Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau, Salt Lake Chamber, Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Park City Community Foundation’s Early Childhood Alliance partner to bring the national program to Utah.
The Best Place for Working Parents® is a national network that offers real-time designations to family-friendly businesses. Launched today, the Best Place for Working Parents® Salt Lake, Summit, and Wasatch Counties offers local business leaders the opportunity to instantly determine whether their organization qualifies to earn a Best Place for Working Parents® designation, positioning them among the leading family-friendly businesses in the U.S.
“We want to acknowledge regional businesses that support working parents by offering family-friendly policies and benefits.” said Sarah Myers, Vice President of Operations of Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau.
The Chambers of Commerce from Park City, Salt Lake, and Heber Valley partnered with Park City Community Foundation’s Early Childhood Alliance to bring the national program to three counties in Utah. The free and confidential self-assessment allows companies of all sizes to take a three-minute self-assessment that gives immediate designations and shares innovative practices that are helping today’s working parents.
“Utah’s economic success is rooted in strong families and forward-thinking businesses,” said Derek Miller, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “This initiative encourages companies to understand that empowering and supporting working parents is not just the right thing to do — it’s a valuable and efficient business strategy. We’re proud to be bringing this program to our region and look forward to seeing its positive impact on Utah’s working parents.”
The Best Place for Working Parents® assessment highlights only the top 10 research-backed policies proven to benefit working parents and businesses’ bottom line. Local and national research proves that there is also a serious business case to being family-friendly:
- 83% of millennials would leave one job for another with stronger family-friendly supports.
- Replacing an employee costs an employer six to nine months of that employee’s salary.
- Over 60% of working parents said child-care issues have caused them to miss work.
- Employers lose $13 billion annually due to child-care challenges faced by their workforce.1
“Utah is often referred to as a family-friendly state,” said Kristen Schulz, Director of the Early Childhood Alliance. “But we know that parents across the state struggle to secure and afford childcare, balance the needs of work and family life, and find the resources they need. By recognizing family-friendly businesses, we hope to inspire everyone to start investing more into our kids and families.”
“Strong businesses are built from strong families. This initiative empowers local employers to not only support the needs of working parents but to strengthen their own organizations by adopting proven, family-friendly practices, giving these businesses a competitive advantage in a tight labor market.” said Dallin Koecher, Executive Director, Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The online self-assessment provides a real-time dashboard of how a business fares against other businesses of like size and industry across each of the top 10 family-friendly practices in their region. The three-minute self assessment, real-time dashboard results, and the Best Place for Working Parents® designation for qualifying businesses can be accessed at https://bestplace4workingparents.com/salt-lake-summit-and-wasatch-counties/
ABOUT Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau represents over 1,000 businesses in Summit County. Founded in 1963 to promote local ski resorts, today, the Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau is entrusted with fostering the health and wellbeing of the local community. From maintaining economic stability and addressing environmental concerns to developing sustainable tourism plans and preserving cultural heritage, the organization prides itself on being in the community for the community. Our Mountainkind brand is designed to support destination stewardship. For more information, visit visitparkcity.com.
ABOUT Salt Lake Chamber
The Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest and longest-serving business association. A statewide chamber of commerce with members in all 29 Utah counties, the Chamber represents the broad interests of the state’s 63,000-plus employers, which employ more than 1.4 million Utahns. This includes thousands of Chamber members and their employees. With roots that date back to 1887, the Chamber stands as the voice of business, supports its members’ success and champions community prosperity. For more information, visit slchamber.com.
ABOUT Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce
Heber Valley Tourism, Economic Development, and Chamber of Commerce collaborate to expand local economic activity through tourism development, provide resources to strengthen existing businesses, and promote Wasatch County as an excellent destination to live, learn, work, and play. Located just 45 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport, 20 minutes from Park City, Utah, and less than 30 minutes from Provo/Orem, Utah, the beautiful Heber Valley is a quick, convenient, and scenic destination. For more information, visit hebervalleychamber.com.
ABOUT Park City Community Foundation
Park City Community Foundation helps solve Park City and Summit County, Utah’s greatest challenges. It builds community belonging to advance a thriving workforce and sustainable future through fostering a robust nonprofit sector, engaging people in philanthropy, and addressing urgent issues. As the home of Early Childhood Alliance, Live PC Give PC, Women’s Giving Fund, Zero Food Waste, Youth United, and other important initiatives, the Community Foundation has brought nearly $70 million in total impact to Park City and Summit County since its inception in 2007. Learn more about donating, volunteering, fundraising, and getting involved at parkcitycf.org.
ABOUT The Best Place for Working Parents®
The Best Place for Working Parents® is a growing national network of business leaders proving that family friendly IS business-friendly. Originating in Fort Worth, Texas, The Best Place for Working Parents® seeks to support businesses with research-backed strategies that benefit working parents AND businesses’ bottom line. Learn more at: bestplace4workingparents.com
