Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare CASE STUDY Safaricom Telecommunications, Kenya ABOUT IFC IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY17, we delivered a record $19.3 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER NOTICE © International Finance Corporation 2017. All rights reserved. 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Internet: www.ifc.org The material in this work is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. 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International Finance Corporation is an international organization established by Articles of Agreement among its member countries, and a member of the World Bank Group. All names, logos and trademarks are the property of IFC and you may not use any of such materials for any purpose without the express written consent of IFC. Additionally, “International Finance Corporation” and “IFC” are registered trademarks of IFC and are protected under international law. September 2017 Policy Overview Kenya Leave policies Paid maternity leave Yes 90 days Paid paternity leave Yes 14 days Paid parental leave No 0 Economy name: Legal obligation for employers Kenya to support childcare 0-2 years 3-5 years Main business city: Obligation for employers to support childcare? No No Nairobi* Region: Based on the number of female employees? N/A N/A Sub-Saharan Africa Based on the number of employees regardless N/A N/A of gender? Income level: Special legislation on employer-provided Lower middle childcare? No No income Population: Government incentives to 45,545,980 employers to support childcare Female population: Tax benefits to employers to support childcare? No No 22,824,526 Non-tax benefits to employers to support childcare? (monetary and/or nonmonetary benefits) No No Labor force participation (15+): Quality of private childcare services 63% female 72% male License or registration required? No Yes Zoning requirements? No Yes Compulsory primary education Pupil-teacher ratio required? No No enrollment age: Penalties for noncompliance with laws? No Yes 6 years Note: The Nairobi City County Early Childhood Education Act, which applies to both private and public childcare centers, was adopted in May 2017 by the Nairobi City County Assembly and is pending the Governor’s signature to come into force. Once signed, the amendment will expand the application of the 2014 Nairobi City County Early Childhood Education Bill to children under the age of six. This will affect some of the answers to questions covered in this study, such as safety measures, inspections, and teacher qualifications with respect to childcare services in the 0–2 years age group. *The Women, Business and the Law data are based on domestic laws and regulations that apply to the main business city of the economy. For more information on the methodology including the maternity/paternity/parental leave calculation methodology, visit wbl.worldbank.org 3 Safaricom Telecommunications, KENYA Safaricom’s Employee Profile, March 2017: • 51% of Safaricom’s 5,085 employees PARENTS, WORK, AND CHILDCARE IN KENYA are women Employment or lack of it is a key issue for many Kenyans. Current overall labor Safaricom supports employees force participation in Kenya stands at an estimated 67 percent, with women with children through: experiencing lower participation rates than men (62 percent compared with • On-site crèches 72 percent) (ILO, 2016a). Gender norms in Kenya, as elsewhere, indicate that • “Bring your child to work” policy women are the primary caregivers and spend much more time on the unpaid care of others, particularly of children (UNSG, 2016; Ethical Tea Partnership, 2015). • Additional paid maternity leave — (beyond statutory provision) One study shows Kenyan women spend around 90 minutes daily on childcare, compared to men’s average of 12 minutes (ActionAid, 2013). • “Mother’s shift”— reduced working week at full-time pay The 2007 Employment Act requires companies to provide female employees • Breastfeeding rooms with three months of maternity leave at 100 percent pay and male employees • Shift preference system (at Call with two weeks of paternity leave, both paid by the employer (Employment Centre) Act, 2007). The pending Employment Act Amendment Bill 2015 will introduce • On-site doctor and medical provisions for adoptive parents. Female employees who adopt a child under age insurance three will be entitled to three months of paid adoption leave, two months for children aged three to 12, and one month for children older than 12. Adoptive Business impacts of providing childcare supports: fathers will be entitled to two weeks of adoption leave. • Improved punctuality, reduced The new Health Bill (pending since 2015, awaiting presidential assent) will absenteeism and stress introduce mandatory requirements on employers to provide breastfeeding • Productivity and motivation gains stations and additional breaks (beyond existing meal breaks) in which mothers for women and men can breastfeed or express milk. There are no legal provisions for flexible hours or • Recruitment and retention benefits part-time work for parents in Kenya. • Progress against company vision for numbers of women in leadership During infancy and early childhood, children are typically cared for by family and technology functions members or domestic workers, such as privately hired childminders or nannies. • Demonstrates commitment to Domestic workers themselves are a vulnerable group, often from disadvantaged best practice in sustainable and socioeconomic groups, lacking decent working conditions (ILO, 2015), and responsible business, as part of the prone to switching employers frequently and with little notice. There is no company’s overall sustainability initiatives public provision of childcare for children under three in Kenya. Early childhood education services for children age three and under exist but are mainly informal • Helps company deliver on strategic priorities and home-based (WBL, 2016b; ILO, 2010). 