• What’s the reality of working in an agency as a parent?
• How can you better support the mums and dads in your team – whilst keeping it fair for everyone else?
• We’ll be having a candid discussion about this in our monthly HR & people mastermind. Come along to share tips, vent your frustrations and hear voices from the other side of the coin.
Managing agency parents can be tough.
On one hand, it seems the answer is simple: “Most of my team are working parents. I’m happy to accommodate that, as long as it doesn’t affect the business.”
On the other, you also hear things like: “The challenge is when it starts to feel a bit ‘take take’ rather than ‘give and take’. It’s hard to ensure a fair approach that works for everyone.”
So, where’s the line?
Nadia Ali, head of client success at Hex Digital, seems to have found the right balance. Her agency has been more than accommodating since she returned to work.
“I’ve come back into quite a different role, by my own request. Over the course of my leave, they helped me map out a new role that was more fit for purpose – working around the availability that I’ve got,” she says.
“Now I’m the only person in the company that’s part-time. They’ve been very accommodating to basically say, “We don’t know how this is gonna work, but let’s do it anyway.’”
However, Nadia recognises that she also needs to be putting things in place to help make the most of her time.
“Yes, employers can put some stuff in place to help you. But fundamentally, that responsibility is still on the parent to deal with,” she says.
“One thing we’ve done is, my other half works from home when it’s my day to come into the office. Otherwise, there was a worry that I would be at work and have to keep leaving to go and pick up my son, which is a bit crap.”
“This way, I can really focus on the days I am in the office.”
We’ll be having a candid discussion about this in our monthly HR & people mastermind.
- What’s the reality of being a working parent in the agency world?
- What kinds of adjustments need to be made to accommodate for agency parents?
- Does everyone get the same treatment? How do you make sure it’s fair for everyone in your team?
Come along to share tips, vent your frustrations and hear voices from the other side of the coin.