So it makes perfect sense that last year's Working Mother 100 Best shouted out to companies that expand benefits to babies and beyond.
"It's the coolest thing for individuals like myself who have older kids," one parent told Working Mother, "to see their employers not just work on maternity, paternity and adoption benefits."
"We Want to Take Care of Our Employees"
Silicon Valley Bank's Lisa Singh brought that home during the Solutions at Work LIVE conference. There she told us about her own professional trajectory -- from working mom with young children and a demanding job, to mother of teenagers and director of global benefits at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).Her personal story - starting with back-up care from a former employer for her young son Jordan - reinforced the value of expansive programs and played a large part in her decision to advocate for the employee benefits (back-up care, special need support, and educational advising) SVB offers today.
"We thought that all of those programs would really fit into SVB's culture, our values," she said, "and how we want to take care of our employees."
What else Lisa had to say:
On making work part of family:
"On one of my business trips, I was able to bring Jordan with me and use backup child care services. Jordan and I got to sightsee in New York and DC together. Precious memories in the making."
On supporting older kids:
"My kids are now grown and we don't need the backup child care services anymore. But we did need the college services. It gave me peace of mind knowing I had an expert to call where we could get quick and immediate advice on how to maneuver the waters of the college application process. And trust me, the process is completely different than when my husband and I went through it."
On aging parents:
"Last year, I had another life event change where my father passed away. My father had been my mother's caregiver so we needed immediate in-home backup care for my mother. I was able to call Bright Horizons and get backup care right away to help. Just that peace of mind knowing that we had that resource to go to and we knew someone who had already been vetted and who could provide that quality care to my mother was so beneficial to my family at that difficult time."
Thanks for sharing, Lisa - best of luck on your children's next adventures!