5 Pros of Offering Adoption Assistance to Employees

As competitive as the labor market is today, businesses are looking for the best ways to rise above. They are all trying to attract and maintain the best talent by supporting employee needs. Extensive benefits packages that include adoption assistance have grown in popularity for this reason.

Flexible, family-friendly perks help lure in and maintain the presence of exceptional employees. Adoptive families require the same parental flexibility as other employees. Understanding and catering to their parental needs reap great benefits for a company.

In 2021, 36% of employers offered paid leave to adoptive parents. More businesses can follow this action and provide inclusive adoption assistance to employees. These policies can suit the budget requirements of a company. Plus, they still deliver benefits to all employees.

What is adoption assistance?

Adoption assistance is a voluntary program offered by employers. It helps employees pay for expenses related to the adoption of a child. This could include financial assistance before or after adoption. Plus, it can incorporate parental leave policies or just informational resources. For example:

• Informational resources include adoption agency referrals, support groups, or other adoption-related organizations.
• Financial assistance for employees could mean a few things. Companies could partially pay or reimburse an employee for adoption. They could also pay for a piece of any costs related to These costs include attorney or adoption fees, travel, and court expenses.
• Parental leave policies are typically required after an adoption takes place. This can look like a maternal or paternal leave for a few weeks. Many employers will allow their employees to take extended unpaid leave as well.

Offering adoption assistance to employees: 5 benefits

Creating an adoption-friendly workplace offers its fair share of perks for employers. Adoption assistance allows employers to attract the right people. Even better, they can keep them working for their businesses.

Creating an adoption-friendly workplace offers its fair share of perks for employers.

Below we list at least 5 pros for providing adoption assistance as part of your benefits packages.

Increased productivity

Flexible working arrangements for employees make them happier and more productive at work. The same uptick in performance pertains to working adoptive parents. They’re granted the same accommodating leave as other parents. This helps them feel included.

Effective work-life balance lets employees enjoy spending time with their families. Now they have the time necessary to facilitate a happy home. This means they can apply better attitudes toward their work.

Adoption assistance leave policies are like PTO or FMLA for adoptive parents. If they need the time to submit adoption fees or spend time with their newborn, they can.

This destigmatizes the thought that employees need to earn flexible work arrangements. As a result, they’re happier being at work. This provision helps increase their professionalism and helps raise revenue.

Positive branding

Businesses should create a safe space for alternative family building. It provides a positive public opinion. Prospective employees become aware of how employers make their employees happy. This forward-looking perception of a company increases brand satisfaction.

Positive brand equity impacts faster growth. Companies can spend less money on advertisements from an improved reputation.

A company’s brand specifically entails how the public identifies with its purpose. To stay relevant in their industry, companies must relate to their audience. Adoption assistance is the type of incentive that boosts an outlook on a business.

The better a job seeker perceives a business, the more accredited its services seem. As a result, positive brand equity impacts faster growth. Companies can spend less money on advertisements from an improved reputation. This leads to better customer loyalty, increased sales, and a higher profit margin.

Better inclusion

Inclusion starts at the top of a company. Non-traditional voluntary familial perks are great additions to other inclusive employee benefits.

Therefore, employer-provided adoption assistance policies facilitate the company’s development of a more inclusive work environment. They display the most tolerance toward workplace diversity.

Paving the way for more workplace diversity reduces employee turnover. Plus, it increases workplace confidence. Without the potential for certain biases, workers feel more likely to be heard by leadership.

52% of adoptive parents are unable to have a biological child. Businesses should acknowledge these parents’ struggles and offer a reasonable accommodation. Adoption assistance provided by an employer shows nourishment to all types of families. Whether or not soon-to-be parents use these benefits doesn’t matter. The fact that the option is available speaks volumes.

Competitive edge

In 2021, health insurance was available to 49% of US employees, and 79% had access to paid sick leave. These are now commonplace perks that the best talent expects as a bottom line. To compete with top companies, other businesses must do more to stand out.

Adoption assistance is a non-mandatory benefit that attracts forward-thinking and innovative talent. This provides a leg up over the other businesses on the market as a leader for sponsoring families. Demonstrating good-faith-gaining approaches like these makes businesses more:

• Reputable
• Recognized
• Cutting-edge

Making a statement in an industry instills more value in a company. Adoption assistance helps make this happen. It leaves room for more employee and customer preferences.

Talent retention

The best employees are more likely to stay with their employer when they have the right perks. 42% of employees say they would leave their job for a business with better benefits. Many employees even find that benefits are more critical than high compensation.

Those who incorporate adoption assistance will experience more loyalty to their business. This occurs even if employees don’t use these benefits. They just appreciate being a part of a supportive environment. Feeling comfortable in their working environment is what drives progressive company culture.

A positive work culture is an essential facet of job satisfaction. A toxic culture could be the cause of mass resignations in the US. Companies need to combat this and many more issues to retain their staff. They need to take heed of how their workers feel and how they relate to one another.

Those who incorporate adoption assistance will experience more loyalty to their business.

Promoting goodwill among employees provides staff with proof that they’re cared for. Not only do they feel included by their co-workers, but by their supervisors as well. Displaying an effort to make employees happy creates a more open work culture.

Bonus: Affordability

Contrary to what many businesses may assume, adoption benefits are affordable. As a voluntary benefit, not everyone will use it. Therefore, with such a small number of eligible or active participants, adoption assistance becomes more affordable.

Companies should consider adoption assistance as a security blanket. It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Conclusion

Adoption assistance is a beneficial way to help employees with support. More employers are seeing the value in offering adoption assistance to their employees. Those with a desire to adopt may especially see the value.

This benefit allows them to retain qualified candidates. It shows appreciation for adoptive parents and offers a way to assuage some of their frustrations.

With more inclusive benefits in place, businesses can set themselves apart from the competition. Essentially, it sets more egalitarian standards for working parents as a whole. It’s cost-effective and establishes employee trust, and reduces turnover rates. Most importantly, it helps new parents develop stronger bonds with their children.