5 Main reasons why you should become a family responsible employer

Family life has evolved over the years and so has the business environment. There has been an increase in the number of families that have both parents working in an organization. With such a workforce, employers are realizing the need to adopt family responsible policies so they can continue to operate 24/7 to meet with the increasing demands from clients and the industry. More women have joined the workforce in the past few decades, acquiring new skills while upholding their role as major care givers in their families. There are men who face similar situations. These are fathers who share family tasks with their wives, but they have to go to work as well. A family responsible employer would hope to retain a loyal and productive workforce comprising such highly skilled persons that enables the organization to meet with its objectives. You can start gradually with some policies like flex-time, part-time work, allowing telecommuting, family-oriented events, employee assistance programs, employee and family health benefits, and maternity/paternity leave. It would be realistic to continue only if these policies impact positively on the business.

Here are 5 Main reasons why you should become a family responsible employer.

1. A good marketing strategy will get you far.

Being known as a family responsible employer is a positive image for your company and would enable you to attract more talents as well as clients. However, this will be a short term benefit to your organization if you use money as a sole motivator to members of staff without consideration of their social needs.

2. Attract and retain talented staff.

You are sure to achieve employee satisfaction in doing so, which means staff with the right skills are ready to stay in place especially with policies that include flexible work options and professional development.

3. Increase commitment and efficiency by adopting family responsible policies for your organization.

This will show you are concerned about the struggle your staff faces to maintain a balance between work and family. It will also spill over in the way they treat clientele. In most business environments, it is observed that the way employees treat customers is a reflection of the way they are treated in an organization.

4. Family responsible policies can be implemented gradually and it depends on individual needs.

You don’t have to create a perfect work- family policy in a day. Requests can be granted based on individual circumstances. However, having a policy in place that lays out the decision-making process will help your staff to understand it better. This will also guide you in making fair and consistent decisions

5. Family responsible organizations are successful and can make good returns on investment.

Studies show that family responsible policies give your company a competitive advantage, and strategically contribute to the overall organizational performance.

Some of the policies noted above, like flexible work hours that allow employees to choose when they work as long as they put in their hours every week, are becoming the norm in a lot of workplaces. Besides cultivating a new work environment that tends to grow businesses, you would also gain the satisfaction of contributing to a healthy society. Do you work for or are you a family responsible employer? Share your comments with us.