Latest / The Diversity Career Podcast with Fexingo: Inclusion, Equity, and Underrepresented Professionals / How One Company Paid for Caregiver Support to Retain Talent
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about something that I think flies under the radar in a lot of diversity conversations — and that's the caregiving drain. Luna: You mean the fact that a lot of people, especially women and underrepresented folks, end up leaving jobs because they can't balance work with caring for kids or aging parents? Lucas: Exactly. And there's a company — CloudBridge Systems, a mid-sized tech firm based out of Raleigh — that decided to tackle this head-on. They launched a paid caregiver support program about two years ago, and the results are pretty striking. Luna: Before we dive in — and I know this is a specific case — but I think a lot of listeners might be thinking, 'We have child care benefits, isn't that enough?' Lucas: Right, and CloudBridge found it wasn't. They had standard dependent care FSA, a backup care referral service, but they were still seeing higher turnover among employees who had caregiving responsibilities — especially women and people of color. So they looked at what actually caused people to miss work or quit. Luna: And what did they find? Lucas: The biggest trigger was unexpected breakdowns in care. A child gets sick and can't go to daycare, an aging parent falls and needs immediate attention. The employee has no backup, so they stay home. That happens a few times, they fall behind, get stressed, and eventually leave. Luna: So what did CloudBridge actually do? Lucas: They partnered with a vendor to offer paid backup care — both for children and for elders. Every employee gets 20 days per year of subsidized backup care, where the company covers 80 percent of the cost. The employee pays a co-pay of just $15 per day. And it covers in-home care or center-based care. Luna: That's pretty generous. And it's not just for parents? Lucas: No, that's key. It covers elder care, which a lot of programs ignore. And they also added a stipend for employees who need to travel to care for a family member in a crisis — up to $1,000 per year. Luna: I want to stick with this because I think it's a model more companies should look at. And if we've helped you think through a benefit like this, or if you've gotten something useful from the show, listener support on buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo is what keeps us ad-free and focused on these concrete examples. A couple of dollars a month genuinely makes a difference. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small way to keep this going. And honestly, the CloudBridge case is a great example of a relatively modest investment with real returns. Luna: So what did the numbers look like after two years? Lucas: CloudBridge publishes an annual diversity report, so we have some data. Unplanned absences dropped by 30 percent among employees who used the program. And retention among caregivers — defined as employees who used the benefit at least once — improved by 15 percentage points compared to the prior two years. Luna: Fifteen points is huge. What about cost? Lucas: The company spent about $200 per employee per year on the program. But they estimate that replacing a single employee costs them roughly 1.5 times annual salary. So even if the program saved just a handful of departures, it paid for itself multiple times over. Luna: And I imagine the program also helped with recruiting — being able to say 'we've got your back if your kid gets sick'. Lucas: Exactly. CloudBridge's HR head told me that the benefit became a top talking point in candidate interviews, especially for women and people in dual-career households. It signaled that the company understood real life. Luna: One thing I wonder about though — is there a stigma around using these benefits? Some people might worry it looks like they're not committed. Lucas: That's a really good point. CloudBridge intentionally designed the program to be used by everyone, not just caregivers in crisis. They communicated it as a standard benefit, like health insurance. Managers were trained to encourage use. They also made sure the co-pay was low enough that people wouldn't hesitate. Luna: Did they see any pushback from employees without caregiving responsibilities? Lucas: A little, initially. Some people said, 'Why should I subsidize someone else's kids?' But the company framed it as a retention investment that benefits everyone — lower turnover means a more stable team, less rehiring. And they pointed out that everyone will likely need caregiving support at some point, whether for parents, a spouse, or themselves. Luna: That's a fair point. So what about the logistics — how did they actually set up the vendor relationship? Lucas: They used an existing vendor that provides backup care services nationally. The key was integrating it with their HR system so employees could book care through a single portal. They also set up a dedicated hotline for emergencies. The vendor handles vetting and background checks for caregivers. Luna: And the 20 days per year — is that enough? I've heard of companies offering more. Lucas: CloudBridge chose 20 based on usage data from similar programs. They found that most employees use between 5 and 12 days per year. Twenty gives a comfortable buffer. And if someone needs more, they can use vacation days or unpaid leave. But the vast majority never hit the cap. Luna: Let's talk about the elder care piece specifically. That's often overlooked. Lucas: Absolutely. CloudBridge found that about 25 percent of their employees were providing some level of elder care, and that number was growing. The travel stipend was especially important — someone's parent falls ill in another state, they need to go for a week. Without support, they might just quit. Luna: Did they measure the impact on elder caregivers separately? Lucas: They did. Among employees who used the elder care benefit, retention improved by 18 percent — even higher than the child care group. The company thinks that's because elder care crises are often more acute and less predictable. Luna: So what's the takeaway for other companies? Say you're a mid-sized firm with limited budget. Lucas: Start with a pilot. CloudBridge actually started with a smaller program — 10 days of backup care, no elder care — and expanded after the first year when they saw positive results. The upfront cost is manageable. You can even partner with a local caregiving agency instead of a national vendor. Luna: And the data seems pretty clear that this kind of benefit disproportionately supports women and underrepresented employees, who are more likely to be caregivers. Lucas: Exactly. It's a targeted intervention that doesn't require a huge cultural overhaul. You're not rewriting your performance review system; you're just giving people a practical safety net. And for a lot of employees, that safety net is the difference between staying and leaving. Luna: Right. And I think it's worth noting that CloudBridge didn't just throw money at the problem — they actually listened to what employees said they needed. Lucas: They did a company-wide survey before designing the program. The top request was backup care. The second was elder care. And the third was a travel stipend. So they built exactly what people asked for. Luna: That seems obvious, but so many companies skip that step and wonder why their benefits don't get used. Lucas: Survey says: because they don't solve the actual problem. CloudBridge's approach was textbook human-centered design. And the ROI speaks for itself. Luna: So if a listener wants to make the case to their HR department, what's the one number they should cite? Lucas: I'd say the 15 percent retention improvement among caregivers, plus the fact that the program costs about $200 per employee per year. Those two numbers together make a pretty compelling business case. Luna: And if you want to read CloudBridge's diversity report, it's publicly available on their website. We'll link to it in the show notes. Lucas: One more thing — they also saw a 10 percent increase in employee engagement scores among program users. So it's not just about keeping people; it's about having happier, more focused employees. Luna: That makes sense. When you're not worried about who's going to pick up your kid at 3 PM, you can actually concentrate on your work. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the kind of win-win that more companies should be aiming for. Luna: Alright, that's a solid story. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.