Employer/ Supervisor interview Form

	Form Approved OMB No. 0990- Exp. Date XX/XX/20XX
SUPERVISORS
Interview Guide
Participant ID:
Date of interview:
Interviewer:
WARM-UP: Hi, this is (interviewer name) with LTG Associates. May I please speak with (participant name)?
Hi (participant name). Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed today. Is now still a good time to do our interview? It will take around 45-60 minutes (If yes: Great. Let’s get started! If no: Can we reschedule for another time?)
As my colleagues and I described in our earlier communication, I am part of a team that the Office on Women’s Health has asked to help it better understand the barriers and facilitators to workplace breastfeeding accommodations that may be encountered by both nursing mothers and their employers. The results of this interview will help us better understand how OWH can help employers accommodate nursing mothers who need to breastfeed or express milk while at work. You were asked to participate in this interview because you are a supervisor who may have experience helping one or more of your supervisees utilize workplace breastfeeding accommodations. Before we get started, do you have any questions for me? (Answer questions.)
1. Please tell me about the kinds of accommodations your company provides for breastfeeding employees.
2. What kind of guidance and/or training did you receive to help you understand and prepare to implement workplace breastfeeding accommodations?
a.   How were you trained to provide accommodations for women who you supervise?
b. Who conducted this training?
c. How well do you think that the training prepared you to support both the breastfeeding women you supervise as well as their co-workers?
i.  How could the training be strengthened?
d. What is your role in helping to ensure your supervisees’ access to these accommodations?
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0990-0379. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggetions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, OS/OCIO/PRA, 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Suite 336-E, Washington D.C. 20201, Attention: PRA Report Clearnance officer
3. Please tell me about your experience of helping the women you supervise to learn about and use workplace breastfeeding accommodations.
a. Can you tell me about the policies and guidance your company has regarding supporting breastfeeding employees?
b. How did you learn about the policies and guidance?
c. Are there ways that you think that they could be strengthened that would benefit breastfeeding women, their co-workers, and their supervisors?
d.  Were you involved in developing these policies? (If yes) In what way?
e. How does the company provide “reasonable time” for breastfeeding employees to express milk at work? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Part of already established paid breaks? ▪ Separately scheduled nursing breaks? ▪ Breaks to express milk as the need arises? Other?
i.   If nursing breaks are part of established breaks, how have you responded to employees’ requests for extra time to express milk, if needed?
ii.   What creative solutions have you used to ensure that work coverage is provided while the breastfeeding employee is away from her work station to express milk? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Designated floater staff? ▪ Informal coverage by other employees? ▪ Other?
iv.  If there have been challenges that you were able to resolve, how did you address these issues? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Coworker complaints? ▪ Production schedules that might have had to be altered? ▪ Worker productivity? ▪ Other?
a. Are they ongoing? If yes, how are you trying to address them?
f. Do you know what breast pump options are available to employees? (Prompt if needed)
i. Employee brings her own pump?
ii. A multi-user electric breast pump is available in the lactation space?
1. If so, do you know if the employee pays for her own breast pump attachment kit?
iii. The company provides or subsidizes the purchase of a personal use breast pump?
iv. The employee receives a free breast pump from the health insurer?
v. Other?
4. Can you tell me about the space(s) that your company provides for employees to express milk at work? If your company provides more than one space, please let me know that so I can record your response to these questions for each of the different spaces. (Prompt if needed)
a. Where is the FIRST space that you want to describe located?
b. Is the space a simple flexible space?
i. If yes, what kind of space? (Choose one)
Other
c. Is the space a dedicated lactation room?
i. If yes, where is it located?
Other
ii. How was it created?
d. Do employees need to schedule the use of the space?
i. If yes, how is that done? (check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
e. How is privacy ensured? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
f. Does the space accommodate a single employee at a time?
i. If more than one woman can use it at a time, how do individual users gain privacy if desired?
g. What furnishings are available in the space to benefit the breastfeeding employee? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
h. Do you know where breastfeeding employees at your company typically store their milk? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
i. Do you know how the breastfeeding employee has access to running water to wash her hands and breast pump parts?
j. (If appropriate) How did you determine how many spaces to provide?
k. Where is the SECOND space that you want to describe located?
l. Is the space a simple flexible space? (Choose one)
i. If yes, What kind of space? (Choose one)
Other (Please describe)
m. Is the space a dedicated lactation room? (Choose one)
i. If yes, where is it located? (Choose one)
Other (Please describe)
ii. How was it created?
n. Do employees need to schedule the use of the space?
i. If yes, how is that done? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
o. How is privacy ensured? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
p. Does the space accommodate a single employee at a time?
i. If more than one woman can use it at a time, how do individual users gain privacy if desired?
q. What furnishings are available in the space to benefit the breastfeeding employee? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
r. Do you know where breastfeeding employees at your company typically store their milk? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
s. Do you know how the breastfeeding employee has access to running water to wash her hands and breast pump parts?
t. (If appropriate) How did you determine how many spaces to provide?
u. Where is the THIRD space that you want to describe located?
v. Is the space a simple flexible space? (Choose one)
i. If yes, What kind of space? (Choose one)
Other (Please describe)
w. Is the space a dedicated lactation room? (Choose one)
i. If yes, where is it located? (Choose one)
Other (Please describe)
ii. How was it created?
x. Do employees need to schedule the use of the space?
i. If yes, how is that done? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
y. How is privacy ensured? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
z. Does the space accommodate a single employee at a time? (Choose one)
aa. What furnishings are available in the space to benefit the breastfeeding employee? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
bb. Do you know where breastfeeding employees at your company typically store their milk? (Check all that apply)
0
0
0
0
cc. Do you know how the breastfeeding employee has access to running water to wash her hands and breast pump parts?
dd. (If appropriate) How did you determine how many spaces to provide?