4 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom COMPANY BACKGROUND Safaricom, a telecommunications company operating in Kenya, provides voice, data, and mobile money transfer services to individual customers, businesses, and the public sector. It is especially well-known for pioneering M-PESA, a PHOTO: COURTESY OF SAFARICOM mobile money transfer service. Founded in 1997 and originally part of a state-owned corporation, Safaricom was formally licensed in 1999 and began operations in 2000 with Vodafone holding a 40 percent stake and the Kenyan government 60 percent (following its listing in the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2007, the government’s stake is now 35 percent with 25 percent listed in the NSE). Safaricom is headquartered in SAFARICOM CALL CENTRE CRÈCHE, NAIROBI. Nairobi, with regional offices and shops throughout Kenya. The company has 44 direct retail shops, with more than Formal early childhood education (ECE) (for children ages 252,000 associated retailers and over 120,000 M-PESA agents three to six years) provision in Kenya is devolved to the across Kenya. In 2016, its annual revenue was 196 billion county level under the over-arching national legal framework Kenyan shillings ($1.8 billion) (Safaricom, 2016). of the County Early Childhood Education Bill of 2014. The 2014 Bill sets out clear requirements on premises, safety, inspection, and staff qualifications. Compulsory free public Women at Safaricom, March 2017 school education starts at age six. Childcare can be expensive, especially for low-wage workers, and has been shown to suppress maternal employment in Kenya (Lokshin, Glinskaya, and Garcia, 2000; ILO, 2010). 51% workforce Within this landscape in Nairobi and Kenya more broadly, this case study discusses how the telecommunications company 59% customer operations workers Safaricom provides support for working parents within its three headquarters’ office sites and single Call Centre site in Nairobi (85 percent of staff are in Nairobi) (Safaricom, 2016), as 30% board members well as how it is currently considering provision for employees outside the capital.1 25% senior leadership team 31% department heads 5 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom BUSINESS CONTEXT FOR SUPPORTING WORKING FAMILIES “We continue to create the Safaricom has 5,085 employees, of whom 51 percent are most mother-friendly working women. The male to female ratio across the company is conditions we can for two main significant, including at the board level. Safaricom has been reasons. The first is to reduce the proactive in prioritizing gender balance and a supportive work environment for working parents across the company. This disruption and costs associated approach to gender balance in the workplace stems from the with replacing women leaving company’s values of diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity the workforce to raise families, for women and men. and the second is to help address The company has different employee profiles in different areas the shortage of women in senior of the business, with many working families (employees with management positions within the children, either their own or from their extended families) company. Aside from supporting among the staff—21 percent of staff are in their 20s and 64 percent of staff are in their 30s (Safaricom, March 2017).2 At new mothers, we are also actively the company’s Call Centre, staff tend to be slightly younger identifying female employees than those at headquarters, with an average age of 32 years, with leadership potential and and many have young children.3 deliberately growing them at In other parts of the business, the workforce profile is every level of the company.” older, with staff having older children and sharing childcare responsibilities with other family members as part of extended Safaricom Sustainability Report 2015 family networks. Safaricom began offering childcare support at its Call Centre facility in 2010, aiming to provide a supportive environment learned anecdotally that these were mainly caused by to staff with childcare responsibilities. Call Centre staff are a disruptions in employees’ childcare arrangements (often crucial part of Safaricom’s operations, supporting one of the concerning domestic staff, or “house girl dramas,” as a company’s strategic business priorities: “customer first.” Their company video describes it), children’s illness, and occasionally productivity in answering customer queries via calls and social conflict with breastfeeding times for mothers. media is captured in a key company metric, the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures how available Safaricom is to its Given that absenteeism and lateness impacted productivity customers. The NPS measures whether Safaricom’s customers and the “availability to customers” metrics, helping staff would recommend them to others—a vital factor in a