Employees of Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) have always been encouraged to bring their children to work. In the past, that meant children stayed at their parents’ desks or in a workout room equipped with a television.
But when the Exton, Pennsylvania-based company built a new facility about 5 years ago, it set aside a special area for employees’ children.
Designed for Safety, Fun
Located in the middle of a third-floor work area, the “kid’s room” is approximately 20 feet by 20 feet and is decorated with rockets, moons, and stars on one wall, says Lisa Velte, senior director of Human Resources with AGI, a producer of commercial off-the-shelf software for space, defense, and intelligence applications (www.agi.com). Another entire wall is a white board, where the kids can write and draw.
The room is equipped with movies, computer games (but no Internet connection for safety reasons), toys, trucks, blocks, and books that provide plenty of entertainment for the children while their parents work.
The kid’s room has a door for safety and noise control, Velte says, and there are windows built into the walls at different heights, so children of varying ages can look out, and parents can look in and check on them.
The room is designed for children who are old enough to be left on their own. Younger children are welcome, but must stay with their parent.
Children are not at AGI every day, she says, but employees are encouraged to bring them to work when necessary, such as when a spouse has a doctor’s appointment, there is a mix-up in daycare arrangements, a daycare provider is ill but the child is not, or the child has a half day of school or a snow day.
“We could go weeks and weeks without a single child using that room,” she says, but then 1 day there could be five different children in it.
Parents whose children use the room are responsible for monitoring their children’s behavior and for keeping the room neat, according to Velte. “We made it very clear to employees that it would not be staffed. This is not day care.”
Parents appreciate the kid’s room and are committed to making this benefit work. “I don’t even know when kids are here half the time,” she says. “We really give parents a lot of latitude and responsibility,” and the arrangement has been successful.
Family Involvement
Employees’ spouses often stop by the facility during lunch or after work, and AGI sponsors specific events to which employees’ families are invited. “We try to keep the family as involved as we can. That’s always been a philosophy of ours,” she says.
Each year, AGI sponsors a party for employees and their significant others, a family picnic, a Halloween party, and “Rocket Day.”
A popular family-oriented event, Rocket Day, is held at the end of each calendar year and typically draws about 400 people, according to Velte.
Employees’ children spend 1 day building model rockets with their parents (or on their own), and staff rocket scientists configure and design their own rockets, she says. On the last workday of the year, the families come back for lunch and then launch their rockets outside.
In conjunction with other benefits available to employees, this family-friendly environment has created great morale and strong retention at AGI.
Turnover averages about 4 percent, which Velte describes as being “incredibly low” and “just the right amount.” She adds, “We are able to retain our key employees, and that’s really critical when you’re in a knowledge business, because when they leave, they take everything with them.”
With 263 employees, AGI was recently recognized as a “Top Small Workplace” by The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces.
What Works for Your Culture?
If your organization is contemplating setting up a kid’s room, Velte recommends asking employees for their ideas and coming up with a plan that fits your culture.
You might decide that the room should be located away from work areas or that it needs to be staffed, for example, she says. “Listen to your employees, and see what they’re telling you.”
If parents are responsible for monitoring their children’s behavior, make sure they—and their co-workers—know that, Velte says. “You really do have to be very clear about what your expectations are for people, what you’re expecting of them, and their role in this.” That does not mean you have to set rules. “I say ‘expectations’ in a positive way. Be clear about the level of staffing, their level of responsibility. You’ll just have much fewer problems with it if you do that.”