Promoting Your Corporate Lactation Program

Your company knows that there are many benefits to having a corporate lactation program. You have a mother’s room, flexible break options, education, and support for breastfeeding mothers. However your employees need to know what your company is offering them in order for the company and employees to benefit! Once you have your program in place, you’ll need to promote it to ensure a broad range of employees are aware of it, not just your breastfeeding moms.

Your corporate lactation program needs to be known not by just breastfeeding moms, but the dads and male employees who have a partner who is expecting. When fathers know what benefits are available such as education and support, they can make use of the benefits and be more supportive to their partners. It’s important for managers, supervisors, and co-workers to know what benefits the company provides in order to create a supportive work environment. Sharing the program with all of your employees builds interest and support for the program itself and shows you care about working mothers. This gives the company a positive image in the community, surrounding area, and media.

Some companies have their lactation program integrated as part of their existing work-life programs so they get promoted along with these other programs through existing channels. However, since some work-life programs can be extensive, it is also a good idea to have other avenues to promote the program separately, as the information can get lost or overlooked among the other programs.

Here are 11 ways to easily promote your company’s lactation program both to your employees and outside the company.

1. Have an Open House or grand opening for all employees for the Mother’s Room with information on your lactation program. You can also invite the media to let them know your company is providing lactation support to employees!
2. Publish articles about the program in company newsletters, both on the web and in print.
3. Allow employees to self select that they will be pumping if you use employee surveys and communicate to this targeted list.
4. Have information about the program out and accessible for all employees. Keep them by nurses stations, health stations, human resources, and common areas where employees might. congregate. You can also put up posters and information on bulletin boards around the company.
5. Post flyers in the bathrooms, especially the ladies room or gender neutral bathrooms!
6. Create information packets for expecting employees or add this to your leave packet.
7. Ensure that your lactation program is promoted prominently in corporate Work-Life events, Employee Wellness Fairs, and other benefit sessions.
8. Include information on the lactation program in company-wide mailings and ensure it is prominent in the mailing.
9. If you have internal social media or chat groups for mothers or working moms post on these channels. Some examples are Slack and Workplace by Facebook.
10. Hold information seminars, like a Lunch and Learn or Brown Bag Session to promote the program internally. You can partner with Employee Resource Groups like the women’s network or mother’s group if your company has one.
11. Have a session explaining the lactation program and benefits to managers and supervisors which require their attendance.

You’ll get the best return-on-investment on your lactation program if your employees know that it is a program available to them. When they use the program, not only will they get the benefit of giving breastmilk to their baby, but you’ll gain from less absenteeism. Breastfeeding programs also reduce medical costs, and employees appreciate that their company has these valuable benefits for them.

Companies also often get media coverage when they start a mother’s room or a lactation program. This promotes a positive image of the company to the community. Some states will even give a special “infant-friendly” or “family-friendly” designation to companies with comprehensive lactation support, which further boosts the company’s image.

To find out more about what your company can do to promote your lactation program, contact our Healthy Horizons Corporate Lactation Services.