(from left to right: Gary Salamido, CEO, NC Chamber; Doug Blizzard, Chief Solutions Officer, Catapult; Mike McBrierty, Director of State and Local Government Affairs – South, Biogen; and Ellen Pancoast, Vice President of People Operations, Cone Health)
Catapult’s Doug Blizzard recently participated on a Child Care Panel at the NC Child Care Economic Summit, presented in partnership with the NC Department of Commerce, the NC Chamber, NC Child, Child Care Resources Inc., and Invest Early NC.
Last year Catapult conducted an employer survey on child care issues to help bring awareness to legislators to the impact child care has on local employers. Key findings of the survey include:
- 91% of employers said providing child care assistance or resources was an important issue in attracting and retaining employees.
- 61% of employers said the demand for child care by employees has increased over the last five years.
- The lack of available and/or affordable child care was impacting employers in several ways. 78% cited greater absenteeism, 40% cited increased turnover, 33% cited lower productivity and 27% cited making it harder to attract employees.
- 64% of leadership teams believe that employees/parents should pay for the costs of child care.
- Interestingly, however, 55% of employers said they were interested in offering some measure of child care assistance. Despite that, as reported in Catapult’s 2024 Recruiting and Hiring Trends report, only 3.4% of companies are providing some form of child care assistance. In that same survey, 15.8% of employers are offering pet care insurance.
During the summit, many leaders in the child care industry noted the need for employers to engage the child care issue. While larger employers can afford to offer richer benefits up to providing on-site facilities, there are ways that all employers can participate. Possibilities include:
- Establishing relationships with child care providers and offering discounts to those groups
- Partnering with other business to provide child care or to support a center
- Subsidizing the cost of an on-site center
- Contributing to employees dependent care reimbursement account. Catapult can run these accounts for you.
- Paying membership fees for an online emergency or back-up care service
Another recent development in NC is the TriShare program. This program was funded through the NC Legislature and exists to help lower income families pay for childcare. The employer, employee and state government split the costs of childcare for eligible employees subject to a maximum funding level. In fact, March 17 through 21 has been dubbed “Trishare Week,” where multiple events/webinars will be held to introduce employers to the program.
NC Tri-Share Week is an opportunity for businesses to learn how they can participate in this innovative program and the advantages it offers. By joining NC Tri-Share, employers can:
- Enhance employee retention and satisfaction by offering child care benefits.
- Attract top talent by providing a competitive benefits package.
- Improve workplace productivity by reducing employee stress related to child care costs.
- Strengthen community ties by supporting local child care providers.
Employers are encouraged to attend an in-person or virtual session to learn how NC Tri-Share can directly benefit their workforce and business operations.
Childcare doesn’t have to stand in the way of you attracting or retaining key employees. Take action today!