There are stories that begin with a grand vision. Ours begins with a problem that many parents are all too familiar with even today. Thirty years ago, an employee of a major bank on Paradeplatz was looking for a spot in a daycare center and couldn’t find one. This raised the crucial question: How are parents supposed to balance work and family life when there’s a lack of suitable childcare?
How It all began: An idea becomes reality
Instead of dwelling on the problem, the employee, together with a colleague from the Young Chamber of Commerce of Zurich, had the solution at hand: he founded a daycare center, thereby laying the foundation for today’s profawo association, which was then known as “Childcare-Services.”
The dedicated group of parents realized very quickly back then: A daycare center isn’t just a babysitting service—it’s a place where children are cared for with love and professionalism. Behind it all are not only dedicated people but also high quality standards, a great deal of organization, and a funding model that must be sustainable in the long term.
Breaking new ground together with employers
To secure the necessary funding, they sought close collaboration with their employers from the very beginning. Everyone realized that families need more than just good childcare; they need employers who understand the realities of their lives. This insight continues to shape our path to this day. This collaboration gave rise to something that remains our greatest unique selling point to this day: our close relationship with employers.
HR departments see firsthand every day what challenges employees face. They know when parents are looking for a childcare solution. They hear about last-minute absences, school vacations, the strain of balancing work and family, or when a family member suddenly needs support. This close relationship makes them valuable partners. Together, we’ve been able to identify needs early on and develop services that are truly needed.
Growing alongside families’ needs
So it didn’t stop at just one daycare center. A network of daycare centers (always located right near employers) was established. A nanny placement service and an emergency nanny service were added to provide support when life doesn’t go according to plan. Over the years, we introduced vacation programs to ensure children are well cared for even during school breaks. And because people’s life situations also change, since 2012 we’ve been supporting families not only with child care but also with care for family members. This expansion of services led Childcare Services to become profawo (pro family work).
Family management means more than just childcare
More and more often, employees are taking on responsibility for their parents, partners, or other close relatives. And demographic trends clearly show that this trend will only intensify. It goes without saying that we view the balance between family and career as family management in the broader sense. That is why our services now also include respite care for family members.
30 years of listening, understanding, and developing solutions together
When we look back, we don’t just see 30 years of company history. We see children who have long since grown up. We see parents who were able to pursue their careers thanks to reliable childcare. We see companies that have recognized that family-friendliness isn’t an optional extra, but part of a modern corporate culture.
And we see countless encounters, conversations, and collaborative solutions. In fact, surprisingly little has changed over the years. We still listen first. Our services are still shaped by what families and employers truly need.
And we’re still convinced that good solutions emerge when people keep the lines of communication open.
Thank you for 30 years of trust
So when we celebrate our 30th anniversary this year, we’re celebrating far more than just an organization. We’re celebrating the trust that families and employers have placed in us for three decades. We’re celebrating partnerships that have led to real solutions. And we’re celebrating the belief that you can improve people’s daily lives by truly listening to them.
Perhaps that’s the most beautiful thought after 30 years: The missing daycare spot from back then was found long ago. But the real solution was never just that one spot. The real solution is to listen to people—and to keep finding new ways forward together with them.
For that, we say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We look forward to continuing to do in the future what we’ve been doing with passion for 30 years: easing the burden on people, strengthening families, and working with employers to develop solutions that make everyday life a little easier.