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How HR Professionals Can Provide Better Support to Single Parents

A growing number of single parents make up today’s workforce. Besides the challenges of having adequate childcare, these employees are concerned with needs that impact their work time, including sick leave, unexpected school closures, and other emergencies. These pressures can distract them, affecting both productivity and work quality.

To address this issue, HR professionals should take measures to support these employees. Doing so will improve retention while boosting the reputation of your company.

Growing Numbers of Single Parents in The Workforce

According to a 2019 survey by Pew Research, 23 percent of children under age 18 are raised by a single parent. You likely have one or even several single parents in your firm.

HR professionals need to keep in mind that offering help to single parents does not just benefit the employees. It’s also a critical component of employee retention. In a 2020 survey of 1,500 working parents, 40 percent said they were considering resigning in order to better care for their children.

Providing adequate support for the needs of single parents is a must to ensure that your company remains competitive. Here are some options to consider.

Child Care Options

One option that some HR departments can consider is supporting the number one need of these workers—child care services. While some companies can provide child care on-premises, that is not a reality for most companies.

However, it may be possible to partner with a nearby child care facility and provide a discount if you have enough employees with this need. Another option is to subsidize some or all of your employees’ child care costs. However, this may impact the salaries you can offer.

Provide a Variety of Plans

Rather than paying for child care, consider offering your employees a flexible spending account. This allows employees to put aside funds before taxes to save money. Funds can be put towards child care or other needs they may have for their families.

Working parents also need to provide their families with quality health care. Be sure to offer a variety of options for families to help them choose a health plan that fits their needs and budget. HMOs, PPOs, and POSs are the most popular options depending on your budget.

Offer Flexible Work Options

A popular post-pandemic work trend today is continuing to offer remote work. While many employees are heading back to the office, others are opting to remain home. Remote workers may be more productive than those in the office. And that can eliminate the high cost of child care.

Flexible work options do not have to be fully remote. You can offer employees a variety of options:

  • Flexible start times
  • One day out of the office
  • Half days
  • Fully remote except for meetings and on-site required days
  • Job sharing

You must develop policies for remote work days or times. For example, set standard policies for video conferencing attendance, such as no outside noise, proper dress code, and professional-looking backgrounds.

Training in Budgeting and Finances

Another way to support employees who are single parents is to offer training in budgeting and finances. These workshops can benefit your entire staff since COVID-19 had a tremendous financial impact on many people.

Helping your team to become financially literate reduces their stress while improving their loyalty to the company. Additionally, financial wellness programs are attractive perks that improve the value of your company.

Some of the topics you can cover include:

  • Budgeting 101
  • Homebuying tips
  • Boosting your credit score
  • Training on retirement benefits that match what you offer them

It’s important that your department lays out the details of any plans and options you choose to offer, both in the employee handbook and to attract new talent. Discuss these with the legal department and IT to avoid any concerns that may come up, such as data security.

Preventing Employee Burnout

Employee burnout is a real issue, particularly for single parents who work full time. Fully remote staffers can suffer fatigue from too many Zoom calls or working from home. Some parents prefer to go into the office so they can better appreciate their families.

How can you help your remote employees to avoid these issues? First of all, avoid scheduling wall-to-wall zoom meetings. Limit the number you have per day, making sure to invite only those who need to be there for meetings of lesser importance.

Support your employees by checking in with them from time to time. Use emails, surveys, and even phone calls. You can also create remote co-working sessions so employees at home don’t feel isolated the whole day.

Finally, edify your remote employees. Create online team-building activities, offer virtual mentorship programs, and consider providing professional development options that can be accessed online.

Addressing the needs of working parents is the responsibility of every HR professional. Offer the right mix of options to help them to thrive in the workplace. This will help your company stand out as a superior employment choice for single-parent professionals.

 

Coping With Talent Shortages for On-Location Roles

As healthcare workers administer more vaccines, many companies are pushing employees to return to in-person work. However, not everyone wants to go back to hour-long commutes and drab little cubicles. In fact, some people would rather quit their jobs than give up remote work. And thousands of Americans are doing just that.