fast- address those issues became business-relevant, and the moving, competitive commercial space. company began to consider how childcare provision could benefit both company and staff (women and men). Safaricom Safaricom had been experiencing some punctuality and also felt that providing crèche facilities would support staff absenteeism problems at the Call Centre, and managers in their personal and professional growth, providing a more enabling environment at work. 6 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom Safaricom believes in a diverse workforce. As in other years, and parents bring their own food, clothes, and diapers technology companies, fewer women hold technical roles. for infants. At the Call Centre site, the crèche is open from Safaricom has taken steps to address this issue by seeking to 6:30 a.m.–6 p.m., seven days per week, including weekends understand the root causes of gender imbalance that lead and holidays. The center has one room for all children, with a to fewer female engineers, and considering how to address separate sleeping room and separate kitchen, as well as an those causes directly, with partners and for the benefit of the outdoor play area. Access to a doctor is provided separately for industry at large. That activity led to the development of the all staff as well as for children using the crèche. The Human company’s Women in Technology (WIT) program in Kenya. Resources department reports that staff without childcare WIT involves a range of activities targeting girls and women needs still value the crèches as an indication of the company’s “from the classroom to the boardroom,” working with schools overall approach to employee care. and universities to encourage more women into science, At the headquarters’ site crèche, hours are 7:30 a.m.–5:30 technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Safaricom p.m., weekdays only. Here there is also one room for all believes that its package of human resource measures, from children, with separate changing facilities and a food childcare through career progression programs, helps to preparation room. All staff at the crèches have qualifications maintain the diverse and talented workforce the company in first aid. wants to generate. Safaricom wanted to ensure that the best quality care was HOW SAFARICOM SUPPORTS provided for children at the crèche. Thus, from their inception, both crèches have been operated by Children’s World, an EMPLOYEES WITH CHILDCARE NEEDS independent, qualified, private, external provider of crèche, The company provides a suite of policies and practices that play, and childminding services, under the overall management help support both male and female employees with children, of Safaricom’s Health, Safety, and Wellness Team (part of including on-site crèches for younger children. Beyond the Human Resources division). Parents are welcome to crèche provision, this includes a “bring your child to work” give feedback about the crèche services. Over time, this has policy, maternity leave beyond statutory provision, reduced included suggestions to have more structured activities for working hours options for mothers, breastfeeding rooms, an the children, to improve provision for children over age three, on-site doctor, and medical insurance that includes children. including adding more educational activities, and a request for Additional policies recognize the shift regime of Call Centre childminders to have first aid training. employees: a shift preference system and an open approach when employees need to change shifts (there is no childcare A range of employees, both women and men, use the crèches, provision that can accommodate night shift work). Finally, the although Call Centre staff who work shifts make most use of company is considering expanding existing childcare support the Call Centre site. The parents of some very young children beyond Nairobi to staff in all of Kenya’s regions, including in the six new regional offices and beyond. On-site crèches “You know your baby is safe, so Safaricom has two on-site crèches in Nairobi—one at its Call you’re a happy mother, you are Centre, established in 2010, and the second at one of its three settled.” headquarters sites, established in 2013. The second crèche was Call Centre employee and crèche user, established to ensure fair access to such services for all Nairobi staff. All employees can use the crèches, and there are no fees. female Both sites are open to children from three months to seven 7 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom crèche, and there are no restrictions on its use. Many staff use it during the holidays for their own children or those of other “Having the crèche makes you family members. Using the Resource Centre in this way forms feel more comfortable, in terms part of the company’s “Safe Workplace for Everyone” activity of concentration levels. You don’t under its “Children’s Rights and Business Principles” policy. have to call home to check on the This policy, formulated as part of Safaricom’s work with UNICEF on integrating child rights into business practice house help, it is better if you need begun in 2014 (UNICEF, 2015), commits the company to to administer any medicine if your “respect the rights of all people, including children, in the child is sick, and being here means workplace, the marketplace, corporate social investment you can form a psychological and business operations.” bond with your