On-site Daycare

Who Measures Up?

By Charlene Torkelson

Admittedly, when Consumer Reports releases its "Best Cars" issue, my interest is piqued. Similarly, when Fortune ranks the Top 100 companies, I'm interested to see who's on the list and why. So when I picked up Working Mother's "The 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," I really started to think. What makes a good company for a working mother? I began to check the criteria and the benefits of employment listed by each selected company to see what they offered.

"The 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" list, in existence since 1986, allows companies or employees to apply by questionnaire. The survey is based on the "company's culture, employee population and policies on work/life and women's advancement." With the help of eXpert Survey Systems, a Brewster, N.Y. firm, information is verified, and scores awarded. Specifically, I was interested in the availability of on-site childcare facilities. How is this benefit used? And who really benefits?

Certainly, the type of business performed by each company helps determine the benefits available. For example, I discovered that Edward Jones, ranked No. 1 by Working Mother in the "More Jobs for Women" category and No. 5 by Training Magazine (March 2001) for "Top 50 Training Companies," does have a large percentage of women employees (62 percent) and spends $75,000 to $100,000 to train each of their investment representatives. However, they do not offer an on-site daycare facility.

New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson, producer of personal care products for adults and children, does provide six on-site childcare facilities serving more than 500 children from 6 weeks to 6 years. They also provide a childcare referral program.

General Mills in Minneapolis provides an infant care center at the company's main headquarters. The facility only cares for 36 infants ages 6 weeks to 16 months, but they also provide other family-friendly benefits including a backup childcare service, a sick childcare benefit that pays for 85 percent of the cost for the service and childcare discounts at selected daycare centers. They also allow a flex schedule when possible, give new fathers paid leave and offer up to $5,000 in reimbursement for adoption costs.

The Target Company, also based in Minneapolis, offers backup childcare benefits on work sites in downtown Minneapolis and Chicago. Although not providing actual facilities for daily childcare, this benefit allows parents who have a last-minute problem with a care provider to have a backup alternative available. They also help with the cost of daycare through a "Dependent Care Spending Account," which permits employees to apply tax-free money toward childcare services.

Most of the companies on the list prominently advertised the Working Mother award on their company information site, an indication that a family-friendly award is important to these companies.

Many companies realize the importance of keeping quality people who are able to cope more comfortably with family situations. But how do all these benefits really work?

Working Mother

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