7 best life transition points for introducing family and caregiver benefits
Communicating care benefits at the precise time they are relevant can bolster utilization and employee productivity.
Benefits managers spend significant time researching and negotiating care benefits to create the best package for their employees. However, care benefits are often overlooked as they aren’t top of mind at that given moment and employees are more focused on decisions about health care, FSAs and insurance. As a result, valuable benefits go underutilized, negatively impacting both employee and employer.
Related: 4 things to consider when designing a family-building benefit plan
By centering care benefits communications around an employee’s life transition points, employers can significantly bolster utilization to reduce absenteeism and attrition while increasing productivity and well-being. This means communicating care benefits at the precise time they are relevant to the employee, during one of the 7 key transition points in the employee lifecycle.
1. Family planning
Many employers now offer benefits to help employees looking to start a family through fertility assistance, adoption or surrogacy. These employees are excited about growing their family, yet nervous about how they will achieve their goal—and the big price tag that comes with it. When an employee begins to utilize family planning benefits, it’s the perfect time to showcase the breadth of care benefits and subsidies the family can access throughout parenthood. This goes a long way in demonstrating the employer’s dedication to supporting its parent employees.
2. Birth/adoption of a child
There are not many bigger transitions in life than having a child. The responsibility that comes with it, in addition to the change in lifestyle and priorities is huge. New parents are overwhelmed with the sleepless nights, worrying about their newborn, and general logistics including what child care options they have once they return to work.
This is one of the biggest opportunities for a company to step in with guidance on the care benefits available to the family. It’s important to know that a child care benefit is so critical, parents ranked this benefit as their top choice for employer perks, outranking a flexible schedule, 401K matching, extended paid parental leave, and even performance bonuses.
As a benefits manager communicating to a new parent, there is a lot to cover, so a phased approach may be necessary starting with the typical leave/disability administration and health care plan additions. A logical next communication focuses on the details of how to enroll in and contribute to the company dependent-care FSA and what child care benefits are available. Finally, the last email in the series features information on maximizing 401k contributions, putting money aside into a 529 and drafting a will.
3. End of maternity or paternity leave
First-time parents are anxious about returning to work and leaving their baby in the care of someone other than themselves. They are exploring their child care options, searching for full-time child care options (daycare, nanny, au pair), considering extending their leave, and inquiring about flexible or part-time work.
A timely reminder at this point can be incredibly helpful for the first-time parent. Pointing them to both your child care benefit and resources that contain helpful hints about finding and securing child care can be very helpful to your employee. Keep in mind, with each additional child, parents must reestablish their family schedule. A reminder of benefits to these parents is equally important since the benefit could be utilized for their older child.
4. Request for parental leave
“Juggling work and home responsibilities” ranked as the #1 stressor for working parents according to a January 2022 survey of 600 U.S. workers, and 50% said the pandemic has made them more likely to quit their jobs. All of this had led to epic levels of burnout among parents and increasing requests for parental leave.
When a parent contacts HR requesting parental leave or discusses parental leave with their manager, this is an ideal time to communicate about the company’s care benefits. In addition, the communication plan should incorporate sending proactive messages throughout the year before summer break, holidays and back to school periods for instance. This outreach highlights for the employee they are supported and valued by the organization as well as provides options to enable their return to work.
5. Taking leave for an elderly parent
Many working parents are also at a tipping point in their lives when they are becoming the caregivers to their parents in addition to all their other responsibilities. They may be transitioning their parents into a senior home or helping them through an illness. This is the time to remind employees there is a care benefit available that might enable them to hire a senior caregiver or alleviate the employee of child care duties while they are attending to the elderly family member.
6. Becoming ill or disabled
As people age, health care issues arise more frequently and in many cases, they can require time off from work. The same can be said for becoming disabled and being unable to work the job the employee did previously.
In addition to communicating about the appropriate health care programs and disability benefits available to the employee during this time, a care benefit may also be relevant to bridge their gaps in child care and household responsibilities.
7. Bereavement
When someone close has passed away it can take time for the employee to regain focus. Allowing an employee to take the time they need to be with their family and to process grief, can garner benefits. Upon their return, the employee will be more engaged and feel valued by the organization.
Through it, they may need additional child care coverage for their children as they attend to tasks and work through grief. Providing details on a membership or providing extra hours or days of subsidized care will go a long way in making the employee feel supported and ready to return to work.
Communicating care benefits at life transitions decreases attrition
With 73% of working parents stating they would be more likely to stay with their current employer if their employer offered child care benefits, communication of care benefits should be a main focus at every organization that offers it.
Ultimately by being proactive and engaging with employees during these pivotal life transition points, employers are seen as a partner. Communicating about helpful benefits when employees feel vulnerable, stressed and overwhelmed can make them feel appreciated, valued and supported. In return, the employer sees an increase in productivity and well-being, savings to the company for fewer missed days of work, and a more loyal and engaged individual.
Lynn Perkins is CEO and co-founder of UrbanSitter.
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