Law firm tackles workers' juggling acts

Fulbright offers discounted rates for child and elderly care

By Claudia Grisales - Austin Statesman - Wednesday, August 22, 2007

When Marcy Greer was tapped to come up with new family care options for one of the country's largest law firms, the Austin lawyer knew exactly where to go to formulate a plan: her former nanny service.

After all, it was Austin firm Mom's Best Friend that helped Greer and her husband get through busy times with two young children and full-time jobs, including Greer's job as a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski.

Greer said that when home-based emergencies come up, she feels caught between her family and her job. Greer, who gave birth to her third daughter last week, said, "You really need a safety net for all purposes."

Today, Fulbright, following Greer's leadership, helps pay for last-minute care for its U.S. workers or their family members: young or old, healthy or sick, anytime and anywhere in the 50 states or Canada. The firm, founded in Houston in 1919, has 16 offices across the globe employing 2,200 workers.

Fulbright and other U.S. employers increasingly are considering ways to help workers balance their work and family demands to boost employee recruitment and retention. The programs also allow employers to avoid hits to productivity when a worker has a family-related emergency.

Fulbright began offering its back-up care program to its workers at its 10 U.S. offices this year through Boulder, Colo.-based Work Options Group Inc., which in turn contracts with Mom's Best Friend and other providers.

It was Kathy Dupuy, president and founder of Mom's Best Friend, who suggested Greer go to Work Options Group next to offer such a program to Fulbright's more than 2,100 workers nationwide. Now, the firm offers up to 80 hours of care a year at a subsidized rate of $4 an hour.

"More and more employers recognize that helping their employees balance their personal and work lives is not only a good thing to do but is also good for business," Dupuy said. "Employers suffer when employees are not able to come to work, and this program enables the employers to have more predictability and eliminate costly unplanned absenteeism."

Back-up care is one of the fastest growing employee benefits: Fourteen percent of employers offered the benefit last year, up from 6 percent a year earlier, according to the Society of Human Resource Management.

Also, studies showing that unscheduled absences at work hit their highest point in 2006 have employers considering the benefit.

At Fulbright, the back-up care program is popular, said Jane Williams, chief human resources officer for the firm, which also offers modified work schedules and other flexible programs.

"This is just another way for us to be family-friendly," she said. "We want to give our staff and attorneys every tool available to achieve a rewarding personal and professional life."

Greer said she didn't plan on more children when she helped put together a proposal on the program several years ago, but she said she expects to use it when she takes her infant along on a couple of business trips this fall.

Cindy Carrillo, founder and president of Work Options Group, says her 21-year-old company began focusing on back-up care as it emerged as a major challenge five years ago. Since then, its client list has grown to more than 100 employers from a range of industries, including health care, high-tech, higher education and professional services.

"Employers are paying more attention to this," Carrillo said. "Employers have gotten more into the role of supporting their workers around family care needs."

Work Options Group says 10 percent to 25 percent of care is for adults and elders, and the rest is for children. However, with projections showing the 65-and-older population growing, the demand for elder care is expected to increase.

Work Options Group says the program is worth its cost. For every dollar invested in back-up care, employers can expect a return of $3 to $4 in increased productivity, according to WFD Consulting.

"Companies are really looking for ways to recruit and retain the best talent that is out there and need to be very, very competitive," Carrillo said. "And when you look at some of the issues confronting employees, this is one of the hot spots."