Why working parents are your greatest asset
In today’s modern world, family dynamics have changed and in most households both parents are now working. In fact, 54% of mothers are engaged in either full time or part time employment, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
If employers want to attract talent and retain high performing employees for the long term, then workplaces need to respond to the changing needs of families.
Working parents can be your greatest asset in business and here’s why.
Parents help model a flexible and family friendly workplace
By bringing more parents into the workplace, organisations encourage workplace diversity and gender equality, which in turn leads to more productive and innovative businesses with better performance.
Flexible employers will widen their talent pools, increase productivity and improve their bottom line. Employers who choose to ignore this demand will be poorly prepared in the war for talent.
Parents are efficient and manage their time well
There’s a misconception that employees focus less on their jobs once they become parents. If anything, they are even more committed to their work when providing for their families adds additional meaning to their labour.
A study by the NFIB revealed poor time management accounts for over 38% of lost productivity in the office and lets face it, if there’s anyone in the workplace that understands how to prioritise and manage time effectively, it’s parents because they practice this skill on a daily basis.
Parents make excellent leaders
Parents know how and when to let go of control and set expectations instead. And because they’re in a parenting frame of mind, they also tend to have a heightened focus on “doing the right thing”, providing mentorship and growth opportunities, and supporting their peers – all qualities that make a great leader.
Parents have incredible soft skills that are valuable in today’s workplace
Soft skills are essential to building a strong team and delivering business performance, and working parents are well-equipped with the EQ needed to succeed.
Apart from the fact that parents at home use their problem solving, negotiation and relationship skills and the latest technology just as much as those at work, they often return to work more collaborative and inherently more agile than they left with.
Raising a family has also enhanced their organisation and multi-tasking capability – They don’t have time to muck around, engage in gossip or endless chats around the coffee machine.
Parents will remain loyal when they work for a flexible and family friendly employer
One of the best ways to recruit great people is to keep your doors open to candidates whom other employers are excluding for reasons other than merit. This includes working parents. When given the option to work flexibly with a supportive and family friendly employer, loyalty comes in full circle and word of mouth travels fast.
How can we help?
Working Parents Connect partners with family friendly employers offering both online advertising and recruitment services to support their talent acquisition strategies and promote their flexible opportunities to our growing network of over 75,000 parents across Australia. Find out more about our recruitment and advertising packages.
And don’t forget to follow Working Parents Connect on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to keep up-to-date on new job opportunities and market insights.