interview with JoJo Conlan

Shari Lifland conducted the following interview with JoJo Conlan, manager, Work|Life Services, Vivendi Universal, a client of ChildrenFirst backup childcare services, in New York City:

MWorld: How many employees are enrolled in Vivendi Universal's ChildrenFirst backup childcare program?

JC: Currently we have 48 employees enrolled. When the program was rolled out, back in the summer of 1998, it was rolled out with a variety of about 10 or 12 work|life programs. So I do feel that it was somewhat overwhelming to introduce people to so many services at once. We re-marketed backup childcare in October 2000, and since then we've seen the registrations pick up.

MWorld: Who is eligible for the backup childcare benefit?

JC: All full or part-time employees who work at least 20 hours per week

MWorld: We've heard that non-parent employees often resent special benefits for working parents, since they don't apply to them. What's been your experience on this?

JC: Backup childcare is definitely one of the top benefits that working parents and non-parents look for. I've never experienced an employee without children feeling that backup childcare is anything but a win/win for both parents and non-parents, because they feel that if an employee does have to stay home because of a childcare issue, they (the non-parent employee) have to pick up the workload. Whereas, if a company provides backup childcare, it enables the parent employee to be at work, and so doesn't place a burden on other employees.

MWorld: How does Vivendi Universal's backup childcare program work?

JC: All the work-life benefits are pretty much part of our comprehensive benefit package. We do have some that are employee-paid, and for those we negotiate lower, group rates. Many of the work-life benefits, including backup childcare, are employer paid, with an employee co-pay. Backup childcare costs an employee $15 per day, per child, with a maximum of $25 per day for two or more children. The service can be used 25 times per year, per child, but no more than five days consecutively.

We have backup childcare in New York City, White Plains, and nationally. We actually use three different vendors -- ChildrenFirst in New York City and California; Lipton in White Plains; and Bright Horizons National Access Program for all our other locations, because we have sales people all over the country. We also subsidize 10 percent of an employee's child's tuition at a full-time Bright Horizon's Day Care Center.

MWorld: Talk a bit about the value of work-life benefits, from an HR perspective.

JC: It's challenging to recruit and retain the best people out there. You've got to stay on the cutting edge and look for more programs that really do help balance an employee's life. And not just add them to your group of programs, but train the employees and promote the programs, and train managers on how these programs can be used as an effective management tool.

MWorld: How interested are prospective employees in work-life benefits like backup childcare?

JC: Oh people definitely ask about it now. It's amazing. Three years ago, you would never expect somebody to ask about these issues during the interview process. In the Millennium, people are asking. It definitely adds to the benefits package. If all things were equal -- medical, dental, and compensation, an employee would definitely choose a company that has work|life benefits, including backup childcare. I would say that Working Woman Magazine's "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" list has really made companies not only offer the best, but continue to stay on the cutting edge.

MWorld: What do your employees say about the backup childcare program?

JC: I do get feedback on a regular basis from people who tell me that it was such a lifesaver to have such a safe, secure, and wonderfully enriched center to bring their child to when they were really in a jam. And I've had some managers remind employees who say that can't come to work due to childcare problems that we have this backup program that they can use.

The hard thing is, a lot of people are skeptical of centers if they have full-time care or if they have school age children. But I feel that after people try the center once, it's a whole new ball game. Then they really say, "Wow, I didn't know the program was of this high a quality."

MWorld: What are some of the other benefits Vivendi Universal covers in its work-life services benefits?

JC: We offer elder care, a lactation program, flex options, which are guidelines covering flexible work arrangements, resource and referral services, which is a fabulous benefit. This is an outside company that we contract with that does the homework for you that you don't have time to do. They'll do research and provide referrals for anything from adoption, childcare, eldercare, choosing a school or summer camp, even a list of maids in your area. It's probably our most utilized work-life benefit and it's completely free for our employees.

Other services we offer are an employee assistance program, adoption assistance (up to $4,000 per child), leave programs, a work-life library, double-matching college gifts program, employee relocations, and health club reimbursements (up to $400 per year).

MWorld: Let's take off your "HR hat" for a moment. You're a parent-user of Vivendi Universal's backup childcare center. What's been your experience, from a Mom's point of view?

JC: I have used ChildrenFirst (for my one-year-old and two-year-old) and it's been wonderful. My favorite part is at the end of the day, when you go to pick up your kids. They give you a diary about their day, covering all that they did -- what they ate, and so on. It's adorable. Whenever my son or daughter has gone to the center, I've saved this little diary for their scrapbook.


For more information about ChildrenFirst: www.childrenfirst.com
For more information about employer-sponsored childcare: http://stats.bls.gov/ebshome.htm