In 2023, parents and carers from across Serco launched a new Parents and Carers Network for Serco colleagues. Working closely with the business, they are helping Serco to be a place where care responsibilities outside of work are understood, supported and more easily managed.
Throughout the network's inaugural year, it has been busy working to strengthen and support the Serco parents and carers community, from creating helpful resources and signposts to external guidance and support, to updating parental leave policy and hosting live 'lived experience' and subject matter expert events.
Driving awareness and understanding across the business of the issues affecting parents and carers has been a big area of focus. When Heather Key, Chief Legal Counsel for Serco UK & Europe, began her own personal journey of fund- and awareness raising to address the mental health impacts of social media on children and adolescents, she asked: 'What more could we do in Serco to raise awareness and provide support for affected families?'
Heather's question prompted the Parents and Carers Network and our Group Head of Health and Wellbeing, Jamie Broadley, to engage Mad Millennials, a non-profit organisation supporting the millennial generation with their mental health and wellbeing, to speak to the workforce and provide a pack of resources to aid Serco families.
In September 2023, Mad Millennials delivered a live and interactive Teenage Mental Health Workshop for Serco parents, carers and allies, sharing knowledge, guidance and a toolbox of resources, supported by personal stories and panel discussion from Serco colleagues. This followed Heather's own successful fundraising skydive – matched by the Serco Foundation to raise £4,500 for related causes.
Speaking during the Mad Millennials workshop, Jamie Broadley said: "Today we have heard just a few stories, but we know there are hundreds more across the business – we know how much our parents and carers are carrying in situations like these. What really stood out from the live colleague comments was how common these challenges are for people across Serco. We hope that the tools and guidance from Mad Millennials will help them in managing these situations and help all of us to provide better support to one another. This is definitely a conversation we want to keep having."