Corporate Voices for Working Families

As the nation continues on the road to economic recovery, it is important to recognize the significant demographic changes that have taken place over the past decade, and how they will affect the workforce and prospects for business competitiveness in the future.

According to 2010 census data, the growth of the Hispanic population since 2000 has been the driving force behind much of the growth in the U.S. population. A 2010 Census Brief, “Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010,” notes that:

“More than half of the growth in the total population of the United States between 2000 and 2010 was due to the increase in the Hispanic population.”

Indeed, the Hispanic population grew from 35 million in 2000 to 50 million in 2010–a growth rate of 43 percent. And, according to demographers, Hispanics will form the bulk of labor force growth within the next decade.

Given these trends, what are the implications for the future U.S. workforce, and how can employers modernize their workplace policies and practices to help them remain competitive? And how can businesses align their strategic goals for diversity with their goals for talent development?

This was a topic that Peggy Walton, Senior Director of Workforce Readiness at Corporate Voices, discussed at the University of St. Thomas’ Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity in March. Walton emphasized the challenge employers will face accessing the next generation of skilled, diverse talent, and how they can look to corporate best practices on talent development to stay ahead of the curve.

As the baby boomers–the most highly-educated segment of the American workforce–retire, they will be replaced by a younger, more diverse population, which is historically less-inclined to complete higher education. In fact, 13 percent of Hispanics have a college degree, compared with 31 percent for Caucasians, 18 percent for African-Americans and 50 percent for Asians.

This education gap is sobering, given that a majority of jobs within the next decade will require at least some postsecondary education.

At a time when the rising costs of college and a lack of workplace flexibility create significant barriers for low-wage young adults to access higher education, employers can and do play a positive role in providing training and workplace supports to “grow their own” talent. These efforts make business sense for employers, helping to improve recruitment and retention rates, and enhance productivity and engagement. They also provide employers with a powerful talent management and development tool as they seek to increase the skills of their workforce.

Through Corporate Voices’ Learn and Earn initiative, we seek to identify and spotlight businesses that make significant contributions to postsecondary education completion through progressive talent development practices. We have published case studies highlighting companies such as KPMG, which works with colleges to provide internships, and professional development and scholarship opportunities to access diverse, high-potential young talent.

We have also documented the efforts of Verizon Wireless, which offers its employees significant financial support to attend training, and partners with community colleges to offer on-site delivery of classes that lead to college degrees.

As employers grapple with changing demographics and their own talent development needs, we encourage them to consider ways they can adopt positive, best-practice and business-friendly supports to increase the diversity and skill base of their workforce. A good place to start is by looking at the nexus of the diversity and talent development goals within best-practice companies.

How can Washington streamline federal job-training investments that benefit employers and job-seekers alike?  That was the subject of a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, May 11, held by the House Education Committee’s Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

Lawmakers reviewed findings from a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that has set reformers abuzz on Capitol Hill. It identified a laundry list of 47 different employment and training programs spanning nine federal agencies—costing taxpayers some $18 billion in 2009 alone.  The report has led to calls for sweeping program consolidation and funding cuts.   At the hearing, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), subcommittee chairman, said her panel is

… Dedicated to improving job training opportunities by streamlining unnecessary bureaucracy, eliminating duplicative programs, … and encouraging the creation of high-skill and high-wage opportunities for workers in the global economy.

In the rush to consolidate and save money, however, lawmakers should not

… Overlook the critical role that the nation’s workforce programs have played during the recession and will play as the economy recovers,” urged Evelyn Ganzglass, a workforce expert with the Center on Law and Social Policy. “At a time when nearly 14 million Americans are unemployed, workforce programs are helping those out of work and the underemployed find jobs, prepare for jobs and build skills for the future,” she said. “These programs also are helping employers find qualified workers as the nation recovers from the worst recession since the end of World War II.

The debate is sure to inform efforts to renew the Workforce Investment Act in Congress this year, and is likely to drive other changes in the main federal education and training programs.  Corporate Voices’ president Stephen Wing, who helped CVS Caremark pioneer its model workforce training initiatives in his long career there, sees an opportunity in the renewed focus on improving federal workforce programs.

Employers can and must be active partners in preparing the talent pool of skilled workers, but most companies aren’t taking advantage of the the public workforce system,” notes Wing. “Corporate Voices is committed to building greater engagement of the private sector–making it easier for business leaders to take advantage of federal training resources, and ensure more skilled and competitive employees in the process.

