Daycare at the DC

Amid a nationwide worker shortage, warehouses and fulfillment centers are getting creative in their approach to staffing challenges. 

Take UPS Inc., for example. In a bid to reduce work absences and boost retention, the parcel giant recently piloted an “emergency daycare program” for employees in Northern California. The program is intended to be a backup option when a parent’s primary childcare falls through, allowing “parent-employees” to balance their personal and professional needs instead of calling out sick, UPS said.

Calling it a first for the logistics industry, UPS says the pilot daycare center is located onsite at the California facility, offering childcare for children aged six months to seven years. The early results show that 90% of users were women, 77% of bookings were made less than 48 hours in advance, and 47% of the users were single parents. By helping those employees fill a childcare gap, UPS says it also saw a business return, noting that employee turnover among the pilot group dropped from 31% to 4%. The company also noted that 80% percent of eligible employees participated and took advantage of the service more than once, avoiding more than 120 unplanned absences.

Following the success of the pilot, UPS plans to extend the program to three locations in Pennsylvania (Middletown, New Stanton, and Bethlehem) this November and to additional sites in 2024.