This week, Simply Business hosted its first ever Bring Your Child To Work Day. People from across the business invited their sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, and godchildren to spend the day with them in the office and learn about what we do here.
Getting BYCTWD off the ground
Colin May, a senior engineer at Simply Business and the organiser of BYCTWD, admits that his impulse to make the day happen was initially a selfish one: “It was basically an excuse to show my kids what I do all day, seeing as they always ask and I was at a bit of a loss as to how to explain. I figured other parents might be in the same boat.
In all seriousness, there are a lot of great reasons for holding initiatives like this. The world of work can often seem completely opaque when you’re still at school, so it’s important kids get to experience an office environment at an early age – and find out that it’s not as boring as they think it is!
As well as that, working parents can often feel like their work and their family life are opposing forces. We want to show that this needn’t be the case, and create something that brings the two closer together.”
What did the kids get up to?
The day was structured around learning about business, particularly insurance – that’s our area of expertise, after all.
The day opened with a welcome from David Summers, our UK CEO, then the children were split into groups by age. They spent the morning and afternoon learning about how to create their own businesses, from names and logos to knowing their target audience and even how to give back to the community, with a break in the middle to explore the City with their parents.
At 3.30pm, the children presented their businesses to their parents and the rest of the Simply Business employees. Free breakfasts for employees, giveaways for loyal customers and some rather off-the-wall slogans were just a few of the things that came out of the presentations – food for thought for any small business owner!
Afterwards, we held a coding club for those who wanted to stay longer, where men and women from our tech teams taught the basic principles of software development.
What happens next?
The day was a roaring success, with children and parents alike having fun and learning from one another.
We’re looking to roll it out in our Northampton office next, and certainly hope to repeat the success of our very first Bring Your Child To Work Day in future.
