Intending to combat the cost of absenteeism, workplace disruptions or a significant change in productivity due to an employee with child or elder care worries, employers are starting to offer Care.com's Workplace Solutions as an employee benefit. Distributable through brokers, the online platform and consulting service helps families find every day, back-up and occasional care across the U.S.
Care.com launched in 2006, and the Workplace Solutions product has been in the employer space for roughly 18 months, according to Chris Duchesne, VP of Workplace Solutions.
The program offers employees 24/7 access to Care.com for free, where participants can review detailed profiles, including experience, availability, background checks, photos, rates, references and reviews. The next step is a live interview, followed by a reference check so that employees can find a caregiver they trust.
"Care.com offers tools and resources to guide families through the review and selection process [since] one size does not fit all," he says.
"The majority of people's use for Care.com is focused around child care," says Duchesne. A close second, he adds, is "an enormous uptick" in interest from employers around adult care services.
As for broker compensation, "Formal partners have the opportunity to receive commissions on placements of Care.com with their clients," says Duchesne. "Commissions are a percentage of the annual fees, paid to the broker annually."
"If brokers think [back to] 10 or 15 years ago when childcare was sort of an emerging concept in the corporate space, now it's almost de facto; it's more commonly talked about," he says.
"A lot of employers not only have a sense about the need of these services for employees, but they try to do something about it. Adult care is beginning to get to that point where there's enough awareness that people are talking about it more, and employers are getting to the point where they recognize that need."
