What this looks like:
- Networking and getting to know our colleagues outside of work. The Silverchair culture is built on relationships. SWAN offers a way to deepen relationships with women across the organization – whether we work together regularly or not – allowing us to work more efficiently and collaboratively as an organization.
- Providing a forum to discuss ways to make Silverchair a work environment for empowering women. As a group, we work to identify what is important to us and why and how we can make it stronger.
- Developing meaningful leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment.
- Identifying and cultivating areas of personal growth and recognizing how those build us as leaders in all aspects of our lives.
A few months into the pandemic, SWAN members recognized a need for more frequent connection with one another, and so we spun up the SWAN Forum – a Teams channel for SWAN members. The Forum hosts some semi-structured discussion prompts like Motivation Monday (what is motivating you this week?) and Weekly Wins (a Friday celebration of each other’s “wins” for that week). But most of the conversation is ad hoc: Anyone know a good tree guy? Mercury is retrograde again! How do you deal with imposter syndrome in annual review season? What’s your favorite murder podcast? How do you make tough feedback land? I made the BEST recipe last night.
Studies have shown that “the antidote to workplace disconnection is promoting friendship and meaningful connection at work,” making groups like SWAN not only individually meaningful but also good for the health of our organization.
Here’s what SWAN members love about the group:
- “It's a judgement-free zone of female empowerment that really amps up the serotonin in my brain.”
- “Empowering women by empowered women.”
- “Getting to know and spend time with my amazing coworkers, while learning new things!”
- “I love that our meetings are diverse in subject matter - they range from fun skills to professional and personal growth. Our SWAN Forum brings me joy every day.”
- “The SWAN Forum is a great source of encouragement, humor, insight, and advice in my day-to-day. It's been a really grounding and connecting resource for me now that we are all working mostly remote.”
- “Having a judgement-free space to be open about challenges we face, and share ideas for how to handle them. The support and encouragement from a group that truly cares about each other and wants to see each other grow and succeed. Having a fun variety of activities throughout the year with people I really enjoy and appreciate.”
- “I love the support system it creates to reach my goals.”
- “I love deepening personal connections. I love the availability of an authentic and safe place to discuss real life issues.”
- “Connecting with colleagues in a space where everyone feels they can be honest and share their perspective on work and life. It's incredibly helpful, both personally and professionally, to hear and understand different perspectives.”
We hope you have your own ways of celebrating your wins, connecting, and finding motivation. If you want to join ours, visit www.silverchair.com/careers!