PHILADELPHIA (October 14, 2024) – SEPTA is excited to announce a partnership with TOOTRiS, the nation’s leading childcare solutions provider, to provide childcare benefits to its workforce. This strategic alliance underscores SEPTA’s commitment to supporting its working parents and enhancing employee satisfaction, while also addressing the critical need for accessible and high-quality childcare options.
In today’s competitive job market, providing comprehensive employee benefits has become paramount for attracting and retaining top talent. Studies show that employees with access to quality childcare are more productive, experience lower absenteeism and demonstrate greater job satisfaction. Furthermore, offering child care benefits has been proven to be a key differentiator in recruitment efforts, particularly within industries like transportation where skilled labor is in high demand.
SEPTA’s new childcare benefit with TOOTRiS will provide employees with available and competitive childcare solutions. “By simplifying the childcare search process, we can help our 1,800 employees with children 12 and under find available childcare,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Stephanie Deiger.
SEPTA employees will gain access to the innovative TOOTRiS platform, which allows them to search many childcare providers in their network, choose flexible scheduling options, and see real-time inventory of available childcare slots up to a year in advance. The innovative company is the first and only to offer employers a comprehensive turnkey childcare benefits platform that includes state-licensed child care providers, drop-in or emergency care, before/after-school programs, summer camps, tutoring, extracurricular activities, babysitters, nannies, and more.
“SEPTA’s decision to provide childcare benefits meets the Authority’s Strategic Plan of honoring our employees by providing top notch benefits, support and acknowledgement of the challenges working families have,” said SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie S. Richards.
“We are proud to partner with SEPTA to provide child care benefits that not only support their employees but also have a meaningful impact on the community,” said Alessandra Lezama, TOOTRiS CEO and member of the ReadyNation CEO Task Force on Early Childhood. “By tapping into TOOTRiS, SEPTA is creating a bridge between working parents and childcare providers, ensuring parents can find the care they need while helping providers fill available openings. This benefit not only enhances work-life balance for employees but also strengthens the childcare industry, bringing families directly to the doorsteps of providers in their communities.”
This partnership not only alleviates the logistical challenges of balancing work and family responsibilities but also ensures that SEPTA employees can focus on their professional duties with peace of mind, knowing that their children are receiving high-quality care.
As SEPTA and TOOTRiS join forces to provide childcare benefits within the public transportation industry, they are setting a precedent for prioritizing the well-being of their workforce and investing in solutions that promote work-life balance. This partnership represents a significant step forward in redefining employee benefits and underscores SEPTA’s commitment to driving innovation and excellence in all aspects of its operations.
About TOOTRiS
TOOTRiS is the nation’s largest, most comprehensive Child Care network with over 200,000 providers across the country. TOOTRiS provides a seamless Child Care Benefits workforce solution that meets the new CHIPS Program requirement by giving working parents direct access to the most affordable, accessible, reliable, and high-quality Child Care options. TOOTRiS is the first and only technology that unites key stakeholders (parents, providers, employers, government agencies) in a single platform, enabling employers to provide turn-key Child Care Benefits to increase productivity, retention, recruiting, and ROI, while their workforce has the flexibility and family support they need.
For more information, visit www.tootris.com.
For more information about SEPTA, visit www.septa.org.
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