The Department of Regional NSW is teaming up with female-led startup triiyo to help its employees stay connected and supported during their parental journey and on leave.
The program kicks off in October, giving 5,000 employees access to the customisable platform. It will allow them access tools and information as well as stay in contact with their colleagues and keep their careers on track.
But the platform does more than offering communication during parental leave, which is what helps set it apart from other workplace communication tools such as Slack and Zoom.
“We partner with over 100 experts who provide content for the platform to support parents at every stage of the journey, from planning, miscarriage and infertility, through to childcare, finances, mental health and working parenthood.” triiyo founder Rebecca Grainger told SmartCompany.
Companies that sign up to triiyo will be able to upload policies and procedures, as well as create community channels for employees. There’s also a resource hub that’s curated by experts to offer support and advice for different stages of pregnancy.
Employees can also receive guidance and reminders at each stage of the pregnancy journey, delivered in real time with accordance with their timeline.
Founded in 2018, triiyo aims to go the extra mile to help employees feel not only connected, but safe, by using a platform that isn’t controlled by their employer.
“We remove the psychological barriers that employees have about accessing information by removing the concern that the intranet is monitored in some way,” Grainger explains.
“Every employee is invited on the triiyo platform so they can seek advice even in the planning phase, and by providing an external place where all policies and procedures are housed it immediately creates transparency and openness that employees are supported.”
One of the most instantly noticeable things about the triiyo platform its use of inclusive and gender neutral language that targets all parents.
“For us to drive inclusion at work during life events, we wanted to ensure that everyone felt seen and represented on our platform,” Grainger told SmartCompany.
“For example we don’t ask gender when they commence a journey on the basis that someone in that family unit is likely to need the information.”
Grainger also revealed the triiyo platform has content specifically designed for trans, non-binary parents and non-birthing parents, as well as information regarding adoption and single parenthood.
Ultimately, the goal is to create “social capital”, particularly in remote working environments within large organisations where it can be difficult for people to find people who are also going on the parental journey.
“With triiyo’s communities, people can find people across divisions and locations for support, advice and connection. Driving social capital is important in the new way of hybrid and remote working, and even more so during periods of leave,” she says.
Donna Mcleod, director Workforce Capability and Talent at Department of Regional NSW, said the the partnership is about work life balance. This is particularly important for the department, where 83% of its workforce is located in regional areas.
“We really want to make sure our teams have support, and that they’ve got a means of staying connected at a cadence that suits them. Being able to access information on the triiyo platform, regardless of gender, will help all parents on their journey.”
Mcleod also emphasised the importance of open communication between employees and managers, from the early stages of pregnancy and everything that can entail, through to career planning upon returning to work.
“It’s about talking to employees and asking, ‘How can we support you? What can we put in place?’ And being really adaptive,” she said.
“We want our people, and particularly our women, to feel that they are connected, even when they’re not working – to feel that they have the support they need personally. And through triiyo, through the chat functions and through all the information, that’s accessible.”
Senior Technology Journalist
A multi-award-winning journalist, Tegan has been reporting on technology, telecommunications and gaming for the past 10 years. She regularly appears on mainstream media channels as an expert tech commentator. Her previous roles include editor of Gizmodo Australia and global reviews editor at Finder. She has also served as a reporter and editor across Business Insider, Lifehacker and Kotaku Australia. Tegan was the co-host of one of the top technology podcasts in Australia, Queens of the Drone Age. You can find her on Twitter @Tegan_Writes.
