Celebrating Mother’s Day with co-workers’ moms

The moms of White Rivers Digital employees, in different parts of the city, received hand-written notes, boxes of their favourite chocolates and a big, warm ‘thank you’.

The great Abraham Lincoln said, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother”.

Truly, we all do! We certainly owe a part of our success, if not all, to our mothers who gave us birth and then gave up their own self to raise us well. While we’ve all heard of corporates celebrating women’s day in unique ways, rarely have we come across an organisation that celebrates mother’s day. And, not just for the working mothers in that organisation but for the mothers of all their employees!

People-focused organisation, White Rivers Digital, is a Mumbai-based digital marketing agency, which celebrated mother’s day in the most extraordinary way ever. Unlike their usual celebration every year, this time, they included the mothers of their team members. The moms of White Rivers Digital employees, throughout the day, in different parts of the city, received hand-written notes, boxes of their favourite chocolates and a big, warm, ‘thank you’ from Team White Rivers Digital. To add to that, Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and co-founder, White Rivers Digital, sent personal video messages to all the moms via Whatsapp.

Gandhi said, “Celebrating the most important woman in the consumers’ lives has become an annual routine for every marketing agency. But what about the women who help your team give their best, day in and day out? This thought helped us plan a beautiful surprise for the mothers of our workforce, which was well appreciated by all.”

Gandhi shared that it was the very fact that employees nowadays spend more time at work than with their families, which inspired them to acknowledge and appreciate the person behind each employee’s commitment – their mother! Keeping this in mind, they planned an initiative that could offer the same personal touch as is received from a mother.

The challenge was to deliver each of these notes and goodies personally, to 20 houses spread across the length and breadth of the city. It took twelve hours of intense teamwork, planning and the right kind of directions to the team, to thank all the moms. The most commendable part of this activity was the fact that the CEO took out time from a busy schedule to send out hand-written personalised notes to the moms, who form the backbone of all those who make the organisation successful.

Gandhi said, “Everyone is busy throughout the day and year, but it does not take much to pull out a day from one’s busy schedule and bring happiness to people who matter the most to those who make your businesses run day after day”. “At the end, it all paid off when all the moms smiled a little brighter, on their special day”, he said.

While an initiative like this was easier to plan and execute for an organisation with a lesser headcount, a gesture like this isn’t something that the larger corporates can’t execute on the departmental or team levels. A little personal touch goes a long way in ensuring real happiness. This is what HR should keep in mind while planning all initiatives, big or small!