Mayor Steve Adler, in partnership with City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison and Early Matters Greater Austin, announced Wednesday the launch of the Family-Friendly Workplace initiative. Over 25 business leaders joined the Mayor at City Hall to kick off the program.
“Austin’s leading businesses make family-friendly business practices a priority,” said Adler. “The Family-Friendly Toolkit will be a great way for other businesses to support their workers. In this town, it’s a key to success.”
According to the city, the Family-Friendly Workplace initiative comes at a time when more than 26{870dce3150dcce8b7f57e497f1835ac6446de711f3b298b842add65a7b4249b0} of full-time employees in Austin have children under age five and 83{870dce3150dcce8b7f57e497f1835ac6446de711f3b298b842add65a7b4249b0} of millennials say they would leave their current job for one with more family-friendly benefits. In Austin, competition to recruit and retain talent is fierce and employers face a growing skills gap within the workforce. However, family-friendly employers find they have a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining skilled employees.
“In the mid 90’s we created the ‘T3 and Under’ program, allowing moms and dads to bring their new babies to work,” Gay Gaddis, CEO and Founder of T3 said. “It was very avant-garde at the time. I was at risk of losing some of my best people, so we had to take steps. More than 100 babies later, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Investing in family-friendly workplaces pays off in spades.”
EMGA created the “Family-Friendly Workplace Toolkit” as a resource outlining evidence-based practices employers can implement to attract and retain skilled employees, as well as providing relevant local resources for employees and their families. Family-friendly policies can help families build safe, stable and nurturing environments for their young children. The Family-Friendly Toolkit is endorsed by the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
Any business in the Greater Austin area can join this movement. To request an assessment or learn more about becoming a Family-Friendly Workplace, visit earlymattersgreateraustin.org.
