Seoul City Offers Free 'Family-Friendly Management' Consulting for Small and Medium Enterprises

Selected 20 Small and Medium Enterprises in Seoul
Free Family-Friendly Management Consulting, HR Consulting, and Work-Life Balance Culture Promotion Training Provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is offering free family-friendly management consulting to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) interested in family-friendly management and improving work efficiency.

On the 21st, the Seoul Women's Competency Development Institute and the Seoul Metropolitan Women's New Employment Center, both organizations supporting women's employment in Seoul, announced that they will recruit 20 SMEs located in Seoul to participate in the 2021 family-friendly management consulting program.

The family-friendly management consulting focuses on maintaining the careers of female workers by improving workplace culture, based on the goal that "the first step to preventing career breaks is maintaining current careers." The program has expanded from 15 companies last year to 20 companies this year.

The support targets SMEs located in Seoul with 10 to fewer than 300 employees. SMEs participating in the family-friendly management consulting can receive free services including family-friendly certification consulting, HR and labor consulting, and education to promote work-life balance culture for employees.

In particular, participating companies can introduce or improve family-friendly policies such as flexible working hours, telecommuting, family care leave, paternity leave, early leave systems, and Family Love Days through the consulting. They can also supplement practical materials necessary for obtaining family-friendly certification, such as preparing employment rules and service guidelines.

Additionally, customized consulting is provided on HR and labor issues including recruitment, employment contracts, wages, working hours, work environment, unfair dismissal, severance pay, and maternity leave, as well as government support programs for employers. Furthermore, education to promote work-life balance culture is conducted for employees of participating companies to help family-friendly management become embedded throughout the organization.

Kim Ki-hyun, Seoul's Women's Policy Officer, said, "As a result of last year's family-friendly management consulting project, both work efficiency and work-life balance improved simultaneously, leading to high satisfaction among companies and employees alike. We hope this consulting project will help create a corporate environment with balanced work and life, preventing career breaks among women."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.