Every day, employers are changing the game for recruitment and retention. With 2024 on the horizon, we wanted to show you how it's done. Working with Bright Horizons, these six organizations continue to demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to their employees, going above and beyond to meet the needs of their respective workforces, providing solutions to the biggest stressors holding their employers (and their businesses) back. With benefits ranging from child care to education assistance, these companies place a premium on employee experience and overall wellness.

The results speak for themselves – higher retention rates, increased employee engagement, and thriving businesses. We published their success stories throughout the year, but felt compelled to re-commemorate their accomplishments in a 2023 client roundup. Without further ado, here are six companies who continue to elevate their employee experience:

Wellstar Has a Prescription for Attracting & Retaining Top Talent

In the traditionally high-turnover healthcare industry, Wellstar has managed to attract and retain more top talent with one essential benefit: child care. An internal study found that in 2022, the healthcare system had a turnover rate of only 1.5% among employees utilizing its child care center – and the company’s commitment to employee care doesn’t end there. Wellstar also offers back-up care benefits to support its working caregivers by filling in care gaps for children, elderly dependents, and even pets. Last year alone, the service saved Wellstar employees more than 2,000 collective workdays they otherwise would have missed. By offering care solutions, Wellstar not only gives their employees peace of mind, but keeps their hospitals humming.

Vermeer Corporation Prioritizes Its Working Parents

Built on a tradition of innovation, agricultural manufacturer Vermeer Corporation has successfully redefined the child care experience for employees at its rural Iowa headquarters. Manufacturing employees often work long hours on-site, making child care obligations difficult to balance with work. Also, given that very few child care facilities are available within 30 miles of its workplace, Vermeer decided long ago that it was better to own the supply of care themselves. The company partnered with Bright Horizons in 2010 to build an on-site child care center, which offers extended hours to match those of Vermeer’s hardworking parents. With their care needs now met, Vermeer employees can fully engage in their work and help drive the business forward. 

Alston & Bird Celebrates 23 Years as a ‘Best Place to Work’

Alston & Bird has a simple philosophy when it comes to its people strategy: "take care of our employees so that they can take care of our clients." For more than two decades, the global law firm has lived that mission, partnering with Bright Horizons to provide holistic benefits that support all employees at every stage of their lives. These benefits, which include on-site child care, as well as college coaching, elder care and pet care, have helped them top Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” list for 23 consecutive years. And with a strong talent pipeline and a high retention rate, it doesn’t seem as if Alston & Bird will be breaking that streak anytime soon. Here’s what they have to say about their company culture:

Georgia Power Sees Child Care as Its Most Important Recruiting Tool

For many of the 7,000 workers who make their living at electric company Georgia Power, child care is an essential need. Electrical workers often work non-traditional schedules as power outages can occur at any time. Therefore, they require flexible child care that works when they do. Georgia Power meets this need and then some, offering two child care facilities to support its working parents. Understanding the unique challenges of the electrical industry, the facilities offer extended hours of operation to give employees the latitude they need to focus on their work, knowing that their children are being looked after. Utilizing Bright Horizons child care expertise, Georgia Power is able to strike a better work-life balance, attract more specialized talent, and “shine the brightest when the lights are out.”

Jackson Healthcare is a Leading Workplace for Women

In Georgia, more than one in three parents with young children reported having to quit a job, not take a job, or greatly change a job due to problems with child care. With a workforce that is two-thirds women, many of whom are mothers, Jackson Healthcare is determined to never add to that statistic. The company prides itself on being an exemplary workplace for working mothers, offering an on-site child care center to ensure they never have to choose between work and life. The investment has earned Jackson Healthcare both internal adulation and external recognition, as it was recently named one of Fortune’s “Best Places to Work in Healthcare” and “Best Places to Work for Women.”

Mercedes-Benz Has a Unique Way to Measure Child Care ROI

Mercedes-Benz famous mantra, “The best or nothing,” applies as much to its on-site child care center, as it does to its fleet of luxury automobiles. The globally recognized car brand partnered with Bright Horizons to ensure a best-in-class child care experience for the 695 employees working at its US Headquarters in Metro-Atlanta. The results speak for themselves, as Mercedes has managed to maintain a high retention rate in a city plagued by a labor shortage. However, when measuring the success of their child care offerings, the company also likes to look beyond tangible data. They believe that if even one employee finds value in their center, then it has more than done its job. See what success really looks like for Mercedes-Benz:

Thank you to all of our amazing client partners for everything they do to improve the lives of their employees every day! Can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store.