Here are our top tips for choosing a comprehensive childcare benefit:
Security and trust
This is by far the most important factor when it comes to childcare – whichever benefit provider you choose, your employees need to know that their families are completely safe and supported. The Bubble app has been created by parents, for parents, and as a result trust is built into everything we do. You can learn more about our verification, checks and insurance provision here.
Ease of use
This is a crucial factor to consider when comparing childcare benefits – a simple user experience will enable your employees to make the most out of the benefit, and will make the process stress-free for your HR team.
At Bubble, signing up to our childcare benefit is easy – all your employees need to do is download the app and create an account using their work email address. That’s it – no technical integration required! The sign-up process takes a couple minutes and once complete, your employees can browse and book sitters with zero booking or cancellation fees.
As an app, Bubble provides parents with a simple and seamless experience – everything is managed in the app, and there’s an in-app live chat so that parents can easily request assistance from our outstanding Customer Service team.
Availability
As an employer, you may need to think about the locations of your employees and whether a childcare provider can offer the geographical coverage you need. Bubble’s nationwide coverage means that parents can find excellent childcare wherever they live, and book one of our tens of thousands of babysitters and nannies across the UK.
It’s equally important that parents can book and contact their sitters whenever they need to. On Bubble bookings can be made 24/7 in the app, and the ‘chat’ functionality enables parents to get in touch with their babysitter or nanny whenever they may need to.
Emergency care
Both parents and employers know all too well how stressful last-minute cancellations can be. When a nanny calls in sick or a meeting comes up out of the blue, employers and their staff need to know that they have a reliable, fail-safe option.
This is one of Bubble’s greatest benefits – as the UK’s #1 app for on-demand childcare, we help parents to book childcare at a moment’s notice. Even if plans fall through and your employees need to book someone for that day, they can easily do so – the app allows for trusted childcare to be booked with as little as 30 minutes’ notice.
Flexibility and choice
No two parents’ childcare needs are the same, and this goes for working parents too. As an employer, the best way to ensure benefit uptake is to choose something that is flexible enough to cater to your employees’ individual needs, rather than giving them a ‘one size fits all’ solution (which will inevitably miss people out).
At Bubble, we know that parents are the best judges when it comes to choosing a babysitter or nanny, and our app is built to empower them to make the right decisions for them. We clearly display sitters’ experience and qualifications on their profiles, and they can showcase their personalities and interests through features such as profile videos, Q&As and custom labels (e.g. ‘Study Buddy’ or ‘Entertainer’).
Giving parents total control of their childcare decisions means that they’re more likely to use the benefit regularly, as it fits their family’s needs. The sitter community on Bubble is full of high-quality, diverse individuals, from teachers and nursery workers to professional nannies and children’s entertainers!
Choosing the right childcare benefit for you
Clearly, there are many different factors to consider when deciding on a corporate childcare provider. Although this list provides a good starting point for any company looking to improve its employee benefits’ provision, there are also many specific features that your company may require.
To learn more about how Bubble can help you support your workforce and get the best returns, email employer@joinbubble.com and we can provide you with more personalised information.
