As I sit down to write this post, it is my first moment to catch my breath after the whirlwind that was yesterday!
It was our very first parents@work conference, and leaders and parents came together in-person and online to explore together how we can build better workplaces for parents.
Young working parents are the future of our organizations. They will be our leaders, our talent, our workforce. And we need to support them, so that they will stay and so that they can thrive!
Our speakers blew me away with their stories, their insights, their vulnerability.
✅Thank you to Shai Popat and Karen Schärer for your inspiring keynotes! I know that you both invested time and energy into crafting a message that resonated so thoroughly with our audience.
✅Thank you to Ana Maria Montero - Moderator for leading our first best practice panel made up of leaders who are investing in the parents in their organizations: Reto Randegger, Ana Piubel, Laura Alvarez, Andrea Dubach. We are grateful for your partnership, both at the conference and behind the scenes.
✅Thank you to our parents@work partners for leading the breakouts. We experienced peer coaching ourselves, we dived into peer coaching skills and Fritz Von Hardenberg shared his story about leading in a part-time role. Yes, it is possible to be successful and hold your boundaries.
✅Thank you to our lovely peer coaches and coachees for joining Rachael Waldinger and I in the peer coaching panel. Elodie Duvaldestin, Jan Philipp Jung, Simona Blazheska, CPCC ACC, Nakhli Khoury, it was just a privilege to listen to your stories – you made our job easy!
To the participants: thank you engaging with us from the first minute. You made the conference the success it was. We are grateful that you prioritized connecting with us and wanting to do more for working parents. I don’t know about all of you, but as a working mom, I felt seen, heard, connected, valued! I only wish I had had more time to talk with everyone.
Thank you to our sponsors: SIX for the most wonderful location. We felt so at home, and so spoilt to have the ultimate in conference facilities and support. Rafal Solis for making the video and live streaming possible, for the media corner and videos to come, and for your optimistic and heartfelt enthusiasm and encouragement.
Watch out for links to the video’s which will come soon
I hardly have space to thank all our community, network, partners, clients.. for your encouragement and believing in what we do, thank you! We appreciate you!
Rachael… you rock 🔥 we did it 🙌
Author: Sarah Meier