Family-Friendly and Flexible
A Bellefaire Jewish Childrens Bureau Success Story

There are countless reasons why a top performer may choose to leave an organization. Often, new opportunities elsewhere – including more interesting or challenging work, better pay, or better benefits top the list of reasons. However, the needs of all top employees are not always the same, and in the dynamic workforce that supports our rapidly changing economy, other factors such as flexibility and work/life balance may be playing a larger role in employment decisions. Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau recognizes this, and through what they define as “family-friendly” policies and benefits, they are trying to build a workplace that attracts and retains top people.

About Bellefaire
Founded as a Jewish orphanage in 1868, Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau (Bellefaire) has evolved into one of the nation's leading providers of child welfare and behavioral healthcare for children, youth and their families. Bellefaire currently runs more than 30 programs and is Ohio’s largest multi-service private non-profit behavioral health and child welfare agency.

In 2003 and 2005, Bellefaire was recognized with the NorthCoast 99 Award, honoring great workplaces for top talent in Northeast Ohio. The organization is committed to providing exceptional care and advocacy to enhance the physical and intellectual well being of children, young adults, and families and understands that it needs to maintain a a workplace that supports top performers in order to fulfill their mission.

What is a “Family-Friendly” Benefit?
“It really seems like a combination of the benefits offered along with the support from managers and supervisors more than any one individual benefit,” describes Tina Pringpuangkeo, Human Resources Generalist and Workers Compensation Manager at Bellefaire.

Some of the individual benefits offered by Bellefaire that could be considered “family-friendly” include the following:

• Flexible scheduling, telecommuting, part-time options
• 4-weeks of vacation for direct care employees
• 12 sick days each year (3 of which can be used as personal days)
• Up to 4-weeks of unused vacation can be carried over into the next year
• Benefits are offered to employees that work as little as 20-hours per week
• Employees with at least 3 years of tenure may take up to a year of unpaid leave and still return to their position

In combination with the flexibility and understanding of Bellefaire’s supervisors, these benefits may help create a “family-friendly” atmosphere attractive to top performing employees. Consider the following stories from individuals who have benefited from Bellefaire’s “family-friendly” philosophy.

Reduced Hours after Maternity Leave
As a School Based Counselor, Katie Eichenauer may have received resistance from other similar organizations after returning from maternity leave. In order to better balance her family needs and her work responsibilities, Katie was interested in reducing her hours at Bellefaire. However, Bellefaire was very open to supporting Katie’s needs and allowed her to return with reduced hours and opportunities to work from home.

Interestingly, after starting her new work schedule, Katie feels she is just as busy as when she was full time, but the increased flexibility in her schedule allows her to spend more time at home where she can not only tend to family and personal tasks, but she can do work-related tasks such as paperwork that are important but do not require her to be in the office.

According to Katie, “If I worked more hours I would be distracted by the things I need to do to take care of my family.” She also feels that her current situation helps her be more productive because it forces her to better focus on her work. She also admits that she would have left Bellefaire if she hadn’t been given the option to work reduced hours.

Marianna Macie, another School Based Counselor with Bellefaire, has also taken advantage of this benefit and has similar feedback. “To be honest, my work life is separate from my family,” Marianna explains, “and if Bellefaire did not allow me to work part time, I either would have sought another position in the agency that is part time or I would have gone elsewhere.”

Marianna’s experiences with her supervisors have also been positive. “I like the fact that if I need to rearrange my schedule for anything (my daughter getting sick, just a sleepless night with a newborn), that the supervisors and administrators do not question or lay guilt [on me] for not working.” She adds that when compared to many of the agencies where she has worked in the past, “Bellefaire is by far the most supportive when it comes to family needs.”

It may not be too difficult to see how flexibility and benefits such as reduced hours and telecommuting may be viewed as “family-friendly” for their ability the help an employee better balance work and life responsibilities while maintaining productivity. However, many other benefits may also indirectly help employees in similar ways.

Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition reimbursement is not typically considered a “family-friendly” benefit, but that’s not necessarily the case at Bellefaire.

Diahanna Roberson, an Adoption Supervisor for Bellefaire, enrolled in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University to begin work on her master’s degree. The degree would allow her to apply for an independent license in her field, enabling her to further pursue her career goals and making her an even more valuable employee for Bellefaire.

Impressively, she was also fortunate enough to be one of ten individuals selected nationally to receive a scholarship from the Child Welfare League of America. The scholarship could be applied to her first semester of classes; however, it wouldn’t cover the remaining costs of tuition. Even more challenging, Diahanna also had a daughter in college at the same time, and she would have to struggle to afford her educational pursuits while continuing to support her daughter.

After her first semester of classes, Diahanna applied for tuition assistance through Bellefaire’s tuition reimbursement program. Not only was her application accepted, but the assistance that Bellefaire provided was enough to allow Diahanna to finish her master’s program and continue to put her daughter through college.

“My supervisor encouraged me to utilize the program and was very supportive of my crazy schedule,” explains Diahanna. The program allowed her to pursue her career goals without placing an additional financial burden on her family while also improving her effectiveness as an employee at Bellefaire.

“I’m more confident,” Diahanna adds, “[The program] exposed me to different populations which has made me a more well-rounded supervisor. It has made it easier for me to talk with colleagues and help them reach their goals.”

What Are The Advantages of “Family-Friendly”
Although the management of employees that take advantage of benefits such as flexible scheduling, reduced hours, part-time options, and telecommuting can be challenging, Bellefaire sees clear advantages to maintaining a “family-friendly” atmosphere for their employees.

Due to the flexibility and benefits offered by Bellefaire, employees who experience change in their personal and family life are presented opportunities to remain employed with the organization that fit in with their new priorities and career goals. Without these opportunities, top performing employees may seek employment elsewhere where these new goals can be fulfilled.

The family-friendly approach also differentiates Bellefaire from other similar organizations competing for the same talent. With an impressive array of benefits and a workplace culture that supports a healthy work/life balance, Bellefaire presents itself as an employer of choice in an industry that is well-known for challenging and difficult work schedules and workloads.

In addition, by allowing employees more opportunities to balance their work and life responsibilities, Bellefaire’s flexible policies and benefits enable their staff to be more productive while at work. Benefits such as tuition reimbursement also allow Bellefaire’s staff to further enhance and develop their professional skills, making them more valuable contributors to the organization’s success.

Measuring Success
When surveyed, Bellefaire’s staff consistently cites the organization’s benefits programs and flexibility as being major contributors to their job satisfaction. When compared to industry averages, Bellefaire’s turnover is considered low; and the organization continues to attract and retain top quality people on their staff.

The bottom line is that for Bellefaire, family-friendly makes sense. Not only does it create an atmosphere that is more supportive of the needs of its employees outside of the workplace, but it also allows Bellefaire’s staff to better focus on providing their clients exceptional support and service to help improve their well-being in their personal and family lives as well.

This story was compiled by ERC and is the property of ERC and the NorthCoast 99 program. Any reproduction or distribution of the information included in this report is prohibited without express written consent of ERC.