What matters to working moms? Understanding it will help keep them in your company
Oct. 21, 2021
This paid piece is sponsored by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
From child care incentives to college tuition for children, today’s human resources are using competitive talent incentives to retain women in the workforce.
That will be one of many sessions at the upcoming WIN in Workforce Summit on Oct. 28 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, featuring Chad Greenway.
Stacy Wrightsman, senior director of community relations at Sanford Health, will participate in the discussion titled Talent Retention Basics: Understanding What Matters to U.S. Working Moms.
The panel also includes Jennifer Hoesing, chief development officer at DakotAbilities, and Jess Jasso, managing director at Northwestern Mutual.
We sat down with Wrightsman for a preview of the conversation.
It’s a big, broad topic: understanding what matters to working moms. Where do you start?
Uff da, yes, a loaded question indeed, and it’s important to understand that it’s not one solution to one challenge. Flexibility coupled with a hefty sense of relational trust is paramount for how we can try to discuss, explore and tackle this subject of working moms and working parents.
Sanford Health is a vast organization, but are there some broad ways Sanford tries to reflect its understanding of working moms?
I’ve had the distinct privilege of working in a safe, productive, creative and whole-person environment where I have the flexibility to be successful both at my work in community relations at Sanford Health and provide support and care to my family. As far as overarching cultural philosophies that Sanford adopts and lives out, our main priority would be that we are people-first. We meet our employees where they are and do what we can to listen and learn where they are. Our responsibility for our patients is at the core of all we do, but we understand that in order to care for our patients, our Sanford family needs to feel safe and cared for. We promote our employee assistance program, our centers for well-being throughout the medical centers in our footprint and also provide needed flexibility where we are able.
Personally, what strategies from employers have you found make a difference for you as a working mom?
Flexible scheduling has been a game-changer. Outside the COVID pandemic, I’ve been able to relish in the flexible scheduling Sanford has afforded me in the community work I do. Since several community events take place in the evenings, I can rearrange my schedule to accommodate my work meetings, community stakeholder connections, evening events and also create margin in my schedule to take my children to their doctor’s or dentist appointments, school conferences and extracurricular activities.
Again, I think it’s paramount to talk to your staff to determine what matters most. Remote working has also been a successful opportunity for me to work off-hours to meet the needs of the organization, and it’s an “off-hour” flexibility more than it is an expectation. Grace, patience and listening to your team are all essential in creating a culture of safety and trust. From that, staff and employees will perform their absolute best as a byproduct of that flexibility and trust. It is worth noting that I work within the administrative corporate function of the organization, and it is also something to research within our patient-care areas.
Are there some things you’ve learned are important to working moms that might surprise employers?
As part of my preparation for this year’s WIN the Workforce event, I’ve reached out to some working moms and mothers who have recently exited the workforce. I’d like to best ascertain what might be the reasons why and the priority for the life choices being made – to either maintain a working relationship within the city or to work as a full-time caregiver and domestic CEO at home.
What do you hope WIN attendees take away from this conversation?
My goal is to provide leaders, owners and administrators with some real-life tools to provide a working environment that is safe, welcoming and productive for working moms. Clear expectations are key – no assumptions. Work needs to get done, so it’s best to work with your people to determine what is the magic recipe to get the work done while still maintaining and supporting a whole-person approach.
To learn more and register for the WIN in Workforce Summit, click here.
