Simon Shimmens, CEO of Merton Connected, has always championed flexible working but is even more so since taking part in the Successful Mums GLA Parenting Project which has led to successful recruitment.

“What can I say about the GLA Parenting Project? To put it simply, it’s been a really good experience that I would recommend to all employers. We were already a parent-friendly company, offering good flexibility to a very diverse team. But thanks to the support of Successful Mums we are even more so now. The GLA Parenting Project has enhanced our awareness of women’s health and wellbeing and this will be reflected in our policies, procedures and recruitment going forward. We have already rolled out a new menopause policy.

It was great support from the outset from Successful Mums. We have learnt a lot from the mandatory training and got a brilliant result for a flexible role we advertised on the free Successful Mums jobs board. I like to lead from the front so I took the time to go through the learning module toolkit myself. Content included flexible working in practise, how to advertise and attract talented parents and women’s health and wellbeing. I found the modules really worthwhile; they were detailed enough, without being too taxing and I have since referred back to them as a useful resource.

The pandemic had got us working more remotely and considering how we improve health and wellbeing in the workplace. Successful Mums have been brilliant in providing advice on how to craft job adverts which demonstrate our commitment as a family-friendly employer and the flexibility we offer.

We advertised for a new support role to the CEO and successfully appointed two women as a job share. By rejigging and styling our job adverts a little differently, we attracted the very best talent; our two new recruits get on famously together and are proving to be absolute stars. What a brilliant result. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to flexible working in all of our future job advertisements.

Going forward I have no doubt that Successful Mums will be our number one go-to for advice and support on our inclusivity agenda. So many employers have their culture wrong; but I am a firm believer that if you can offer flexibility to your team, you will have more efficient workers. Our next step is to review all of our policies and refer to the templates provided by Successful Mums to ensure we are up to date with the current climate and making family-friendly improvements.”

How do I sign up?

If you are interested in implementing flexible working practices in your workplace and would like to know more about our FREE GLA Parenting Project, please contact Lisa Green, Employer and Recruitment Co-ordinator at or on 020 3633 9672.