What a Year of EdNavigator at the Workplace Can Do

Do most American employees think their employer cares about them? I mean truly cares—doesn’t just pay lip service to caring?

If employees felt that way, perhaps the internet would not be littered with columns with titles like “Ten Signs Your Company Doesn’t Care About You.”

But there is one group of employees who are overwhelmingly likely to say that their employer does care about them: Those who have had an opportunity to receive a year of support from EdNavigator through their employer. Ninety percent (90%) of them agree or strongly agree that they feel that way.

Those are the results from our most recent annual survey of the families we support. Even relatively new participants give high praise to their experience. But by the one-year mark, the feedback is superlative. What accounts for such a positive response? After all, there are so many ways employers could show they care. They might provide free car washes in the employee parking lot or wheel in a margarita machine on Friday afternoon.

Here are a few reasons why we think EdNavigator makes such a big impression:

• Family. EdNavigator speaks to what working parents care about most: Their kids. Ninety-two percent (92%) of participants report that, after just one year with EdNavigator, their children are receiving a better education.
• Trust. After working with a Navigator for one year, 91 percent of participants say that their Navigator is now the person they trust most for advice about education. And that relationship is made possible by their employer.
• Productivity. Working parents are crazy busy. They are spinning plates while juggling swords. Expert assistance to reduce stress and uncertainty is deeply appreciated. Employers end up benefitting, as 84 percent of participants say that EdNavigator makes it easier for them to stay focused at work.

We believe that what’s good for employees and their families is good for employers as well.

When we support hotel housekeepers, we want them to feel confident that their kids are having a great day at school preparing for future careers, so that they can have a great day getting rooms ready for new guests. We want the assistant professors at our university partners to contribute meaningful research to their fields while knowing their children could someday follow in their footsteps by earning doctorates. We want the frontline workers at our plastics manufacturer to be leaders in American industry and for their children to someday apply for patents on new machines that make their products even better. We want nursing assistants at our senior care facilities to be fully present for patients whose families have entrusted them with their dearest loved ones and also fully present for their children, who are their own dearest loved ones.

No matter the employer context, the goals are the same: Maximize educational opportunities for families and improve workplace outcomes. Employees know their employer cares when it invests in them as people; when it builds community inside the organization and beyond; and when it provides on-ramps to their long-term dreams.

In this season of caring, we would like to say thank you to all the employers who care. Here’s a list of our favorites — the ones who show they care by bringing EdNavigator into their workplaces.

• Downtown Marriott at the Convention Center (New Orleans)
• Hebrew SeniorLife (Boston; Launch Partner)
• Hyatt Regency New Orleans
• International House Hotel (New Orleans; Launch Partner)
• JW Marriott New Orleans
• Laitram Manufacturing (New Orleans)
• Liberty's Kitchen (New Orleans)
• Loyola University New Orleans
• New Orleans Marriott
• Preservation Hall (New Orleans)
• Renaissance New Orleans - Arts Warehouse District
• Renaissance New Orleans - Pere Marquette
• Residence Inn Downtown (New Orleans)
• The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans
• The Ruby Slipper Cafe (New Orleans)
• Sheraton New Orleans
• Staff Pro (New Orleans)
• Tulane University (New Orleans)
• The Windsor Court Hotel (New Orleans