Take Our Children to Work Day offers a chance to learn and connect.The fourth Thursday in April has come to be known as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. On April 28 of this year, my colleague Justin in Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Occupier Services division brought his 9-year-old daughter Ruby to our office. Justin works in project management and I work in marketing for facilities services on the C&W Services team.
Weeks prior to this day, Justin put some time on my calendar to meet with his daughter and talk to her about the work I do every day. Despite having a busy week and a number of in-person meetings, I kept the dedicated slot for Ruby open so I could talk to her about my role as a marketing professional.
When it came time to connect, Ruby came to my desk and we chatted about some big concepts: brand and engagement. We talked about how a company can employ storytelling to help people understand what we are about. Ruby reviewed some of the art from our recent “Service has a new name:—” campaign where we shine the light on the employees who deliver amazing service to their clients every day—day in and day out. I also spoke to Ruby about how I provide marketing expertise to a facilities services company, helping prospective clients better understand our maintenance, custodial, critical environments, landscaping and offices services offerings. But, I also showed her how the skills I employ are universal, whether I’m helping a company market clothing, video games or other services.
After sharing some of our campaign creative and demonstrating how we distribute and share our content through various channels, Ruby wanted to talk to me about some of her favorite brands and products—namely Warrior Cats (a set of fantasy novels). We also talked about the apps she uses in school and how there is a great deal of crossover with those I use for business.
Justin and I, as well as other peers at C&W Services and Cushman & Wakefield, see the power of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. This year’s program gave Ruby and other children who visited workplaces across the country a chance to think about how they see their future home and work life. The dynamic interaction between the workplace and the classroom is a tradition we hope to continue here in our San Francisco office. See you again next year, Ruby!
