Careful Planning

 Many companies are at a crossroads - somewhere between a culture that stays out of personal matters and one that embraces work/life benefits as a key to its success.

It is not a matter of how many policies you offer; it's a matter of what policies and programs will work for you and your employees.  The first step in developing child care policies and programs in your community is to determine your objective. Taking the time for careful planning is an important component of successful child care policies and programs.  Critical questions to consider are:

• What programs best match your organization's goals in meeting the needs of employees and enhancing profitability?
• What steps, if any, should your organization take to implement such initiatives? Are there community partners you can work with to achieve these objectives?
• How can the program's costs and benefits be measured on an ongoing basis?

A good first step to adopting work/life programs is to establish a task force.  This approach has two benefits:

• A committee approach offers the opportunity for people from many levels of the organization to have input and become invested in the program that is eventually adopted.
• The process of developing and implementing work/life policies is time consuming; a group process allows for shared workload.

The composition of the task force is extremely important.  If possible, task force members should include:

• Line employees from several levels
• Representatives of top and mid-level management
• A diverse age group
• Male and female employees
• Employees with and without care needs
• Union members
• Personnel management staff
• Legal, financial or public relations experts (optional)

Make sure the task force is charged with clear objectives that have management support.  Give members as much flexibility as possible within the parameters of their assignment.  Establish a time frame and a mechanism by which the task force regularly communicates its progress to management and obtains feedback.

The task force will likely be charged with gathering information about the needs of the employees, the company's resources and constraints.  The task force may also analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various policies and programs; develop ways to evaluate adopted programs and policies; and make recommendations to management.

If you are a small business owner, a task force may not be necessary.  Instead you might want to convene a meeting with your employees or with a small group of interested individuals.  Or you may decide to begin with a written survey of your workforce.

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