Charly Cares Business bridges the gap between employer and employee
Since its founding in 2016, Amsterdam start-up Charly Cares has grown into a babysitting platform that connects over 85.000 moms and dads. This year, Charly Cares Business was added, after the Dutch corporate sector had also discovered the babysitting platform, with some help from corona. The babysitting service is now increasingly helping parents who work from home on behalf of their employer.
The corona crisis has shifted the demand for babysitters, particularly with regards to parents who work from home. Founder Charly van der Straten therefore decided to prioritise her earlier plans of adding a business branch to the existing concept. "The demand for a fixed babysitter for work hours has increased 1.5 times since the start of the crisis. We spoke to many large companies and hospitals who wanted to unburden their staff. Doctors with children who were not welcome at the daycare due to illness, for example, We have accelerated the launch of Charly Cares Business specifically for companies in those critical sectors."
Babysitting needs have changed
The transactions on the babysitting platform show that the costs of the babysitter are increasingly being paid by the employer. "The babysitting services for business use are reimbursed, for example by allocating a personal budget," says Van der Straten. "You can also see that the babysitting needs of parents have changed. Parents no longer go out at night, but now often need a babysitter to be able to work productively from home during the day. For example, when the school or daycare is closed due to a staff corona case."
She continues: "It has become increasingly important for employers to contribute to a healthy balance between work and private life to prevent babysitting stress. Basically, as an employer, you provide a babysitter at home as fringe benefit for those times when it is truly necessary."
Important for the employer to think along
The current crisis poses, in her opinion, the perfect opportunity for employers to take a good look at the ways in which they can contribute to the productivity of remote workers. "Some companies need a helping hand, others are quick to adapt to the new situation. We also try to adapt and always look at what is needed and how we can meet those needs. On our platform, we connect supply and demand."
"Additionally, I don't think we'll ever go back to working at an office five days a week, so in terms of the balance between family, career, and working from home, this will be a lasting change. And with it comes the importance for employers to think along with their employees and offer solutions to organise working from home as well as possible for their employees."