As a global technology company and Nebraska business leader, Hudl addressed its employees’ lack of child care options by partnering with a local Primrose Schools franchise owner to offer on-site child care. Hudl opened Primrose School at Hudl at their headquarters in Lincoln in July 2023.
In September, First Five Nebraska released an evaluation of the impact of on-site child care at Hudl. Our report specifically focused on how the partnership between Hudl and Primrose Schools impacts children, families, employees, early childhood educators and the leadership between the two companies. After interviewing over 70 individuals and reviewing quantitative data from a variety of sources, we organized the findings into a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat (SWOT) analysis. Overall, we found that (1) the strengths far outweighed the weaknesses and (2) lessons learned from the partnership provide invaluable insights for businesses interested in supporting their workforce through early education and child care.
Strengths
- We found ample evidence that Hudl is meeting its objective of addressing a business and employee need. After two years, the center shows positive indicators for enrollment as well as giving employees access to high-quality early education and care.
- Hudl parents with enrolled children were overwhelmingly positive about their experiences. Having their children in the same building where they work helped them focus and improved their work-life balance. Breastfeeding mothers, especially, raved about the pricelessness of being able to go downstairs and feed their babies.
- Positive impacts of on-site care weren’t just limited to parents enrolled in the center. Hudl employees noticed that Primrose parents are away from work less often than employees with children enrolled elsewhere. Additionally, seeing children in the workplace uplifts moods. As one nonparent Hudl employee noted, “I walked in last week and a little girl just had her face pressed up against the window making funny faces. That was hilarious and just sparks those little moments of joy.”
- The values alignment between Hudl and Primrose Schools resulted in many positive outcomes related to quality early education and care. Parents, teachers and leadership alike emphasized the competence and professionalism in managing and operating the center. Teachers at the center spoke of the healthy work environment. Parents told us about the high-quality care their children receive. And leadership at both companies expressed their confidence in how administrators manage the center.
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- Despite the size and scope of opening an on-site child care center, few weaknesses emerged. One area with room for improvement is how employee tax liabilities are communicated. Because of tax law that governs employer-sponsored dependent care, some parents with enrolled children who also contributed to a dependent care flexible savings account (FSA) reported a larger-than-expected tax bill.
- In terms of opportunities, we suggest that Hudl capitalize on their strengths and focus on long-term goals. Steps we recommended included investigating uptake rates by employee categories, measuring recruitment and retention and focusing on enrollment efforts.
- Threats of having on-site child care included threats specific to the child care industry, such as balance between enrollment, teacher wages and turnover. Another threat includes changes to Hudl’s workforce demographics. To ensure the center has sufficient enrollment, Hudl should monitor its workforce demographics to ensure they recruit and retain enough employees with young children.
In summary, the partnership between Hudl and Primrose Schools has a positive impact on children, employees, early childhood educators and both companies. We hope our findings benefit other businesses interested in offering early education and child care to employees.
Learn more about the Hudl and Primrose Schools partnership as well as our findings
in the Impact of On-site Early Education and Child Care: Primrose School at Hudl
Watch the webinar on the release of this report with FFN’s Dr. Katie Bass, Lincoln Littles’ Suzanne Schneider,
Hudl’s Mark Ketcham and Primrose Schools’ Dr. Betsy Tonniges