Corporate Voices has also explored employers’ perceptions of the nation’s troubling “skills gap” as well as potential policy prescriptions to address it in several recent publications, including From an Ill-Prepared to a Well-Prepared Workforce (January 2011) and Across the Great Divide (March 2011).   In the latter, co-published with Civic Enterprises in association with other trusted partners, our research led us to conclude that the way we train our young people in America today no longer produces workers with the types of skills that our businesses want to hire.

Consolidating duplicative programs and reducing bureaucracy may be part of the answer, but fundamentally rethinking the way we approach education and skills training in a 21st-century global economy is another matter entirely.   We hope federal lawmakers keep both goals in mind as they pursue needed reforms this year.

This guest blog post was contributed by Dr. Rebecca Martinez, a Gerontologist and an expert in caregiver program development. Dr. Martinez is a consultant for CVS Caremark focusing on program development and government programs.

Caregiving is a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of individuals, families, organizations and society. Much of the responsibility and the burden of caregiving, however, is placed on organizations where caregivers work. This has received little attention, despite having significant workforce effects. Studies have shown that having caregivers in the workplace are directly related to monetary business losses in the U.S. that result directly from the informal caregiver’s tardiness and absenteeism, productivity decline, workplace interruptions and high turnover rates.

One of the solutions to this problem requested by caregivers is that businesses develop formalized workplace flexibility policies that would help the caregiver better manage their work schedule and caregiving responsibilities.

Did you know . .

• That there are over 16 million family caregivers that are employed in U.S. businesses
• A caregiver is identified as a man or women who provides unpaid services to a parent, grandparent, family member, or friend who is 60 years of age or older
•  These caregivers are 46 years of age or older and are members of the so-called “baby-boomer” generation
• Employers lose over $33 billion per year in productivity and absenteeism due to challenges caregivers face in the workplace
• Six of ten caregivers make work-time adjustments to tend to their family caregiver responsibilities
• Caregivers are forced to take time off from work and to reduce work hours from full-time to part-time because of caregiver responsibilities
• Caregiving can affect a business’ productivity, morale and profits.

What do working caregivers need?

• A formalized flexible work schedule option
• Logistical flexibility – work hours, time to make calls, etc.
• Formal corporate policy for working caregivers.

According to past MetLife research and the most recent study of Business, Caregiving and the Bottom Line (2009) by the National Caregivers Library, workplace flexibility is the number-one request by caregivers in their place of work. Yes, caregiving does affect the bottom line profits of U.S. businesses and this will continue to grow as the aging of the population continues into the year 2030. However, today the average caregiver’s age is between the ages of 46 to 62 years of age, with 49 percent being male and 51 percent  being woman caregivers. This demographic age group includes the most experienced and loyal workers in U.S. businesses.

When employers are considering implementing a new workplace flexibility policy, there are a few additional facts they may want to consider regarding male employees. Forty-nine percent of male working caregivers pass up work-related travel more often than women, men are more likely not to discuss their caregiver roll to co-workers, adding stress, and men are more likely not to seek help at work because of the corporate social culture.

Why should companies initiate a formal policy for workplace flexibility for caregivers?

First of all, working caregivers encounter numerous workday interruption; answering and making phone calls during working hours to arrange medical care, ordering prescription medication and calling home to make sure that their loved one is cared for properly. Other interruptions include excessive absenteeism, arriving late to work and leaving early in order to transport their loved one to medical appointments.  Many times caregivers are forced to take leaves of absence, change working hours from full-time to part-time and many times they must quit work or retire early.

Indeed, according to a survey commissioned by Volunteers of America, “Boomer Bust 2011, Unprepared & Unaware,” four main challenge areas faced by aging women and their caregivers are: finances, desire for independence, workplace flexibility and lack of preparation. The survey showed that many caregivers have significant concerns on the dependability and affordability of care for their loved ones, and that many Americans underestimate the amount of savings they will need to finance their long-term care needs. In many cases, current caregivers are not even adequately preparing for their own retirement. All of these findings underscore the need for workplace policies, like flexible work arrangements, that help families meet their obligations to help aging family members.

These policies will also help employers, as the business case for workplace flexibility is well-documented. Updated research by Corporate Voices for Working Families shows that flexibility improves recruitment and retention, and enhances employee commitment, engagement and productivity. Flexibility is also increasingly being used as a talent management tool globally as well as domestically. And, the current U.S. administration has recognized the importance of workplace flexibility to business competitiveness and the need to help working families more effectively manage the dual demands of work and life. To that end, Corporate Voices is also recognizing those businesses that support flexibility in its national workplace flexibility campaign.

These are just a few of the reasons that businesses in the U.S. should start a serious dialogue that will not only assist their most valuable employees and their families, but add additional value to the U.S. economy and the workplace.