Family-friendly workplaces are no longer a nice extra. They are a smart business strategy.
Family Forward NC®’s new 2024–2025 Biennial Report, Small Shifts. Big Payoffs. Transforming Workplaces in North Carolina, shows how employers across the state are adopting policies that support working families while strengthening recruitment, retention, productivity, and workplace culture.
The report captures a period of major growth for Family Forward NC®. Since launching its Employer Certification in 2022, the initiative has helped set a statewide standard for family-friendly workplace practices. Today, Family Forward NC® is celebrating 145 certified employers across our state with a workforce of 66,788.
The report also shows the broad reach of this work. Since its inception, Family Forward NC® has worked in 79 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, helping employers learn about family-friendly practices through workshops, webinars, presentations, and panel discussions – from the city of Reidsville to the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce to Procter & Gamble, a diverse list of employers have been certified.
Among the biggest milestones highlighted in the report is the launch of North Carolina’s first Family Forward NC® Certified Community, created through a partnership with Action Greensboro and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. This effort offers a model for how local communities can expand family-friendly workplace practices across employers of all sizes and sectors.
The report also highlights new tools and stories helping drive change. Family Forward NC® updated its Guide to Family Forward Workplaces, documented best-practice policies, and shared employer case studies demonstrating how businesses are implementing policies that support employees and strengthen workplace culture.
Looking ahead, Family Forward NC® plans to deepen its focus on small businesses, expand community collaboratives, release new benchmarking data on certified employers’ benefits, and convene business leaders at the 2026 Family Forward NC® Summit.
Read the full Family Forward NC® 2024–2025 Biennial Report to see how small shifts in workplace policy are creating big payoffs for employers, employees, and families across North Carolina.