child.” Maternity and paternity leave Call Centre employee and crèche user, male Safaricom updated its maternity leave policy in March 2015, going beyond statutory provision to offer new mothers at least 16 weeks fully paid maternity leave. Beyond the 16 weeks, mothers can extend their paid time off by adding annual leave use the crèche as their main form of childcare because this to maternity leave. Fathers are offered the statutory two allows them to visit during the day and feel reassured that weeks paid paternity leave. The option of increasing paternity they are close by. Yet at both sites, the crèche facilities’ main leave to one month was explored during an informal staff use is for back-up care when employees’ regular childcare survey in 2016, but results showed that staff felt the culture arrangements break down during a standard working week. was already flexible enough, so additional measures were not For employees at the Call Centre (which operates 24 hours needed. The company is also operating a new program called a day, 365 days a year), the fact that the Call Centre crèche is Safaricom Connect, a return-to-paid-employment program open on weekends and holidays when domestic staff may be for women who have been out of employment between one unavailable is also especially important. and 10 years. Staff also value the crèche services for school-age children (e.g., when they are ill) and the crèches are much busier during the holidays and on weekends. Safaricom is now considering “Family comes first at Safaricom, partnerships with other daycare service providers in the you don’t have to carry work regions to reach out to all staff. Employees report that many home and flexible shifts are children prefer the crèche to being at home alone with a much more accommodating to childminder, since they have the company of other children and prefer the atmosphere and facilities. family life, so it can be about your priorities.” “Bring your child to work” policy Call Centre employee and crèche user, At present, all staff at the company’s three headquarters’ female, several years at company offices can bring their children to work at any time. Staff can, for example, use the company’s Resource Centre area, which provides books, television, electronic games, pool, and foosball. This facility is typically used by children who are too old for the 8 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom Breastfeeding rooms Safaricom provides fully equipped lactation rooms for “We use the crèche especially on breastfeeding and lactation in a hygienic, private environment, weekends and holidays when the allowing women to continue to breastfeed after returning nanny is away. Our child enjoys it to employment. This service is not yet mandatory, and the company’s provision of lactation rooms has been widely because there are activities here shared to encourage other private sector actors. For rather than being stuck at home.” example, the company is featured as a best practice example Call Centre employee and crèche user, male in a national program to promote, support, and protect breastfeeding as a right of both mother and child. The right to breastfeed infants up to 24 months with a break of up to 40 minutes every four hours is also now documented in Kenya’s Breastfeeding Mothers Bill 2017 (awaiting presidential consent as of July 2017). On-site doctor and comprehensive medical insurance Reduced hours for returning mothers Safaricom provides comprehensive medical insurance for staff New mothers working on shift patterns at the Call Centre and their families. In addition, a doctor is available on-site at have the option to work reduced hours for the first six months the Call Centre, so sick children can be seen at the staff clinic. after returning to employment (known as “mother’s shift,” this This has also provided benefits for staff and the company— consists of six instead of eight hours per day or 30 instead of better health outcomes for children and improved staff 40 hours per week), while remaining on full-time pay. availability and lower absenteeism. Shift preference system New activities in 2017 and beyond There is also a shift preference system for mothers returning Safaricom is exploring various other policies and practices for to work at the Call Centre after maternity leave. The business 2017 and beyond. For example, the company is exploring how aims to allocate 60 percent of shifts according to staff to provide childcare support to Safaricom staff beyond Nairobi preference, with 40 percent allotted according to business in all of Kenya’s regions. need, alongside a performance-related shift allocation system for all shift work staff (employees who meet performance The company is also investigating how to provide more targets qualify for allocation privileges that aim to take shift appropriate workplace facilities for employees’ older children, timing preferences into account). Call Centre managers who are sometimes brought to the workplace, especially on have improved from meeting about 50 percent of staff shift weekends and during school holidays, both at the Call Centre requests in 2014 to about 65 percent of requests in 2016. and headquarters offices. At headquarters, there is some Staff who are not parents or carers are also supportive of the provision at the Resource Centre, but Human Resources policy for returning mothers as they believe it shows that the staff believe it can be further improved and are exploring