Prioritising workplace flexibility means making life easier for parents

Empowering our colleagues to deliver true value means providing them with personalised support plans. Across regions, we are always looking for ways to enhance our flexible working options. In India Deutsche Bank employees are offered access to our childcare benefits scheme, designed to support young parents like Arpita. How does the scheme work? Arpita organises the childcare arrangement and Deutsche Bank then provides a subsidy of 100% of the service provider’s fee. This is applicable for either a full or half day of childcare.

When Arpita joined Deutsche Bank in 2016, it was a big step up: “Coming from the non-banking sector there were some initial challenges.” A lot has changed since then, with Arpita making the most of the opportunity to progress professionally. Since the birth of her daughter in 2020, ensuring work-life balance has been fundamental in her daily considerations. The Childcare Benefits Scheme is just one part of our employee provision that helps Arpita to do her job: “Luckily, with the support of my colleagues I feel at home here.” As a Software Associate, being a parent hasn’t limited her career growth, instead she’s flourishing.

Currently, there are over three hundred children enrolled on the support programme in India. Arpita’s daughter is on half days: “She goes into the day-care facilities around 10am in the morning and comes back at 3pm.” How does it help her in her role? “When my daughter is at the nursery, I don’t have to worry about her, and I can focus solely on the day ahead.”

In terms of how the scheme functions, it’s vital that it’s accessible. From making sure that opportunities are visible to our employees, to ensuring that signing up for them is an equally smooth process, the priority is to make sure people’s unique needs are supported. This matches with Arpita’s experience: “Signing up for the childcare benefit was very smooth.” It’s only if the support schemes are easily accessible that we can empower people to do their best. As Arpita says: “Nothing is made difficult to access either – if you want to access a particular programme or support benefit, it’s there to use. It’s hassle free.”

For parents working at Deutsche Bank, regular and reliable support with childcare and other career areas, such as training and mentoring, is what allows them to keep doing exceptional work.
For Arpita, the support she received was not only access to the childcare scheme, but also the understanding from within her team about what her needs were: “They make sure I don’t feel any unnecessary stress.” If there are any exceptional circumstances, as will often be the case for people with young children, Arpita’s teammates can reassure her that they can find a flexible solution.

The Childcare Benefit Scheme is about forging reciprocal relationships between Deutsche Bank and our employees, so that people know their needs are understood, ensuring they feel valued. As Arpita says: “It’s the ideal situation for both the company and the employee.” Creating supportive careers builds equilibrium into the heart of our teams. In our modern age it’s vital that we ensure that parents are an active party of changing the way that we work, with support in place to grow professionally and maintain work-life balance.