Employers are discovering a new tool to help with recruitment and retention—employer-assisted housing.
The future economic health of metropolitan Chicago is dependent on maintaining a competitive workforce for the region’s businesses and industries. The growing mismatch between suburban employment growth and where workers can afford to live creates problems—especially recruitment and retention—for employers.
That's why more employers are actively assisting their employees moves toward homeownership. None of these companies is in the housing business, but all have recognized their business self-interest in supporting their workforce in this way.
Starting in 2000 with one Chicago-area employer,
System Sensor of St. Charles, providing qualifying employees with a $5,000
forgivable loan for down payment assistance, by mid-2005 approximately 40
employers around the state have signed on. Large employers such as Allstate
Insurance, MB Financial Bank, and the University of Chicago as well as small employers such as Medela, Robinson Engineering, and Rosenthal Brothers have put employer-assisted housing to use for their workforces.
By decreasing workers commute times, and helping employees become owners, employers actually decrease their recruitment and retention costs, thus improving their bottom line and their public image.
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for more information on employer-assisted housing.