The Working Parents ERG reminds me that I’m not alone in my struggles to balance work and family, and provides moral support, humor and motivation."
Kirsten Seymour
Senior Consultant, ERM
Working parents & caregivers
Photo credit: Kirsten Seymour, Canada
Supporting our employees that balance multiple priorities in and out of work is always important, but the remote-working situation during FY21 merged our work and family lives like never before.
With this in mind, ERM launched our latest Employee Resource Group (ERG) for Working Parents and Caregivers in response to feedback from employees in our employee surveys and forums. The ERG supports our journey to creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive environment by:
- Providing peer support to ERG members through a safe space for learning and sharing lived experience.
- Discussing issues faced by working parents and caregivers, providing insight into potential improvements, and offering support to prospective working parents caregivers.
- Providing advice and recommendations to ERM on initiatives and activities that may better support the retention and attraction of working parents and caregivers. This may also include providing feedback on relevant draft ERM policies.
- Assisting members of the ERG, as well as other employees, towards better cultural understanding as it relates to being a working parent or caregiver and the particular demands this creates for the individual.
- Supporting ERM’s inclusive culture strategy, by engaging in local and global initiatives and acting as local inclusion champions who are making a positive difference.
ERM has implemented several recommendations from the ERG to accommodate the needs of working families during the pandemic. We have learned we can operate differently than we did before the pandemic and, importantly, still be highly effective. For example, some people find remote working affords a flexibility in schedule they had not previously anticipated. Working closely with their line management, these employees are able to create work schedules that fit their personal and business needs.