Testimonials from Local Businesses
SKG Parent Perks redefine the traditional work-life balance, ushering in a new era of understanding and support for working parents. The commitment to both traditional and non-traditional families is evidenced in the maternity/paternity leave benefit, where moms and dads can take up to three weeks off work with 100% pay to be with their child during the first 12 months after birth or adoption.
SKG’s work environment is highly conducive to families. They offer a private wellness room specifically designed for expectant and nursing mothers. Plus, workers benefit from a kid-friendly work environment that promotes work/family balance. They also offer support for working parents with flexible hybrid and remote scheduling and provide 52 free mental health visits annually for employees and family members.
During the chaos of the COVID pandemic, SKG helped employees navigate one of the most challenging aspects of in-person and remote work, offering childcare assistance to employees. As work and workers’ needs continue to shift, SKG stays committed to providing a work environment that contributes to the success of their families.
“We love our working parents and know that providing for a family is more than just having your own kids. Supporting aging parents, caring for your fur babies, supporting nieces and nephews are also part of our working family landscape”
As a small company, employee feedback is very important. Based on individual feedback and an employee satisfaction survey, our company recently added a paid parental leave program to its existing benefit plan. The firm now offers three weeks of paid leave for parents at the birth or arrival of a new child, including foster and adoptive parents. In addition to paid parental leave, we allow time off for parent/teacher conferences, school functions, volunteering, and we have hosted an annual family picnic. We also offer summer internships and job shadowing for employees' children.
“Since the paid parental leave benefit was activated, multiple employees have taken advantage of the opportunity for a few more weeks of bonding with their newest family members before returning to work. Parents are an important part of our workforce and we hope this benefit supports our staff during this critical time by helping them plan for a positive return to work.”
Superior HealthPlan has demonstrated a commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace and promotes a culture focused on family well-being: For parental leave, mothers and fathers can take up to three weeks off work with 100% pay with their new child during the first 12 months after birth or adoption. Employees with domestic partners are now able to cover their partner on medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. And for expectant and nursing mothers, Superior has added 4 expectant mother parking spaces and has 4 private rooms for expectant and nursing mothers in their Austin office.
Superior HealthPlan has also implemented policies in line with being a Family-Friendly Workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few of the additional benefits they have offered to employees:
Waived prior authorizations and employee cost-sharing for COVID-19 screening, testing, and treatment
Paid leave for clinicians who choose to join a medical reserve force
Emergency paid sick leave
Support for employees working from the office: While most Superior employees are working from home, a few employees must perform critical services in the office. Superior is following all CDC guidelines to ensure their safety, and providing them financial support in appreciation of serving important in-office roles.
As part of Superior HealthPlan’s commitment to working families, Superior established the Foster Care Center of Excellence program in 2017 to honor providers and clinics that offer exceptional care to foster care youth and caretakers, including therapy and urgent care.
Click here to learn about Superior HealthPlan’s remote work policies.
“As a statewide leader in healthcare, we want to ensure we’re making decisions that support not only the health of our members, but our employees as well. Expanding benefit offerings to include parental leave and supporting our moms-to-be are simply two more ways we can give our employees the resources they need so they can continue to help Superior HealthPlan reach our goals.”
IBM is one of several regional businesses that partners with KinderCare to offer a 10% tuition discount and priority placement to employees seeking childcare. In a region where high quality care is not only expensive but in great demand, this benefit enables families to avoid long waiting lists and ensures employees the comfort that children are in a high-quality program meeting their needs.
IBM is also an industry leader in family-friendly programs for employees with comprehensive benefits and additional supportive practices and events. IBM provides 12 weeks paid leave for fathers/partners/adoptive parents and up to 20 weeks for birth mothers, and up to $5,000 in Adoption and Surrogacy Assistance Plan reimbursement. They host a free annual Lactation Course for employees, spouses and domestic partners that includes tips for successful breastfeeding and pumping at work, and they partner with UPS to provide breast milk delivery services for new moms who need to travel for work. IBM Austin holds a “Gold Worksite” designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services for being a mother friendly worksite. They have two beautiful Mother’s Rooms which are outfitted with comfortable chairs, breast pump bases, a full kitchenette with refrigerator, and access to Wi-Fi and phones.
