Babies in the Workplace

(who was pregnant at the time) if she could bring her baby to the office, the HR manager, Terry Pronko, searched to find a policy on bringing babies into work (not on-site child care). After some research, Terry came back with the comment, "There isn't a policy on this, anywhere--no one is doing this." So, since MAYA is in the business of innovation and experimentation, they decided to create their own policy. They were so pleased with the results that they decided to continue the program with other babies.

As Wendy Zanotelli explains, the first time the baby program was proposed at UNCLE Credit Union at the executive level, she said no. She said she didn't want babies on the teller line because she thought it would detract from the service level they could provide. But, she said, the second time the topic came up, proponents of the idea convinced her, and

now she is "one of the biggest supporters of it." She said:

   Other companies have had hesitation [in
   deciding to start a program]. I'm the best
   one to talk to; my advice is to try it out. If it
   doesn't work, you can always take it away.
   But the benefits of the program far outweigh
   the negatives.

   Cathy Weatherford said that when she proposed allowing babies to come in to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners:

   Some of my direct reports thought I was
   off my rocker when I said I wanted to do
   this. But I asked them to be helpful and
   to give it a try--and if it didn't work, we'd
   let it go. Some of the biggest naysayers
   became some of biggest champions when
   they found that, from just giving a little bit,
   we were retaining important staff members
   who were big contributors [to the