• Home
  • Education
  • News and Resources
  • Advocacy
  • Associate Members
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
News
Resources

Staying Flexible – Creative Ideas for Childcare Accommodations

For many communities across Wisconsin, there is still extreme uncertainty about what this school year will look like. The only thing we know for sure is that it will be a year unlike any other. With schools still constructing plans for opening virtually, in-person, or in some combination of the two, businesses are grappling with creating their own plans for how to accommodate working parents suddenly in need of childcare. 

Jim MorganTo get more actionable insights for member banks, WBA spoke with Jim Morgan, vice president of business development and workforce strategies at MRA-The Management Association, Inc (pictured right). His advice centers on one major theme: flexibility. 

The first step to being flexible is to create options, i.e. banks should create a set of plans for more than one scenario, including all-virtual. “Even if your school district is going back in person, create a plan for virtual,” Morgan advised. No one knows what the impact of the virus will be going into the fall and winter, so sudden school closures are a very real possibility. 

Next, banks need to find out what their employees need and want, though Morgan says how banks do that may vary depending on the size of the bank (number of employees and locations). Some may be small enough for leadership to simply host a meeting for all affected employees. Others may need to consider a survey or other mechanism to determine needs. Either way, the best first step is a pulse survey of employees, whether that’s done in a meeting or via a traditional digital survey. “Get the demographics of your employees so you know the scope of impact for each department or area of the bank,” said Morgan. Ask about the number and ages of children and whether the employee has non-school childcare available. 

The final plan—or set of plans for different circumstances—will be as individual as the company, says Morgan. “How you want to handle this is a strategic discussion,” he explained. The bank’s hours, customer preferences, and school district choices are all variables, as are the number of employees affected, which teams/departments they’re in, the ages of their children, and the availability of local childcare. 

Ideas to consider: 

Alternate shifts – Morgan says he’s seeing a lot of this in manufacturing, but it also applies for frontline bank staff. 

Align schedules – Give staff options to align the school and work schedules, which can be especially helpful for situations where the school is taking a hybrid approach. Ex: Week on, week off, or alternating days. 

Fill in gaps – Look at hiring more part time employees to cover shifts left open if some employees need to reduce hours or change schedules. 

Offer emergency childcare leave – This can be a valuable benefit, especially with many childcare centers in Wisconsin now closed. 

Supplement childcare costs – This benefit allows the bank to make direct payments on behalf of participating employees to their chosen childcare provider. The funds can cover all or part of the employees’ childcare expenses. 

Set up childcare onsite or nearby – While the initial costs and liability considerations are significant, this convenience could be a high-value employee benefit long after the pandemic is over. At least a few banks in Wisconsin are considering this. 

Be a facilitator – Banks can take on the role of connector, matching up employees with concierge services (nannies, sitters, etc.) or creating a daycare match program for employees (where employees take turns watching one another’s children). 

When deciding which combination of these ideas, or others, to implement, bank leaders should consider their institution’s culture along with cost constraints and logistical feasibility. Not all banks have a culture where employees would be comfortable watching one another’s children, for example. 

Again, the key to implementing the bank’s plan successfully will be to stay flexible. An employee’s circumstances may change from week to week or even day to day, and that uncertainty multiplies the more variables are affected. “If the bank has staff across 10 different school districts, know how you are going to keep track of everything,” said Morgan. “It may be a morning briefing so you know what’s happening.” Some banks may even need a pool of frontline employees to be “on call” to cover shifts on short notice if a peer is unable to come in. 

Throughout this entire process, Morgan says clear, authentic communication is essential. “If there was ever a time for transparency and communication, this is it,” he said. “Leadership needs to tell people the plan, why they’re doing it, and acknowledge it may change quickly.” Regarding communication—with employees, customers, and vendors—Morgan says more is always better. "You can’t over-communicate, even if it’s ‘we don’t know’ or a brief update,” he said. “Give people a chance to ask questions.” 

Read more from Morgan on this topic here. 

Seitz is WBA operations manager and senior writer. 

MRA-The Management Association is a WBA Associate Member.

By, Amber Seitz

Print 🖨
August 10, 2020/by Jose De La Rosa
Tags: COVID-19, Human Resources
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/istock_40983796_xxxlarge-financial-education-kid.jpg 1218 1629 Jose De La Rosa https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Jose De La Rosa2020-08-10 20:40:502021-10-13 13:54:39Staying Flexible – Creative Ideas for Childcare Accommodations
You might also like
Expecting the Unexpected
IRS Issues Instructions on How to Handle Payments Made to Deceased Individuals
It’s a Wrap on Cap Day 2022
WBA Wisconsin Economic ReportCOVID Made the Economy Sick, Government Made It Worse
Vieau and Endres on FarmSupporting Wisconsin Farmer Resilience Through Challenging Times
Promoting Careers in Banking to a Younger Generation
An Era of Evolution: Expanding Good Practices Beyond 2020
Investing in Your Team

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Community
  • Compliance
  • Credit Unions
  • Education
  • Member News
  • News
  • Products
  • Resources
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Association Update: Engaging with Your Association
  • Martin Joins One Community Bank Advisory Board
  • Ritchay Promoted to Vice President
  • Embracing a Culture of Cybersecurity
  • Mesura Retires From Waukesha State Bank

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
WBA logo
  • About
  • Community
  • Subsidiaries
  • Staff

questions@wisbank.com

608-441-1200

4721 S Biltmore Ln.
Madison, WI 53718

Get our Newsletter!
Subscribe

© 2023 Wisconsin Bankers Association. All rights reserved. | Website Design by Bizzy Bizzy
Get to Know MBIS: Insurance for Banks, From People Who Know BanksLaunching on Oct. 1: New Online Insurance Portal
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more×

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Terms of Use
Accept settingsHide notification only

Subscribe

* indicates required








Membership