company cares for its employees and for wider society. options. Already staff are accommodating young people across the company’s offices, showing them how the business operates, allowing them to explore their areas of interest, and supporting them in work and study at computer stations 9 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom and structured job shadowing opportunities. The company is or qualitative, on the crèche or other policies. However, the considering consolidating these activities into a young workers company does track service revenue and profit per employee policy. as well as headcount ROI within a target range. These figures are benchmarked by Safaricom’s parent company Vodafone The business has had flexible work policies for some time, and against its other operations in the region, and productivity is exploring extending them further. During 2017, additional and retention gains are directly visible in those metrics (for workplace-related policies are being informally piloted and example, through reduced recruitment and training costs at tested with senior management and leadership teams. Safaricom against the company’s own results from previous Following such pilots, the aim will be to develop the policies years). across the company, with each division considering how the options would apply to their department, depending on the Costs of providing childcare nature of work and type of operations in each department. In 2016, the combined direct operating cost of both crèche Finally, Safaricom is working to develop and implement facilities was $33,300, on top of which there were some company-wide training and awareness-raising on a new Anti- incidental maintenance and repair costs. Both facilities are Gender-Based Violence Policy that looks at violence within on existing Safaricom premises. Safaricom pays the childcare and beyond the workplace and its impact in the workplace. provider, Children’s World, directly, and Children’s World This includes issues such as domestic violence and how they manages the center staff and handles administrative tasks affect employees. (enrollment of children and contact details). The provider’s prices are based on a formula combining the costs of space, staff, food provision, materials and overhead, geographical BUSINESS IMPACT OF location, and whether children drop-in or are present full time. SAFARICOM’S CHILDCARE Safaricom does not take out additional insurance in relation SUPPORT to the crèche; any liabilities related to crèche facilities are Although the company’s main aim in providing this range of covered by Safaricom’s extensive general insurance provision, support is in “doing the right thing” and supporting employees, and Children’s World has an excellent performance record there is nevertheless a business impact. Safaricom reports regarding accident incidence. business gains in several areas deriving from its childcare support. Apart from supporting Safaricom’s commitment Safaricom’s Policies Under Development to diversity, these include gains across the following areas: productivity and motivation; punctuality, absenteeism, and stress; recruitment and retention; company targets for • Workplace provision for school-aged children women in leadership and technology functions; demonstrable and adolescents commitment to best practice in sustainable and responsible business, as part of the company’s overall sustainability • Policy and training on tackling gender-based initiatives; and delivery on the company’s overall strategic violence priorities of putting customers first and operational excellence. In terms of cost-benefit analysis, Safaricom does not directly monitor return on investment (ROI) data, either quantitative 10 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom Improvements in punctuality, absenteeism, and stress level “We understand that women’s The Call Centre is perceived as a high-pressure environment issues are business issues and (the “pulse” of the business), where employees may be dealing providing a work environment with repetitive work, demanding customers, and the regular introduction of new products and services. Call Centre staff where women can thrive in their are often studying as well as working, some also run small roles as mothers, while staying in businesses, and many choose to work overtime to increase employment and growing their their earnings. careers, is part of Safaricom’s HR HR staff report that before the Call Centre crèche was objectives, while also offering established in 2010, Call Centre operations faced some competitive advantage for us absenteeism and punctuality problems, with staff taking “personal emergency” leave at short notice, which negatively as part of employee benefits affected their annual leave entitlement. packages.” Through conversations with employees, HR staff determined Stephen Chege, Head of Corporate Affairs that unexpected difficulties with childcare and children’s illness were the root cause of these problems, affecting both female and male workers. Furthermore, when new mothers used up their annual leave allowance on caring for their children, they rearranged, or they can be changed to daytime when the lacked rest time and were tired and stressed at work. Having crèche is available. Given that the Call Centre operates around the crèche and medical facilities available on-site has the clock, and the crèche is daytime only, not all emergencies substantially improved