United Parcel Service’s massive parcel center in Lathrop is now offering emergency daycare for shift-based employees.

It addresses two general issues.

*Employees won’t have to lose pay because they can’t secure a babysitter when their primary daycare provider is unable to assist them.

*UPS is able to have a more reliable workforce to keep packages moving.

The firm describes the onsite day care pilot program “as a backup option when a parent’s primary daycare falls through. Rather than calling out sick, parent-employees now have flexibility through their employer to help balance personal and professional needs.”

The daycare is for children aged 6 months to 7 years.

Data in the time the pilot program has been in place shows:

*47% of the users were single parents; so, the emergency daycare helped those who needed it the most 

*77% of bookings were made less than 48 hours in advance — meaning they were true emergencies 

*Nearly 90% of users were women

*120 absences were avoided during the test period 

*Employee turnover rate for that “sort” (UPS speak for shift) dropped from 31% to 4%

 The first-of-its kind endeavor in the logistics industry reflects the changing realties of today’s workforce.

*$24 billion worth of childcare funding — one of the last remaining COVID-19 emergency relief programs — ended Sept. 30. Issued as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the program marked the largest investment in childcare in US history.

*Century Foundation stated 70,000 childcare programs will likely close, resulting in 3.2 million children losing access to care

United Parcel, for its part, noted:

*Many single parents, and often high-potential women were dropping off when moving from part-time to full-time supervisor. 

*The company works hard to attract, retain, and promote within, especially women and frontline operations positions.

*With an 86% promote-from-within rate they rely on full- and part-time employees staying and advancing to management.

*70% of the global workforce is “cord-bound” and cannot “work from anywhere.” UPS employs more than 500,000, approximately 20% of whom are women.

Patch Caregiving, a company incubated at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, worked with the UPS team for nearly two years to create and pilot the custom childcare solution for the UPS workforce 

 UPS is extending the program to three locations in Pennsylvania in November (Middletown​, New Stanton, Bethlehem​) and additional sites in 2024.

The program’s expansion comes just in time for the holiday uptick in package deliveries when UPS hires over 100,000 seasonal workers.