Catering giant Aramark has introduced a coaching course for managers to help them compare and contrast parenting with management styles.
HR director Robbie Wheeler said after the success of the Coaching Skills for Parents pilot, run by Next Generation Coaching from January to April this year, the firm would offer the scheme to its senior and middle management employees, about 200 staff in all.
Participants on the Aramark course will meet three times over three months, and will learn how to boost confidence and performance for staff in the workplace and family at home. Trainees will also compare their parenting and management styles and share best- and worst-practice case studies.
Wheeler said she was glad she could offer a scheme accessible to everyone.
“In the past we’ve been provided a lot of training for our female staff like those returning from maternity leave, so we wanted to address the balance” she told Personnel Today.
“Many employees in our business look after children, their own or otherwise, and this training is practical on many levels.”
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“We think this will result in improved productivity and engagement, a better work-life balance, and we also think it will cut down on absence rates,” she added.
Wheeler said that she hoped to eventually offer the training to all 12,500 staff employed by the catering firm.