Working Mum Series: Jessica Chivers – CEO of Talent Keeper Specialists

Hello and welcome to July’s Working Mum Series with Jessica Chivers, the CEO of Talent Keeper Specialists.

For this interview, we thought we would mix it up a little, so instead of Jessica writing a response to the questions I ask in the interview series, she filmed herself instead. I’ve added the link to the video on YouTube below. It is brilliant, and hilarious – a must watch.

But first, here’s a bit about Jessica and her company – Talent Keeper Specialists.

Jessica started her career in the city at Barclays, working in the Learning and Development team. Following this, she went on to work at The Mind Gym for almost a decade, pursuing her career as a coaching psychologist. In 2011 Jessica published her first book – Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work. Which having read it myself, I can honestly say is a must read if you’re a new mum looking to return to work, or have recently returned. There are so many fabulous tips and exercises, as well as real life stories of other mums returning to work.

Working life aside, Jessica is happiest when wearing navy blue jeans and trainers (go faster, get more done). She describes herself as a running evangelist (check out #RunWithASmile on Twitter) and feminist who wonders why any right-minded person wouldn’t be! She’s married to Nick, a man she’s on course to liberate from commuting and pointless meetings, so he can spend more time cutting the grass, looking after their two sparky children (Monty & Artemis), and walking their awesome whippet, Rocky.

So what is Talent Keepers I hear you ask…

Well, it was founded in 2012 by Jessica and essentially supports employees and employers alike to get the most out of people returning to work – whether that’s after maternity or shared parental leave, sickness, a sabbatical, or any other extended period of leave. The modern workplace today is finally waking up to the needs of an increasingly diverse and complex workforce. Many people have to take an extended period of absence from work, for a whole range of reasons, but historically employers have not always addressed this need well. Talent Keepers tackles these needs from every angle, at every level. Individual change sometimes isn’t possible without cultural transformation, so they provide support, advice and expertise to all those involved in the return-to-work process – from 1:1 coaching for returnees, to workshops for line managers, to business-case and policy advice for HR leaders and executive sponsors. So that’s them in a nutshell, but you can find much more information about them below. I do hope you enjoy the video and as usual, if you have any comments, questions, or would like to feature in the series yourself, please do get in touch.

Lisa

xoxo

Website: http://talentkeepers.co.uk

Twitter: @TalentKeepersUK @jesschivers.

Instagram: @Talentkeepersuk