, the projected return on investment for offering childcare can be calculated on an annualized basis. This amount only considers the cost of turnover and absenteeism. Other savings attributed to a company-sponsored childcare will be realized in recruitment and in work performance. 

Please contact Children's Choice for a courtesy ROI study.

*The studies referenced are summarized for purposes of brevity.  The details and complete data of these studies and more may be found in various links and organizations, including Circadian Technologies, Work & Family Newsbrief, Child Care Partnership Project, Work & Family Connection Inc, and WFC Resources.