When Frontier Co-op, an herbs and spices manufacturer, launched in 1976, the eastern Iowa-based company employed many women from farming families who were the primary caregivers in their households.

“They were entering the workforce for insurance purposes, to be honest,” said Megan Schulte, Frontier’s VP of HR. “Many times, the men were out in the field. When they would come into the workplace, they would need childcare, so they just started bringing their kids along with them.”

What started as an informal operation of Frontier employees pitching in to take care of their colleagues’ kids was formalized in the 1980s as a subsidized onsite childcare program. Today, Frontier runs a childcare center at its Norway, Iowa headquarters that supports 110 kids. The benefit is part of Frontier’s “Breaking Down Barriers to Employment” initiative, which seeks to help employees overcome systemic challenges, including a lack of access to childcare.

How Frontier runs its childcare program. Rather than partner with a third-party provider, such as Bright Horizons or KinderCare, to run its onsite childcare center, Frontier has a license to run the operation itself. Frontier employs childcare center workers directly; the employees who work at the center receive the same benefits as the rest of the company’s workforce.

Keep reading here.—CV

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The gender pay gap is still a prevalent issue in the workforce. Women in the US earn just 84 cents for every dollar men earn overall, while Black and Latinx women earn just 69 and 57 cents on the dollar, respectively, compared to white, non-Hispanic men.

As a result, 75% of HR professionals conduct regular pay audits to help identify inequities, according to a December survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). But mitigating pay inequities will likely involve more than just audits. In fact, it may require change from company leadership.

Survey says. Nine in 10 HR pros surveyed said they’ve been trained to make business-related pay decisions. And while 48% of respondents reported receiving training to properly document pay decisions and on the importance of pay equity, only about 40% said that was true of senior leaders, and only 36% said managers had been trained, too.

When managers and senior leaders receive the same pay equity training as HR, they can work in tandem to close the pay equity gaps they uncover at their organizations, Emily Dickens, SHRM chief of staff and head of government affairs and corporate secretary, told HR Brew.

Keep reading here.—AS

Some people believe that a spin class is a communal experience. Everyone is reaching for a greater purpose while working out together. I am not some people, but…some people.

Now, the founders of the original cult spin studio SoulCycle want to turn this physical, communal experience into an emotional one—for employees.

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler started Peoplehood @Work in mid-April to help employers solve their culture problems. The initiative is part of Peoplehood, the organization they founded in 2019 after three years of consultations with scientists, therapists, religious leaders, and others to determine how to best facilitate relationships and trust, according to Forbes.

The program hopes to reduce workplace stress and burnout through social support and guided conversations with employees, according to a press release. The founders say Peoplehood @Work tailors its services to employers’ needs.

Keep reading here.—KP

Where does AI fit in HR? Everywhere? Nowhere? Somewhere in between? HR Brew asked Paylocity to help us clarify this growing Q. We’ll discuss AI in HR, what it means for leaders, and how it can be leveraged to your advantage. RSVP to catch the virtual discussion.

Bad days. We’ve all had ’em, and we all know how difficult it is to focus on workplace tasks when you’re in the midst of them. Luckily, employers can now help their peeps champion their mental health. HR Brew sits down with BetterHelp to discuss the manifestations of stress (hint: burnout) and how organizations can offer a solution.

Register now.