How to Avoid Parent-Employees Quitting Because of Childcare Issues

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During the pandemic, the dance between franchises and parent-employees added a few tricky steps to the routine. For employees, it meant juggling online learning and work responsibilities. For employers, staff’s child care burdens meant losing nearly one-fourth of their employees, a large portion of them women. This created a dilemma for both parties that now demand some creative, modern moves to keep business strong during reopening and recovery.

As a business owner, staff management has many challenges. Some of those are legal limitations on whom we hire. You cannot hire only people without children, for example (it is illegal in some locations to even ask about family structure before hiring). Yet, franchisees must follow company and legislative employment requirements while trying to find the most useful employees to fit business needs.

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The problem is fairly clear. Parents can’t be working for you and with their children at the same time. They have to conform to your franchise’s needs while still being good parents. The solutions to these competing goals are less clear. How can you prevent valuable parent-employees from quitting?

First, every franchise needs to reevaluate actual needs. Examine why you are covering your shifts the way you are. Perhaps a specific skill is needed, or you have a regular meeting when you cannot be available in the franchise. Look internally, reestablish reasonable guidelines for your employees, and consider unusual ideas that would have seemed an absolute impossibility during pre-pandemic times.

• Allow children at work. We seemed to have expanded pet-friendly workplaces. Isn’t it more humane to do the same for children? Ask how could children be incorporated to make your franchise a welcoming place for parent-workers? This cannot work in every situation, of course, but maybe a child can do homework in a back area after school and allow a parent to continue a shift.
• Change your commitments. As a franchise owner, the choices are yours, but could you choose a different time slot for your weekly Zumba class that you value? Or maybe you can open the shop early so that an employee can drop kids at school. Find ways to tag-team that still meet your business needs and other commitments.
• Allow employees to exchange shifts. You need a shift covered, but maybe someone else can step in. Cross-train employees to contribute in multiple ways, and use simple employee scheduling software that provides internal communication and employee access to swap shifts.
• Plan ahead. Fair work rules include providing schedules with ample notice and some consistency. That is a little tough on you, but the benefit is the time it gives employees to juggle their competing demands and fulfill your needed shifts.
• Be a nonconformist. Maybe fewer days and longer hours help an employee and still meet your needs. Or rotate schedules if that works for employees. You might even decide that using evening hours is more productive and better for your franchise model. After all, some job functions can be done at any time of day.

Without a doubt, the most effective way to keep parent-employees valuable in your franchise is through flexible scheduling. No matter how you’ve danced around shift options in the past, you can sustain suitable flexibility while helping employee families and your franchise succeed. Your parent-employees will appreciate it, and your franchise will retain those employees.

Anne Daniells is a co-owner of Enterprising Solutions, a professional services firm specializing in corporate communication and financial improvement for businesses where she shares decades of corporate and entrepreneurial experience—including franchise ownership—in her writings on business culture. She has authored hundreds of articles for publications including AllBusiness.com, TweakYourBiz.com, and MSN.com. Reach out via her website for more on where corporate culture, communication, and human architecture collide.