5. Do you know if your company offers any workplace social supports for breastfeeding employees? (Prompt if needed)
a. A bulletin board in the lactation space for encouragement, online or in-person support groups?
b. Does the company provide or make referrals to lactation experts?
i. (Prompt if needed) Paid by the company or through the insurer?
c. How does your company make employees aware of the available accommodations? (Prompt if needed) ▪ New employee orientation? ▪ Poster? ▪ Newsletter? ▪ Other?
6. Can you tell me about why and how your company developed and implemented the policies and practices that support workplace breastfeeding?
a. What was the primary motivator in developing the accommodations? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Knowing the bottom-line benefits? ▪ Federal or state laws? ▪ An employee who requested the accommodations? ▪ Other?
b. What is your understanding of the federal Nursing Mothers’ Break Provision of the Affordable Care Act that amends the Fair Labor Standards Act, and how it requires and guides companies to support breastfeeding at work?
c.      What is your understanding of any state laws related to worksite lactation support and how they may apply to your company?
d.      Can you describe the process of developing policies that align with these laws, if you were involved in this process? ▪ Lactation rooms? ▪ Company encouragement? ▪ Other?
e.      Please tell me about any breastfeeding advocates or champions in your workplace. Please speak generally about their roles, for example Work and Life or Employee Assistance professionals, rather than telling me their names.
f.      What is your sense of how what your company does compares with others in your industry?
7.      What feedback on workplace breastfeeding supports have you received from the breastfeeding women you supervise? (Prompt if needed) Lactation rooms? Company encouragement? Other?
a. How have your breastfeeding employees let you know that they will need nursing or expressing accommodations?
b.      What feedback on these accommodations have you received from other supervisors?
c.      What feedback have you received from other employees?
e.      What feedback have you received from the community (if applicable)?
f. What resources have helped your company address the concerns of each of these groups?
8.      Does your company collect any information on the use of workplace breastfeeding supports? If yes, what have you learned? (Prompt if needed)
a.      Have you used a satisfaction survey of employees who used them?
b.      What about stories from other supervisors of employees who used them?
c.      Have you used another method of collecting information? If yes, please tell me about it and what you have learned.
9.      Have there been resources and/or people who have helped your company develop and implement workplace breastfeeding supports? If yes, who were they - we are interested in there area of specialization
a.      What has helped you as a supervisor? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Online resources? ▪ Other supervisors? ▪ Nursing mothers at your workplace? ▪ The HR manager or the company's worksite wellness division? ▪ People from the community? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Local WIC program? ▪ Hospital? ▪ Breastfeeding coalition? ▪ The Society for Human Resource Management? ▪ The resources at Supporting Nursing Moms at Work?: http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/employer-solutions ▪ Other?
b. Can you describe how these resources have helped?
c. How did you find these resources? (Prompt if needed) ▪ Your company's human resources manager/department ▪ The Society for Human Resource Manager (SHRM)? ▪ Industry groups? ▪ Outreach from state or county representatives? ▪ Other?
d.      Do you know what resources your breastfeeding employees have found helpful?
i. How do you think that those resources help them?
e. What kind of help do you WISH you had had?
10. What have been your biggest challenges in providing breastfeeding accommodations to employees?
a.      What challenges have your breastfeeding employees faced?
b.      How did (are) you manage these challenges?
i.      How did you help breastfeeding employees manage these challenges?
c.      What kind of resources have your breastfeeding employees and you used (are you using) to try to overcome these challenges? (Prompt if needed) ▪ People, like experienced peers? ▪ Documents or online resources? ▪ Other?
d.      What kinds of resources did you want but could not find?
e. Have there been any ongoing challenges that your company has faced in continuing to develop and sustain workplace breastfeeding accommodations? If yes, can you describe them?
f.      What do you believe would help you sustain or improve your accommodations?
11. What things have made it easier to provide breastfeeding accommodations?
12. Are there new breastfeeding accommodations or changes to existing accommodations that your company is planning to develop and implement? If yes, can you describe them and what prompted the changes?
a.      What resources will your company need to help to develop and implement these changes?
b. How can resources be improved to better help you accommodate breastfeeding employees?
i.      How can they be improved to better help your breastfeeding employees to utilize workplace breastfeeding accommodations?
13.      What recommendations do you have for companies similar to yours that have not yet implemented worksite accommodations?
a.      What do you believe are the primary barriers for other companies?
b.      What do you believe would motivate other companies to develop and implement worksite accommodations?
c.      What information or resources do you believe would help other employers provide worksite accommodations for breastfeeding employees?
14.      How does your experience supervising employees who utilize workplace breastfeeding accommodations compare to your peers who supervise breastfeeding employees?
15.      Prior to this research, were you aware of the online resource Supporting Nursing Moms at Work: Employer Solutions at: http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/employer-solutions/ If no, skip to 16; if yes:
a. How did you become aware of it? (Prompt if needed) ▪ From your HR department/manager? ▪ By using an online search engine? ▪ Through an industry organization? ▪ Through a state breastfeeding coalition? ▪ Other?
b.      What elements of the website did you find most useful and why? (Prompt if needed) ▪ The industry solutions pages? ▪ Policy templates? ▪ Videos? ▪ FAQs? ▪ Other?
c. What elements of the website did you find less useful and why?
16.      What have you heard about the bottom-line benefits of accommodating breastfeeding employees at work?
17.      What additional thoughts would you like to share regarding workplace breastfeeding accommodations?