How ServiceNow Provides Flexibility and Support for Employees to Define Their Own Parental Journey

Working while parenting or considering starting a family can be tough. It’s challenging to balance everything and find the right resources and support to help you in this journey. So, what can you look for when trying to find a company that will support you?

One benefit you should keep an eye out for is a company with a targeted support system in place for you. For example, Brandon Brown, the Practice Manager, Risk & Resilience Expert Service at ServiceNow, shares that he knows from personal experience how important dedicated support groups for working parents are. 

Reflecting on the beginning of his parental journey, Brown shares that he was a young parent trying to navigate the work world. “I used to be afraid to tell employers that my daughter was sick or that I needed time off for events, fearing I would look unreliable,” says Brown. Since then, Brown has learned to navigate the world of working with family dependents and sees how important it is to have a place where you can be upfront about the challenges you’re facing, as well as to give back and share knowledge with other working parents.

In Brown’s case, it was a no-brainer to join the Families at ServiceNow employee belonging group (EBG). “I decided to join this group because I was thrilled to see a group which I had firsthand experience with,” Brown tells us. “I feel like the pandemic burned a lot of people out, especially those who had to care for others as well. This group was a chance to come in and help those who were struggling with advice, tips, laughs, and a non-judgmental community of support.” Today, as a Global Co-Chair of Families at ServiceNow, Brown is happy to be actively supporting and learning from all of the working parents at ServiceNow!

In addition to fostering groups like these, companies like ServiceNow can support their employees by providing comprehensive family planning benefits. For instance, Jessica Buckley, the Director of Social Media at ServiceNow, shares how many women spend the first 10-15 years after college building their careers and ensuring that they have a way to support themselves. “Unfortunately, that happens to correlate with our prime child-bearing years, so, by the time we’re in our mid-30s, we only have a handful of years left to decide whether or not we want to start a family,” continues Buckley. “For a lot of women, myself included, I wasn’t in the place to make that decision yet, but our bodies don’t care about the timeline of our career journeys.”

ServiceNow is aware of this challenge and is committed to helping their employees live their best lives by providing coverage for family planning benefits such as fertility treatments and in vitro fertilization (IVF). “On top of that, our insurance company (in the U.S.) offers a special program for fertility support, which offers you a personal nurse to help guide you through the process,” Buckley adds. “This is immensely helpful as it can be a very confusing and time-consuming process.” 

Here, Brown and Buckley dive more into how the Families at ServiceNow EBG and great benefits are supporting the people who work at the company — as well as some of their top advice!

Exploring the Families at ServiceNow EBG.

The Families at ServiceNow Employee Belonging Group — ServiceNow’s ninth EBG — was created to further develop the community of working parents at ServiceNow. “Our vision is to nurture an inclusive community where you can always find support, resources, inspiration, and a few laughs that will make it less difficult to be a working parent, caregiver, or ally,” explains Brown. “We are focusing on building the community while providing access to information, tools, and resources for parents and caregivers.”

The EBG is also committed to ensuring that “family” doesn’t just mean “raising young children.” “We bring in diverse speakers on numerous topics like family finance planning and  college tuition planning,” Brown tells us. “We also team up with other groups to host events like company-wide virtual Brain Breaks, including one where we had a guest speaker talking about time management. Our belonging group is for everyone because we are all part of some family.”

Families at ServiceNow EBG also serves another purpose: as a resource for sharing information. For example, Buckley notes, many women had questions about egg freezing after I shared my experience, which was eye-opening as it’s clearly not something that’s readily discussed.” Through her participation in this EBG, Buckley was able to share more information about this process and the great benefits ServiceNow has to offer. 

How ServiceNow supports its employees.

Buckley knows firsthand how important ServiceNow’s comprehensive family planning benefits are.“Covering the full egg-freezing service (from appointments to medication to the procedure) with only copays and deductible fees was truly incredible,” she shares. “That in itself is a commitment over and above most companies.”

What made Buckley feel comfortable with using this benefit is ServiceNow’s culture of understanding and flexibility. “Throughout the egg-freezing process, I never encountered any issues with my team and felt supported from start to finish,” Buckley notes.

This flexibility is, in fact, one of the key benefits for parents at ServiceNow. When asked why the company is ranked as one of the Best Workplaces for Parents™, Brown responds: “the flexibility, the coworkers, and the empathy.” He recalls having two medical emergencies with his daughter occur in the middle of the day — and both times he was supported with the flexibility he needed to take time off from work,  and even had multiple colleagues actively reaching out to offer their help. “It was an amazing moment that reminded me that even though we are linked through a company, we support each other like a family,” says Brandon.

Top advice for parents and family planning!

For working parents looking to find balance, Brown highlights these four tips:

1. Make time in the morning and night to connect for 10 minutes before you send your kids off or welcome them home. 

2. Take tech breaks together. For example, put your phones down and go on a daily walk together just to talk.

3. Make a to-do list — and then stop thinking about your upcoming tasks. By writing down tasks at the end of the day, you can avoid worrying that you’ll forget something. This enables you to be more present with your family and loved ones.

4. Make time for yourself. Doing this enables you to have more quality time with your family and shows your children how important it is to set boundaries.

As for Buckley, she has a bonus tip for individuals who are looking into family planning:

5. “Ask questions and reach out,” says Buckley. “While, of course, there are women who may not want to share or for whom family planning is a super sensitive topic, I’ve found that a lot of women find solace and relief in being able to discuss their journeys with other women who’ve experienced similar things.”

Takeaways.

Asking questions, being transparent about your family planning journey, and finding an environment of support and flexibility are all incredibly important. For Buckley and Brown, achieving all of this is easy due to the inclusive culture at ServiceNow.

This is no surprise, considering how the company proudly supports parents and has received  awards in recognition of this, including the Working Mums Top Employer 2023 Award for Diversity and Inclusion and  Great Place to Work’s Best Workplace for Parents™ 2022!