absenteeism and punctuality. Now, can be resolved, but there has been a substantial decrease in instead of having to find a relative or arrange nonfamily absenteeism, tardiness, and management time taken to childcare, staff can bring their children to work, where they can rearrange shifts. also see a doctor if a child is ill. Shifts do not have to be Productivity and motivation gains Female and male staff at both the Call Centre and headquarters offices report that having the crèche facilities improves their productivity as they feel more settled, concentrate better, and are more focused on their tasks. At the Call Centre, this is directly visible through metrics such as PHOTO: COURTESY OF SAFARICOM service levels (how many queries are answered and queuing and abandonment rates) and customer satisfaction rates (as measured by the Net Promoter Score mentioned earlier). Safaricom’s headquarters office houses more senior staff, including management, and working parents at headquarters rely on at-home nannies more than their Call Centre CEO BOB COLLYMORE VISITS THE HEADQUARTERS CRÈCHE IN NAIROBI. 11 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom counterparts. Nevertheless, anecdotally both female and male career progression. Previously, staff report that some female headquarters staff report that knowing they have the crèche employees were afraid that they would “fall down the career as a back-up when needed helps them give their best at work. ladder if they had children since they would accumulate less It also saves them time and disruption since previously they experience and be seen as less ‘available’ to the company.” took breaks and disrupted their work schedule to rearrange Now, the company can attract men and women equally by their childcare. Managers reported that these gains are visible demonstrating that it is open to those who want to combine in the annual staff survey via rising scores on how engaged career and family life. staff feel at work. At the Call Centre, new staff receive eight weeks of full-time training, which is a substantial financial investment. Retention Recruitment and retention benefits of staff is therefore important. In the past, Safaricom found Although the company itself has not publicized the crèche it was losing new mothers as they struggled to manage their facilities to potential employees, media attention has meant employment and child rearing commitments, and many did that potential candidates are aware of the crèches, which have not return to paid work. Some were constrained by the cost of helped attract both male and female staff. At headquarters, childcare, so the free crèche helps retain those with financial the company is recruiting highly skilled staff in a competitive constraints. market, and the crèche facility offers a competitive advantage compared to benefits offered by other employers. It also sends Progress toward company targets for women a clear message that the company understands that staff have in leadership family commitments, which has indirectly impacted women’s Safaricom has a system of targets on diversity and inclusion. Although overall Safaricom is doing well on gender diversity, the company is still working toward its targets on women in leadership and women’s representation in the company’s “The crèche was established to technological functions. Childcare support is part of a range of handle staff being MIA [missing in programs aimed to help women remain at Safaricom after maternity and thus fully participate in the management and action]. It was especially a problem leadership functions of the company over time.4 with new mothers. It has really helped reduce that a lot, so there’s Support for company commitment to best more stability in the workplace. practices in sustainable and responsible business It also helps your motivation at Safaricom’s childcare support is part of the company’s overall work, knowing that the company sustainability strategy, which has generated extensive external cares and provides an extra service interest. Although not unique in Kenya, most other companies for free. Honestly speaking, I feel providing childcare support at work are in more rural settings, mothers here are privileged; we such as flower and rose farms (KEPSA, 2017; UNICEF Kenya, are market leaders and others are 2015). Interest in the company’s activities has come from international organizations, the local media, investors, trying to catch up.” especially from Europe, and other stakeholders. The company’s Call Centre employee and crèche user, Head of Corporate Responsibility reports that sustainability female activities are a key area of interest to potential investors. 