BDO’s Individuals-First Tradition Ensures Working Mother and father Have What They Must Succeed
1. What programs and initiatives have helped working mothers succeed in your company? Why were they so successful right now?
Our flexible work culture has been the key to the success of working parents in the company for over a decade. The past 18 months have proven why this approach was critical, while at the same time it ushered in a shift in the way we think about how, when and where work is done, for both our employees and our leadership team. For this reason, BDO further developed its flexible work approach at the beginning of this year in order to enable our specialists to redesign their daily work in close coordination with their managers, customers and teams. By supporting workplace flexibility, all employees can keep their schedules so that they can do their best at work. In particular, this helps our parents prioritize their responsibilities both at home and within our organization.
We also have programs in place to empower working mothers throughout their careers. Our parent and womens inclusion groups provide a forum for our professionals to support one another, speak openly, and share advice through professional development activities, networking, and peer mentoring circles. In addition, we offer coaching webinars year-round on topics that parents can support, such as:
Through these initiatives, we uphold the core values of BDO. We do this because it is the right thing to do and because we know that we need to develop and transform together with our people to be the best company we can be to stay competitive.
2. Why is it so important to outperform mothers in your company, especially in 2021?
Balancing career goals with a strong commitment to family is not an easy task, but our working parents do it with grace and professionalism. Over the past 18 months in particular, working parents have had to keep adjusting, and many immediately became full-time teachers and caregivers in addition to their job responsibilities. Across the country, women abandoned work in staggering numbers as a result of this additional responsibility. Knowing the challenges our working parents face, it was important to have the support and resources to ensure they address pressing priorities at home and can continue to grow and thrive in their careers.
BDO is stronger when it is able to embrace and learn from the perspective of all our professionals, including those who care for, raise, or expand their families. We continue to invest in programs, guidelines and resources to ensure they find the work-life balance that suits them so that BDO can continue to benefit from their experiences and insights.
3. Overall, how has your company improved by helping more working mothers progress from within?
Our success and adaptability as a company depend not only on developing the most talented professionals, but also on creating an environment in which they can thrive personally and professionally. Almost a decade ago, our CEO and management team decided, after extensive discussions with professionals at all levels, to realign our strategic plan with the culture of our company. From that moment on, we are a people-centered organization with the main purpose of helping people to be successful every day.
Since redesigning our strategic plan, BDO has grown dramatically – in terms of both sales and the depth and breadth of the services we offer. I can safely say that our growth is directly due to our efforts to put our people at the center of everything we do. Our working mothers and fathers have made a tremendous contribution to the development of BDO, and I hope we have made it easier for them to navigate between work and home by providing a workplace culture that values their time and knowledge .
### 4. What future initiatives do you plan to take working parents forward?
At BDO, we continuously evaluate our policies and programs to ensure that they meet the changing needs of our employees. Whether it’s redefining our approach to flexibility or expanding our mental health and wellness offerings, we strive to understand and address the challenges our professionals face. We focus on continuing to foster a company culture that puts people first by maintaining a work environment that actively supports flexibility, inclusion, trust and empathy.
