Consultancies nominated for Working Mums Top Employer

Consulting firms A.T. Kearney, Deloitte, IBM and boutique advisory firm Cream Consultancy have been nominated for the ‘2014 Top Employer Awards’ by platform WorkingMums.co.uk. According to the jury, the shortlisted consulting firms belong to the most progressive UK employers in their flexible working practices, particularly for working parents.

Working in consulting is hard work, with high demands from partners and client stakeholders, at, much (international) travel and a highly competitive 'up-or-out' culture. In addition, consulting firms have built a notorious track of long hours, with working hours far exceeding the contracted hours, resulting in an off balance between work and life. Working in this highly challenging environment, can be especially difficult for parents, who are torn between a competitive career and time for their family.

Top Employer Awards
To support (future) parents in their choice for an employer, WorkingMums.co.uk* yearly organises the ‘Top Employer Awards’. The Awards, now in their fifth year, recognise employers who have been leading in flexible working practices and have been proactive in recruiting and retaining talented employees, especially parents who want to combine their parenthood with a successful career.

The Awards are divided in seven categories: ‘SME Top Employer’, ‘Innovation in Flexible Working’, ‘Best for Dads’, ‘Family Support’, ‘Talent Attraction’, ‘Career progression’, and ‘Working mums Champion’. One of the seven winners will also win the ‘Overall Top Employer Award’. A total of 27 companies and their representatives have been shortlisted for this year’s Awards, and the winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at the Soho Hotel in London on 4 November 2014.

Shortlisted consulting firms
Among the shortlisted employers, four consulting firms can be found, an overview of their nominations:

A.T. Kearney
- Innovation in Flexible Working Award
- Best for Dads Award
- Career progression Award 

Deloitte
- Working mums Champion Awards: Shilpa Shah 

IBM
- Innovation in Flexible Working Award 

Cream Consultancy
- SME Top Employer Award (up to 25 employees) 

Commenting on the nominations, Gillian Nissim, Founder of Workingmums.co.uk, says: “The aim of these Awards and our Best Practice Report which features our winners is to spread the word about the innovative practices these businesses employ so that others can be inspired by them. These employers fully understand the business case for recruiting and retaining talented female staff and go out of their way to back that up with action.”

* Workingmums.co.uk is a jobs and community site for professional working mothers.