Two weeks paternity leave? Try 18. West coast companies raise bar on benefits in Nashville

Jamie McGee | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Parental leave in the United States slowly improving Several companies are stepping up to offer paid parental leave for new moms and dads.

In 2018, Dollar General, the discount retailer based in Goodlettsville, rolled out a paid leave policy for new parents that included two weeks of paid time off and eight weeks for birth mothers. Other local businesses, including banks, tech companies and law firms, have taken similar measures — introducing two weeks of paid leave for fathers or expanding their paid time off to four or even six weeks, developments encouraged and welcomed by employees.

But compared to local operations at Lyft and Eventbrite, both with San Francisco headquarters, the benefits pale in comparison. Both firms provide 18 weeks paid leave that is offered to mothers and fathers. Wonolo, an online staffing firm based in San Francisco that has a Nashville office, provides 12 weeks paid to both parents and four weeks of remote work. Google, with offices in Nashville and a data center in Clarksville, offers 12 weeks paid to both parents.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, began offering 20 weeks of paid leave for mothers this year and offers 12 weeks paid paternity leave. Seattle-based Amazon, opening a new operations center in Nashville, offers four weeks of pre-partum paid leave to expectant mothers and up to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave with part-time options available upon their return.

"We are really leaning into the people experience," Carnell Elliott, Dell co-site leader and inside sales director, said. "Retaining talent is extremely important."

In a city that regularly touts its quality of life and family-friendly dynamics, it is the West Coast and Texas firms that are leading the way in benefit offerings. While Nashville-based companies are expanding their employee benefits to adapt to a competitive labor market, some recruiting leaders argue Nashville companies lag many of their counterparts in more progressive and tech-heavy cities. Increased offerings from firms moving to Nashville could force other businesses to follow suit.

"They will say, 'We are family friendly,' but when the rubber meets the road, it's not quite there," said Mary Pillow Thompson, co-founder of Nashville staffing firm Versher that focuses on placing women. "Nashville didn’t have to compete for talent the way they are having to (now). They didn’t have to think about these things."

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Courtney Jones, whose Knoxville-based recruiting firm MomSource Network helps companies find senior female talent and build returnship programs for women returning to work, said most of her clients have been on the East Coast rather than in Tennessee.

"We are doing a good job in recognizing our opportunities to grow and improve," Jones said of Tennessee companies. "However, I think when it comes to committing the time, resources, bandwidth and dollars to really match what progressive employers on the coast are doing, we seem to be moving at a snail's pace."

There is a continuum on several cultural issues, including paid leave, flexible work days, child care and diversity in the workplace, Jones said. She describes companies' attitudes on parental leave as ranging from paid parental leave should be limited to women who need time away for medical reasons — to paid leave should be identical for men and women, who will both be instrumental in raising a child and who both seek to bond with that child. Companies leading in benefits have adopted that mindset and relevant policies.

"When those companies move into our local markets they bring the policies they have incubated in other parts of the country or world with them," Jones said. "Those companies that have the most progressive policies will become the employers of choice. "

Family-friendly policies attract talent

Eventbrite Nashville site general manager Erin Tomlinson said she has seen the impact of the company’s family friendly policies in hiring. Those policies include stipends for adoptive families, expansive parental leave and unlimited vacation time.

"I've talked to some people who when they were looking at companies to join, this was one of the main reasons that drew them to Eventbrite," Tomlinson said. "We are very supportive of family and work life balance."

Nick Allen, a Lyft program manager in Nashville, said Lyft's benefits — health coverage, unlimited paid time off and paid paternity leave — were among factors swaying him to take the job. He recently returned from three months of paid paternity leave, which allowed him to spend time with both his newborn and three-year-old son. His previous employer offered two weeks paid.

“It was amazing,” Allen, 36, said. “It helped me focus on my family and taking care of my other son as well. It is not just them saying they care about you and your family. They really show it by giving you a generous amount of time off.”

Benefit packages at some firms go well beyond parental leave and vacation days. Dell offers physical and mental health support for employees transitioning gender. Amazon offers fertility support, which includes coverage and access to specialists.

Flexibility value extends beyond parents

Among Versher's services is connecting women with positions offering more flexible schedules. Many local employers have resisted allowing more flexible workplace arrangements, such as varying hours or remote work options.

“Nashville is going to change with all of these outside companies coming in, but there is a lack of acceptance of a flexible work style," Thompson said.

Flexibility extends beyond the needs of working parents. It is also especially prioritized by younger workers, including Millennials and Gen Z employees, said Jaime Klein, founder of Inspire Human Resources in New York.

"These two generations very much want to have the flexibility to work when they want, where they want," Klein said. "They grew up at a time where they were always on — smart boards in the classroom, laptops in their bedrooms at home. They go to campus and there is an app for everything. Then they get to work and they are like, 'You've got to be kidding me. I need to sit at this little gray cube from 9 to 5?' It doesn't match other areas in their lives."

Many workers value flexibility over compensation, a point that is sometimes lost on employers, Thompson said. Employers that don't consider alternative schedules can miss out on high-performing workers.

"Flexibility is free," Thompson said. "Just because somebody wants the flexibility to, say, pick their child up at 4 o'clock and when they get home, dial back in, finish their work in the evening, they are still putting in full-time hours."

The willingness to allow flexible arrangements depends on role but also sector. In tech, the focus of many West Coast companies operating in Nashville, remote work arrangements are more common. Amazon, for example, lists more than 700 open positions for remote workers on its site. Dell also offers flexible work opportunities, allowing many employees to work remotely entirely or partially, adjust hours and to condense their weeks.

Nashville Technology Council CEO Brian Moyer said Nashville executives leading information or tech operations have added flexible or remote options in recent years out of necessity.

"It's easy to work remotely with most tech jobs not all," Moyer said. "Where it does make sense, I see them prioritize that in order to remain competitive in the highly competitive work environment we have right now."

And with more companies expected to announce Nashville expansion or relocation, the pressure to adapt could grow.

"Many companies do the bare minimum to be competitive with whatever is going on in their industry with their main competitors," Klein said. "You saw the Googles and Facebooks expanding parental leave policies to include paternity leave. Everyone did a fast follow."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.