HR Pulse - Winter 2008 - (Page 65)

most affordable and cost-effective solution. CHHS wanted to address the needs of employees who cared for loved ones of various ages and who worked different shifts at several locations across three states. Eighty-seven percent of CHHS employees are female and the average age for all employees is 43. These demographics indicate a signiﬁcant “sandwich generation” of employees who are juggling caregiving responsibilities for both children and aging parents. CHHS determined that employees had plans in place for the ongoing care of their loved ones, but lacked the resources to coordinate shortterm care during gaps or breakdowns in those normal arrangements. The hospital decided that a backup care program would attend to employee demands for caregiving support while also addressing several workplace concerns. Implementing the Solution CHHS outlined the following requirements for a backup care solution: • Flexibility and 24/7 availability to address the needs of shift workers • Geographic coverage to help with local and long-distance caregiving • Credibility with screened and qualiﬁed caregivers to make employees feel comfortable using the program • Responsiveness and professionalism to ease any administrative burdens of offering a new beneﬁt. To meet these requirements, CHHS chose a backup care program to act as a “safety net” for employees with childcare or adult/elder care responsibilities. Backup care ensures that employees can get to work with conﬁdence, knowing their loved ones are in skilled hands; plus it covers a wide variety of caregiving situations such as: • School holidays/In-service days • Mildly ill children, adults, or elders • Caregiver vacations • Unplanned school or daycare closures • Loved ones recovering from illness/surgery • Unreliable or sick caregivers • Breaks between school and summer activities. To access the backup care beneﬁt, employees simply call a toll-free number at any time of the day or night, receive individual consultation, and request temporary care either in their home, in the home of a loved one, or in a center near a home or work location. Employees have access to a speciﬁc number of backup care hours per year (typically 80-100 hours), and are billed a reasonable hourly co-payment (typically $2 per hour per person) after the care occurs. The temporary care is provided either in centers (that must meet or exceed state licensing guidelines) or by in-home providers (who are CPR/First Aid The college determined that a work-life focus would support this initiative and help BCM, an affiliate of the Texas Medical Center, attract top talent in Houston’s competitive employment market. trained, background checked, and have relevant caregiving experience). Getting Results Offering a backup care program helped CHHS achieve several key objectives. • Provide a valued and well utilized employee beneﬁt. Hundreds of CHHS employees have relied on the backup care beneﬁt to help resolve short-term childcare or eldercare issues and many have expressed their gratitude to the hospital’s HR team. Sadowski used the backup care program several times to arrange for temporary care for her parents in Arizona. She said she actually would have missed several days of work on each occasion, to ﬂy back to Arizona and provide care. “Backup care is a wonderful beneﬁt and a wonderful service,” commented Sadowski. “It is available 24 hours a day on short notice and provides excellent caregivers. My whole family has been blessed by this beneﬁt and I’m very grateful that my employer has chosen to make this available.” • Reduce absenteeism. Use of the backup care beneﬁt continues to grow—resulting in reduced absenteeism. Employees used 2,163 hours of backup care in 2006 and 2,477 hours in 2007. Since the program started in September 2005, backup care has provided CHHS with an estimated savings of $220,000 in reduced absenteeism alone. • Make a cost-effective beneﬁts investment. When compared to the cost of providing other employee beneﬁts, the investment in backup care is affordable and delivers value. • Continue employer-of-choice recognition to boost recruitment and retention. CHHS has been recognized as a top area employer by the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine and MetroParent Magazine and commended for offering a comprehensive beneﬁt package. The organization aims to provide cutting-edge beneﬁts that are appreciated by employees in a competitive recruiting market. As a “best in class” employer, CHHS knows offering a backup care beneﬁt plays into that goal and complements other beneﬁts the hospital offers. Additionally, the health system 65 HR Pulse Winter 2008 >>

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Winter 2008

HR Pulse - Winter 2008 Contents Pulse Points Executive Director’s Letter President’s Message HR Leader Profile: Karmen Reid Advocacy is for Everyone A Case Study in Raising Voices Diversity Management Measuring What Matters Bullying as Gender Harassment Combat Workforce Changes Hardwiring Accountability Immigration Frustration HR and Education Making Exit Interviews Count Management Styles that Enhance Intrinsic Motivation Backup Care Fact or Fiction 10 Ways to Lose Your Best People Advertisers’ Index

HR Pulse - Winter 2008

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