What do businesses and parents have in common?

They both benefit from affordable, high-quality child care.

That’s why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has released a report – “Building Bridges Creating Strong Partnerships for Early Childhood Education” – that calls on the business community and early education advocates to find more opportunities to work together to develop “shared solutions.”

The need for solutions is clear. As the report explains, research shows that “the U.S. economy loses an astounding $57 billion per year in revenue, wages, and productivity as a result of issues related to childcare.”

To understand the ingredients of successful business/early education partnerships, the Chamber Foundation asked more than 150 business community members and early education advocates for their insights.

The result, JD Chesloff explains is that, “The report provides valuable guidance on how business leaders and advocates can work together to create more high-quality, affordable child care.” Chesloff is the executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and he served for ten years on the board of Massachusetts’ Department of Early Education and Care.

“The report acknowledges up front that business leaders and advocates often have different agendas,” Chesloff adds. “That’s why they have to do the work to understand each other, communicate with each other, and share resources. That’s the formula for forming successful partnerships. And that’s why this report is a must read for anyone looking to make change in early childhood education.”

Among the report’s findings:

• terminology matters:

– the term child care can be heard as a family responsibility, however “early education” is seen as a societal responsibility and it resonates more positively with employers

– “high-quality” can sound like a code word for “expensive,” which makes it crucial for advocates to explain what this term really means

• it’s important to understand the business audience and speak to them in the language of data

– “Businesses are looking for specific examples of what they can do to support working parents, including low- and no-cost options, and each business differs in the steps they are able and willing to take,” the report says, adding that “business leaders are interested in data, facts, and case studies that are relevant to their geographic area and industry. “

• messages should be clear and focused

– “Business leaders are compelled by messages that connect investments to benefits related to employee recruitment and retention.” They are looking for “direct instruction on how they can take specific steps to support their workforce.”

– “Businesses do not want to feel like they are solely responsible for solutions. It is important to help a business leader understand it is not on them to solve the problem alone and that resources exist to support their efforts.”

The report also has links to case studies about national business/early education partnerships. One example is the PNC Grow Up Great program. Since 2004, PNC, a financial services company, has been “helping children from birth through age five develop a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime.” This includes making more than $160 million in grants to “local non-profits and education organizations,” as well as “the active volunteerism of the company’s more than 50,000 employees.”

Massachusetts offers other examples. As we’ve blogged, this work is already underway in southeastern Massachusetts. And the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce also supports early education and care as well as the business advisory group that House Speaker Robert DeLeo convened to make the case for early childhood programs.

In addition, the report notes, businesses can also:

• subsidize the cost of child care

• conduct internal surveys to understand the needs of employees with young children

• offer employees with young children flexible schedules, and

• continue to work with early education advocates

The potential is inspiring. As the report says, the business community and early education advocates bring unique assets to their partnerships:

“Early education advocates have deep knowledge and expertise on this topic and are a resource for business leaders. At the same time, business leaders are solutions-oriented innovators and important voices for change in their communities.”