12 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom However, over time, as both crèches were established, they have attracted attention from national and international “My wife’s work is less flexible organizations as well as the media. As a result, they have than mine, she cannot drop a enhanced the company’s reputation on the regional and day’s work if our child is sick. international levels, boosted its corporate responsibility Compared to my previous credentials, and, through media coverage, helped to attract potential employees in a manner that the company had not employer, where we had worries foreseen. The company could capitalize on this by using the about what to do if childcare crèche facilities in recruitment campaigns as well as customer failed, now we have peace of outreach, making sure to highlight these benefits for both mind, which makes me more female and male candidates. productive. I can deliver my best When the crèche was set up, Safaricom expected that parents at work.” would use it as their main source of childcare. Yet the most common use of both crèches is for back-up care, as well as Headquarters senior manager, male, on weekends for Call Centre staff who work weekends, and occasional crèche user during school holidays. Safaricom is now taking more formal steps to meet this demand. The crèche began as a rather low-cost, basic service. Although LESSONS LEARNED the employee users of the crèche have no formal role in its governance, employee feedback about crèche operations Safaricom’s crèche facilities and other childcare-related made clear their increasing expectations about the care and employee policies are popular with staff. The company education of their children. Over time, this has meant that the believes it has learned lessons about these policies and quality of care provision in the crèche has improved, leading facilities, and that there is still more that can be done. As a to requirements for childcare staff, such as having first aid result, the company is continuing to make plans for further training, and for more educational activities and structured development, for example, at the regional level. Offering childcare supports for free was more viable despite the company bearing the cost. When Safaricom established the Call Centre crèche, it learned that charging employees for “I was attracted by the work- its use was not workable for staff there. The company decided life balance here, and knowing to offer the crèche for free, which led to increased take-up the company has a crèche was and then succeeded in the company’s objective of reducing childcare-related absenteeism and disruption. part of realizing the attitude the company has to family life. In my The crèche began as a low-key business solution and grew previous role, I worked long hours into a reputation enhancer. The Call Centre crèche began as a limited solution to a concrete company problem. and didn’t see my kids much.” Headquarters employee and crèche user, male, recently recruited 13 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom other family-friendly policies. In practice, male employees clearly value the crèche facilities and other work-family “At a recent international policies more than the company initially anticipated, so the investor roadshow, our CEO only benefits have been felt more fully than anticipated across the took copies of our Sustainability whole workforce. Report, since he receives increasingly more questions from CONCLUSION investors about our business The company currently summarizes its overall strategic aim responsibility and sustainability— (to be fully fit for a sustainable future) as its “Transforming Lives” agenda. This agenda aims to transform the lives will we be in business in 100 years? of customers, communities, and colleagues. Its tagline is We feel that all our work in this “We’re at our best when you’re at yours.” Company senior area is really key for investors.” management feel that the commitment to support staff as a core company value is being put into practice by the suite of Sanda Ojiambo, Head of Corporate enhanced policies and practices related to staff with childcare Responsibility needs as there are evidently direct benefits for both the staff and the business. Safaricom’s crèche provision has been a key plank of that play for children. These changing expectations also reflect support. Provision has been maintained and enhanced, increased attention at the national level in Kenya to higher with plans for further development both in terms of deeper quality early childhood education (ECE) provision. coverage for older children, and broader provision beyond Nairobi-based staff. Human resources managers are working on ideas to cover the next challenge for staff—back-up care for school-age children and adolescents over holidays and weekends. The fact that existing facilities are trying to cater to those age groups shows a clear demand from staff in this area. Existing “bring your child to work” days have proved popular, and there may be scope for the company to conduct more of those or similar PHOTO: COURTESY OF SAFARICOM activities. Childcare in Kenya, as elsewhere, is still seen as predominantly a woman’s responsibility. Focus group discussions with Safaricom employees revealed that it is primarily women who pay for nannies from their earnings and make decisions about childcare. As a result, the company felt female employees CALL CENTRE SUPERVISORS, NAIROBI. would especially appreciate benefits from the crèche and 14 Case Study: KENYA Safaricom Endnotes 1 Interviews for this case study were conducted in person in January 2 Information based on interviews conducted with Safaricom 2017 in Nairobi. Researchers interviewed a range of Safaricom Call Centre staff in March 2017. staff at two headquarter sites and at the company’s Jambo 3 Information based on interviews conducted with Safaricom Contact Centre. Interviews were conducted with personnel from Call Centre staff in March 2017. the following departments: Human Resources—Health, Safety and Wellness; Corporate Responsibility; Finance; and Workforce 4 As in other technology companies, there are fewer women Planning and Customer Operations. 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