While their decision to work from home (or not work at all) may improve their well-being and work-life balance, it’s caused severe talent shortages in on-location roles across the country. Subsequently, countless businesses are struggling to fill their offices and retain skilled employees.

How to Attract Talent

Many of today’s workers have spent more than a year earning a paycheck at home. These same employees will likely expect similar perks when they return to the office. Thus, if businesses want to retain their current workforce and attract new talent, they must make on-location roles more appealing.

Here are a few ways modern businesses might rethink their benefits package, workflow, and office design to accommodate and welcome back a post-pandemic workforce.

1. Encourage Open Dialogue

After businesses laid off millions of workers, those who were left began to experience mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. They didn’t know if they’d have to pick up the slack or if they’d be sent home next. These same employees are now returning to the office with survivor guilt. Their co-workers’ desks sit empty and, to make matters worse, many supervisors are completely oblivious to the widespread survivor guilt wracking the team.

To move forward in a healthy way, employers must become aware and accepting of their team’s worries and frustrations. Allowing them to openly voice their thoughts and opinions can also help workers release some steam and discuss their needs. Companies should implement an ongoing feedback loop. This will ensure both current and future employees are satisfied and will help them understand why furloughs and firings are necessary.

2. Provide Child Care

One-third of the U.S. workforce has a child under 14 in their home, and nearly 20 percent of them must reduce their work hours due to a lack of child care. Meanwhile, 26 percent of women had to quit their jobs to raise their kids. Only 30 percent of working parents had backup child care, highlighting the disparities between low- and high-income families.

As of December 2020, more than 25 percent of child care providers remain closed. However, more businesses are requiring employees to return to the office. Employers will have to provide free or at least discounted childcare to these workers if they’re to avoid talent shortages in the post-pandemic era. Whether it be on-location or a few blocks away, this employee benefit will help retain working parents and entice new ones to submit a job application.

3. Invest in Ongoing Training

The increasing demand for remote jobs has affected practically every business. However, industries like healthcare, hospitality, financial services, and construction are experiencing the most severe talent shortages.

These professions often require on-location workers that train under an apprentice if need be. Thus, employers can attract new talent by improving training programs and investing in ongoing learning. This arrangement also contributes to current employees’ engagement to improve retention.

4. Offer Better Benefits

Employers looking to develop a hybrid workplace environment might consider offering better benefits to on-location workers. Contrary to popular belief, this method is completely legal, as there are no federal laws requiring plans to provide the same benefit coverage to all employees.

Thus, providing childcare, learning opportunities, health insurance, 401(k) plans and other perks to on-location employees may entice more workers to stay and others to apply for such positions. Adding amenities like a fitness center, coffee shop, and even sleep pods could also bring more workers into the office and help with talent shortages.

5. Plan for Flexibility

Regardless of how many benefits you offer, some employees will still prefer to work from home. If most of the team feels similarly, supervisors might consider a flexible schedule rather than a complete company overhaul. This approach will help them save money and adapt to the ever-changing workplace environment. More importantly, it will help retain and attract cream-of-the-crop workers.

Employers should collaborate with employees to determine a schedule that works best for them. Maybe they’ll work from home every other day or only come into the office for meetings. Whatever system they choose, team members are bound to be less stressed and even more productive if they spend at least part of their workweek at home.

Finding and Retaining Talent

Ironically, finding on-location workers will require many human resource professionals and talent acquisition specialists to work remotely and use online resources. By utilizing digital job fairs, experiential events, and artificial intelligence, businesses can effectively search for and vet potential job candidates. Emerging recruitment tactics like jobcasting and gamified skill tests can also attract talented employees who don’t mind working in an office.

While this process may be incredibly stressful and expensive, it won’t go on forever. This is especially true if businesses alter their hiring and retainment strategies. As long as they incorporate the tactics above, they shouldn’t have to face a talent shortage for a long while—or at least until the next pandemic.