IWD: Mumanger

As mothers to young children and Supervisors in the finance department we often find that these worlds collide. We have acquired a set of skills that are transferable in the workplace and particular in the management of time and people.

Working mothers are often perceived quite negatively in the working world, why? Let’s face it no one can multitask like a mum can. Not only can we make a packed lunch whilst making breakfast in the morning, getting two sets of uniforms on the children, getting all the bags together, get everyone in the car and then run back because your eldest forgot her reading record. We can then come to work and process twenty bills while on the phone resolving a disbursement query, clearing out the cashiers inbox, as well as listening to a cash receipt query from one of the team, whilst authorising holidays. 

Organisation is another key skill us mums possess. Everything is run like a military operation and this works wonderfully well in a finance department and at home. We set time scales to keep everything running smoothly. At home our children have done homework by six, bathed by seven and in bed by half past. At work we do our banking by two, swifts have to be on the bank and released by half past, our cash schedule is run at five.

We have become teachers in our own right. From the day our children were born we are teaching them how to feed, how to talk, how to walk, manners, right from wrong.... the list is endless. We do this everyday at work too, sharing knowledge, enforcing rules and procedures, showing how something is done. This makes us great communicators too. 

Along with all the practical skills a mother can bring to the workplace, she can also bring motivation, patience, empathy and self control. So maybe the next time you're recruiting for a new role consider a working mum. That negative perception of hiring a working mum because of the level of flexibility sometimes required and how this would inconvenience the business is just a perception and the reality is somewhat different. 

Women should be confident about being mothers and not embarrassed, the soft skills acquired when becoming a parent have great benefits to any employer, which often go unnoticed.

This blog was written by Katie Coleman and Claire Goulding in the Finance Department.