Executive Voices

Be Family Friendly

By John Kelly

Employees and employers, let's remember, we're parents too! As the parent of two children, I strongly support efforts to improve education and I do my part to directly help my children's education in the schools they attend. As a family we recognize that their education is going to be the foundation for their long-term success and happiness. In the ever-changing global economy, only by improving their essential skills preparation can we help provide them with more opportunities for productive careers and rewarding lives.

As the head of an Information Technology staffing service, however, I regularly see the difference between a good education and a great education. There is nothing quite so uplifting as working with a person whose intelligence and aptitude have been challenged, strengthened and honed by the quality and rigor of their education. Recent research on student achievement indicates two primary factors account for just over 90 percent of an individual student's achievement level. Number two on the list, and certainly a major factor, is the quality of the individual as well as collective cadre of teachers by whom our students are taught.

The number one contributing factor is parent expectations and parent involvement in the child's educational process. Perhaps some people will say there is nothing new here. But what is new is how businesses are discovering and implementing strategies that make a difference in this area for their employees and in the long run, helping assure a better-prepared graduate and workforce. Today, effectively balancing work and family responsibilities has become a key issue not only among our employees and their families, but for our businesses as well.

I realize that, like many of my colleagues, I can only do a certain amount that directly impacts my family, my employees' families, and my clients' professional needs. However, like most other businesses, I constantly seek cost-effective strategies that bring a direct benefit to my business, as well as our clients, in increasing the likelihood that our future workforce will be ready for the challenges ahead.

A recent Conference Board report indicates that every dollar a business invests in effective work/family programs yields a minimum of a two dollar return on the company's bottom line. Employee recruitment, retention, well being and productivity are reasons enough to warrant more understanding and attention to this emerging issue.

As an active member of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE), I have easy access to resources and best practices in this arena. NCBCE's business leaders know that businesses affect families and families affect business results. While this column focuses on work/family balance issues, it's the integrated impact of NCBCE's priorities that are essential to the business role in improving our educational system. The priorities are:

u improving the business role in parent and community involvement,

u raising student standards and workforce preparation,

u increasing technology for learning, teaching, and school productivity, and

u advancing business-education partnerships in applying quality management processes.

So what does NCBCE offer businesses in the area of improving work/family-focused practices and parent involvement? How do these impact on business-results as well as influence higher student achievement?

First, from large banks, utilities, and manufacturers to medium and small businesses like my own, NCBCE's growing database of best practices offers all businesses substantial savings in time and energy in benchmarking their current family-focused polices and practices. NCBCE's business view recognizes that all businesses have unique needs and resources that must be addressed to guide their individual business strategy.

Secondly, their most recent publication, “Family-Focused Workplace Guide,” offers businesses a concise, research-based, no-cost-tool for assessing their current status and areas for improvement. An increasing number of NCBCE leaders and their employees are networking with one another to avoid the pitfalls of false starts and increase the results of their family-focused practices. Time, money, and energy are being saved with bottom line business results.

Building on a recent RTP area symposium that drew over 200 employers, NCBCE partnerships will be coordinating additional regional symposiums this year. The focus will be on expanding the network of North Carolina businesses assisting employees in balancing the demands of work and family. A targeted outcome of these symposiums is directly linking small to large businesses to high quality local and state resources. Symposium topics will include resources and practices related to childcare, elder care, flexible work arrangements, and innovative practices across a range of business size and sector.

NCBCE's knowledge of hands-on best practices offers me a strong link for the business, school and home connection. One of NCBCE's newest partnerships with the international ThinkQuest competition is linking businesses with students ages 10-19 and their teachers from across the world in creating student-designed web sites for improved learning and teaching. By sharing this new resource of 1,500 student-designed websites with employees, my children's school, and by using it at home, we are advancing the new knowledge and skills our children will need for years to come.

As much as we are doing, we know we need to do even more! Our success is caused by our partnerships and that's something we can accomplish only through your help and active engagement.

John Kelly is district manager of Kelly IT Resources of North a nd South Carolina.