SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Valley Credit Union recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Babies in the Workplace program with a reunion of current and past employees and their children who have participated in the program.
The innovative program allows employees to bring their babies to work with them until they are eight months old or crawling, whichever comes first. Some of the first "babies"--now 10 years old--were in attendance.
"Allowing our staff to bring their newborns to work with them until the baby is eight months old has been one of the most significant things we have done to help our employees balance life and work," said Vice President of Human Resources Debbie Sallen.
It's not only employees who are happy with the program; the credit union has also received a positive response from members. One member went to a branch planning to close her account, but decided to remain a member after hearing about Babies in the Workplace from a teller who had her baby at work that day.
Valley Credit Union modeled its program after San Jose National Bank's program and since then, other credit unions have modeled their program after Valley CU's.
As of January 2008, the credit union has had 39 employees and 49 babies participate in the program and at least three more babies are expected in 2008.
--mdigiovanni@cutimes.com
