Marathon County: Early Years Coalition seeks public input in community-wide survey

Making Marathon County More “Family-Friendly” – Employee Input Needed Through New Communitywide Survey

Marathon County Early Years Coalition, WIPPS Research Partners launch community survey, findings to be shared with public, area employers

A Marathon County partnership of over 50 organizations advocating for early childhood success and family well-being has launched a “family-friendly” survey to gauge how residents view work-life balance in the workplace. Survey results will be used to help local businesses and nonprofits make the community and workplaces more family-friendly.

The Marathon County Early Years Coalition focuses on ensuring child and family well-being through a countywide effort that will encourage and support early childhood success.

“This survey will help us understand what people living and working in Marathon County value in a family-friendly workplace,” said Dean Dietrich, chair of the Marathon County Early Years Coalition and founding member. “Using this information, we can work together as a community to improve the lives of families and, in particular, young children, providing them with the best start for a productive life.”

Key questions that will be answered in the survey include:

• What kinds of family-friendly workplace policies and programs are currently available, and how are they viewed by employees?
• How much do employees value family-friendly workplace policies and programs compared to other job factors?
• What family-friendly policies and benefits do employers rank as among the most important in their business goals to attract and retain employees?
• Where are opportunities to work together across the county to address community needs?

The easy-to-use online and mobile survey will direct survey takers to a series of multiple choice questions, with space at the end for individual comments. The survey is confidential and anonymous and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Any person currently employed, including self-employed, living or working in Marathon County is encouraged to take the survey.

“WIPPS researchers have examined national trends and received input from employers and employees to design a survey that will provide meaningful information for employers to improve attraction and retention of their workforce, said Eric Giordano,” WIPPS executive director.

All survey findings will be compiled into a final report that will be shared with interested stakeholders, including the public.

For more information on the survey, contact Eric Giordano at WIPPS: 715-261-6388 or email: egiordano@uwsa.edu.