In 2016, IBM launched a 12-week reentry program. Created in collaboration with the iRelaunch and the Society of Women Engineers, IBM’s Tech Re-Entry program is an annual, 12-week internship open to technical women who’ve taken a career break and are looking to re-enter the workforce. These participants receive an executive mentor to help them in their transition back to work with a goal to bring these women into permanent IBM positions. IBM Executives note the assets these employees can bring - returnees have fewer job relocations because many already own a home, are less likely to go on maternity leave or have special childcare needs and have years of professional experience. While few companies have formal reentry programs as part of their diversity initiatives, IBM notes this strategy is effective at attracting skilled employees.
“IBM has always believed that our people are the key to our success, and this includes our working mothers who tirelessly commit themselves to both their families and career.”
The 19th is an independent, non-profit news source whose goal is to highlight and empower women, women of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. The 19th wants to raise the industry standard that if a new, non-profit organization like itself can offer esteemed benefits, so can any other news organization. They have raised the bar even higher by hiring a Chief People Officer, and hiring a second person for People Operations – two employees devoted full-time to the health and wellbeing of staff.
From the beginning, The 19th has provided family and caregiver leave and 100% healthcare premium coverage. These later expanded into 7 weeks PTO along with mental health and work from home stipends. Although benefits do not extend to contract positions, The 19th works hard to ensure contract positions pay at market or beyond for their work. Launched during a pandemic, The 19th learned how to be flexible and how to build culture and community remotely. The 19th offers trauma training to its full staff.
“The 19th is an organization that isn’t afraid to say that there are things that it stands for. When you draw that line in the sand and say that those are the things you stand for, there are a lot of factors that affect employment practices and affect how people are able to live and work equitably. We are trying to create an environment where we can protect each other, we can take care of each other, we can give people space…and know that they will be covered for.”
Kendra Scott’s family- first belief has driven her to ensure that all of her employees have the same opportunity to arrange their lives around their families. Notably, the company offers 12 weeks paid parental leave for both primary and secondary caregivers, even to employees who haven’t been with the company for a full year. This has been critical for a business where 95% of their employees are women. The headquarters reflects the family first culture - there is a mother’s room, where moms can freely pump breast milk and store it in the fridge, a game room which is used frequently by employees’ kids on days that kids come to the office with them, and a section in their monthly employee newsletter to celebrate and recognize parents who return from parental leave. Kendra Scott actively pursues ideas and options to incorporate the same principles beyond corporate headquarters but also into distribution center and retail locations. This includes hosting Bring Your Kids to Work event on school holidays when retail stores are open.
“My family is my world, and I created a company culture that allows me to put them first. That may mean I show up to the of ce in sneakers because I’m running to a soccer game right after a board meeting, or my designers might get an email from me at midnight because I put off a project until the boys went to bed. And I believe every parent deserves the same work-life balance. That’s why in our Kendra Scott pillars of Family, Fashion and Philanthropy, Family comes first. It always will. ”
The City of Austin’s full-time, income-eligible, regular employees may be eligible for financial assistance for their child care needs. Families may be reimbursed up to $100 weekly for children enrolled in child care up to kindergarten eligible; $30 weekly for children ages 5 -12 enrolled in after-school care; and $100 weekly for disabled dependents up to age 26 enrolled in care.
The City of Austin also providers a Youth Camp Scholarship Program. This program is available to all full-time, regular employees with children ages 4 through 12, regardless of family size or family income. The program provides scholarships of $50 a week, per child at participating Parks and Recreation Department Recreation Centers during spring and summer breaks.
