When investment bank Nomura International rolled out a back-up care service in January 2011, it was the result of two years' focus on the firm's diversity and inclusion benefits for its 3,500 London-based staff.
At the end of 2010, a proposal was sent to the diversity and inclusion steering group around the cost options and impact on staff of running a crÀche on site, and the same was included for back-up care.
Charlotte Sweeney, international head of diversity and inclusion at Nomura International, says: "We sent a few questions out to staff from our different employee networks as part of the weekly communication we send out to get their views, and it was decided that back-up care was the preferred option."
The reason for this was that employees could choose what kind of back-up care suited them a nursery near home, near work or a nanny.
The service was also more inclusive than just childcare, including eldercare and convalescence support.
The firm is using its provider, Bright Horizons, to sort through permanent care choices for staff and recommend options. Sweeney adds: "That saves staff a lot of time. It makes life easy for them to have someone very experienced in the field to look at all the options."
Nomura International intends to communicate the service to employees regularly, targeting them four or five times a year at key times such as half-term holidays and Christmas.
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