Family- and Child-Friendly Businesses

The award ceremony for the winners of the 10^th anniversary competition — HR Brand Award 2023 — took place in Minsk on 29 February. UNICEF in Belarus announced the winner in the special nomination category: Attention and Care. This nomination is intended to support family- and child-friendly approaches and practices in Belarusian companies.

Corporate Family-Friendly Policies create an environment in companies to support families and parenthood. UNICEF promotes the implementation of Corporate Family- and Child-Friendly Policies in companies that help employees balance work and family chores, resulting in a positive impact on the well-being of children.

Last year, the winner in this nomination was Streamline. The company does a lot to support its parenting employees. For example, it engages mothers or fathers on a child-care leave in corporate trainings, introduces a special program for adaptation after maternity leave, and retains all bonuses and allowances that were in effect before the birth of the child. In addition, Streamline offers distance work opportunities, health insurance for children, financial benefits in case of serious illness, discounts on some of its educational products for children or access to free education. The company has been putting these efforts for several years, which deservedly makes it one of the leaders in the implementation and dissemination of Corporate Family- and Child-Friendly Policies in Belarus. 

Boys and girls had the opportunity to visit various company facilities and study how they operated. Teenagers could try on the roles of a sales manager, a call center operator, an accountant, a construction worker, an architect, a marketer, a quality management specialist, an HR officer, and many other functions. In addition to working in the company’s units, children could enjoy master classes, training sessions and educational events. All children were officially employed and were paid their first salary. 2 employees were hired after an internship in the HR department. The project strengthened family values, supported children's development, strengthened employee loyalty and engagement. 

Please find out more about UNICEF’s efforts in promoting Corporate Policies here.