The Tuition Reimbursement Program promotes the City’s goals of improving customer service and investing in the workforce by providing financial assistance to employees who take job-related, City career-enhancing credit courses at accredited, degree-granting schools and institutions. The Tuition Reimbursement Program is not intended to provide assistance for staff development training or continuing professional education.
Learn more about the City of Austin’s child care supports here.
“From the time we started planning for a new corporate office, it was important to Texas Mutual’s senior leadership that employees have safe, convenient and high-quality childcare available in the area. Primrose School, an early education center for infants and young children, made their home in our building and brought much needed care to the Mueller neighborhood. We’re proud to provide the school additional space to allow them to serve even more families in our community.”
Texas Mutual Insurance Company, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, strives to build a stronger, safer Texas for its customers and communities. The company’s core focus areas include safety, wellness and education for the communities where its employees live and work.
Texas Mutual designed its corporate headquarters in the Mueller neighborhood in Austin to include space for onsite childcare for employees and the community through Primrose School. Texas Mutual has provided additional space for Primrose to expand their footprint and serve more families.
Texas Mutual also provides family-friendly benefits that cultivate a balanced life for its employees. For nearly 1,000 employees, the company offers a generous benefits package that includes health, vision and pharmacy; company-paid short- and long-term disability; and a company-paid Employee Assistance Program that provides counseling and services at no costs to employees. In addition to paid time off and flexible return-to-work schedules for new parents, Texas Mutual provides FMLA-eligible employees with up to 20 working days of paid family leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or to provide care to an immediate family member. The company offers sick leave conversion which allows employees to convert up to 96 unused sick leave hours to vacation hours at a rate of 2:1. Employees can also elect for a tax-free Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account that they can contribute to for dependent childcare or summer camps costs. To support its employees who want to grow their families, the company offers family planning assistance to help with the cost of fertility treatment and adoption. Recently, Texas Mutual introduced a Lifestyle Savings Account where employees can be reimbursed for many types of health and wellness purchases such as gym memberships, fitness lessons and equipment, daycare expenses, financial planning and more.
Texas Mutual offers a flexible hybrid work schedule. This approach allows employees to balance time with their family and be in office for meaningful collaboration with their team members. In addition, Texas Mutual offers flexible return-to-work schedules for new parents. This may include working from home initially, and/or returning to work on a part-time basis. Employees may also use sick leave to care for their spouse, child or parent. To support employees’ well-being, Texas Mutual provides access to digital wellness resources including mental health visits, a nutrition platform, financial education tool and fitness program.
With more than 700 team members at 10 locations in the Central Texas area, Kerbey Lane All Day Cafe has committed to supporting team members at a level above and beyond many in the restaurant and retail sectors. To address scheduling challenges, all management schedules are released four weeks in advance and all hourly schedules are released two weeks in advance, and scheduling software affords team members to pick up or give up shifts as needed. In addition, comprehensive health benefits are available to all team members, even those who are part-time, as well as an EAP that provides assistance and information to team members seeking child care or elder care support. In addition to competitive wages for all positions, Kerbey Lane strives to offer opportunities for cross-training and promotion. All team members have access to free financial planning and financial literacy training. Kerbey Lane launched a giving back and volunteerism platform in January 2023. The program, called Kerbey Kindness, focuses on four main pillars of giving back: Education; Family; Nutrition, Health, and Wellness; and Animal Welfare.
“Throughout my experience with cancer, the Kerbey Lane team was conscientious of my needs as a person and as a mother. They provided a level of support I did not realize I needed. My workplace was continually flexible, generous, and thoughtful. It opened an avenue of healing for me and aided in my remission, I am certain. Even without having cancer, Kerbey Lane has been supportive of my family from day one – providing me and my son a level of care I had never experienced. As a team member, I am so happy (and grateful!) to be part of this organization.” – Employee
“We support each other and everyone’s family because to us, that is an extension of our own family.”