Reece Jarvis
5 min read
There's one thing I know for sure about working at Reward Gateway – it's never boring. It's the type of place where teams and individuals are encouraged to and celebrated when we "Push the Boundaries" (it's one of our company values!). I get a chance to do that everyday, and not just in my day job.
About a month ago I came across an article in Men's Health magazine discussing the low take up of parental leave by Australian fathers, even though many companies offer it. This struck a chord with me because Reward Gateway has certainly pushed the boundaries in this space, releasing one of the most generous parental leave policies I've heard of. It's never occurred to me not to take it.
You see, alongside my role supporting the success of passionate HR leaders who are making their companies a much better place to work, I’m also father to two amazing little ones.
There’s my 3-year-old, Olivia, and my newborn, Harrison, who only arrived a little over a month ago and has already stolen the hearts of the two leading ladies in my family.
When I joined Reward Gateway nearly four years ago, I was looking for an organisation that would inspire me and support me on my career path, as well as my personal journey. Working for a company that supports all parts of your life (that’s our “Be Human” value in action, to understand and recognise that — “everyone has a career and a personal life to juggle,” and can “emphasise and understand what each person needs to be happy and successful") was key to me joining.
I really believe that if you're the best version of yourself at work, then you're in a better position to be the best version of yourself for your kids and your partner.
Here are a few ways that RG has not only helped me be a better employee, but an even better father:
Flexible working to be there for the important moments
Whether that be from home, working from a coffee shop or working in one of our amazing office locations, RG gives me the ability to work in an agile way. My day could start with me dropping the Olivia off at daycare, or dipping out late in the afternoon to pick her up, taking an hour out to attend a daycare activity or take her to the doctor if she's unwell.
The best thing about this benefit is that it's built into the way we work at RG. At any given moment, we have the freedom and flexibility to get our work done in the most effective way, at the most effective time.
Agile working gave me the ability to spend more time with Harrison or spend more time at home getting things done rather than a long commute to and from the office taking up a big chunk of my day.
Meaningful reward and recognition to make life-changing purchases
Helping my schedule so that I can be the best version of myself is one of the many innovative employee benefits that makes me appreciate my organisation, but it doesn’t stop there. You can imagine with two kids, we do our best to make every dollar count. I regularly make use of our employee discounts program to save money on everyday buys like our weekly grocery bill, but when I’m looking at larger purchases it can take more time to save up.
We thought it'd be great to take a family getaway before my partner returns to work, but planning that can be tricky when we're trying to save.
How does RG help?
At RG, we have the ability to recognise each other and for managers to recognise employees who go above and beyond with monetary reward. I have the option to save these up and put them towards big ticket purchases like a holiday.
Getting these bonuses from my managers, and from my peers when they’ve felt I’ve gone above and beyond helps motivate me to work even harder for them. And knowing that the hard work I put in is helping my family? That’s just a bonus. Here's an example of the peer-to-peer recognition I received:
Creating a community for employees
Speaking of bonus, it’s clear that my life at RG isn’t slowing down, and neither is my family life. As part of our employee benefits package, the baby bonus and parental leave policy allows me to take up to four weeks as the secondary caregiver, and up to 6-12 months of paid leave as the primary caregiver. This gives families a financial boost when we need it most.
When my wife returns to work early next year, I'll become the primary caregiver for Harrison, making me the first dad at RG to take advantage of this benefit.
The support doesn’t stop there, though. (But wait, there’s more!) Every day, I can commiserate, laugh and give advice to other parents in our company across the world thanks to a Slack channel we have for parents, and there’s loads of helpful articles and benefits information in our RG Parents Hub, too. It’s a special section of our employee experience platform just for parents, soon-to-be parents, or those that are considering being a parent.
Sometimes it’s not obvious how you’re helping your employees - you might want to concentrate on adding more money to their salary and then think to yourself your business can’t afford that massive pay rise across the company, but if you concentrate on the human side of your employees’ day to day, you can make an enormous difference in ways that truly matter.
I know it’s made a difference to me. If you’re interested in learning about some of the small (and big) ways you can engage your employees, my whole team is here to help. Get in touch with us below:
