Concern Galnaftogaz won CSR-case award for corporate kid’s room

Concern Galnaftogaz (OKKO filling stations network) was awarded as one of the winners of the competition of  corporate social responsibility cases for the project of children's room at the central office in Lviv. This project was publicly presented on December 12^th at the annual National Conference "Business that changes the country" and received an award for contribution to the achievement of gender equality.

The conference and competition of were organized by the CSR Centre. The jury consisting of renown international experts evaluated the cases. Overall 46 CSR case of Ukrainian companies applied for the competition, 14 of which have received awards in various categories.

As Anna Tihovsky, Galnafrogaz CSR manager, noted in her speech at the Conference, the practice of opening corporate children's rooms is widespread in the EU and the US, but hardly applied in Ukraine. Although this solution motivates many people – especially working mothers - to be more efficient, allowing them to better balance professional duties and family values. It is important to note that the very initiative to open a children’s room came from one of the workers of the company, a young mother. Following an internal survey, the company realized that many other parents have an interest in this project.

Over the past three years, the gender balance of employees of OKKO network has changed significantly. In particular, the proportion of women between 2013 and 2015 increased from 41% to 54%, and it is them who often have to balance work with childcare. Thus operation of a corporate children’s room is an effective instrument for ensuring equal opportunities for career growth and professional development for all employees, regardless of gender identity.

As a result, in April 2016 in Lviv at the central office of the company a corporate children’s room was opened, so employees can leave their children aged 3 to 12 years under the supervision of the teacher during the working day. From April to October 2016 almost 200 children visited the room. It was the most popular during summer and school vacations.

The children’s room is divided into two zones, to meet the needs of children of all ages: a study room - with desks and books, and a playroom - with developing board games. A mentor takes care for younger children and helps school students to do their homework. Moreover, there is a separate children's bathroom on the same floor nearby. And there are shelves for shoes at the entrance to the room..

"A children’s room is a valuable element of corporate culture, which creates all necessary conditions for convenient and effective work of the staff. We are pleased to see that the project is "live": the employees bring their children, knowing that it's really convenient. We create all the necessary conditions for children, to make their time here interesting and fun" - says the director of Galnaftogaz Concern Nazar Kupybida.