In the previous decade, the HR industry has been growing at a breakneck pace. The rise of Artificial Intelligence-enabled solutions has promoted the development of the new economy and the potential for increased diversity in the industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a substantial impact on this shift. The upheaval wreaked on established working practices has had a tremendous impact. Non-traditional HR solutions have become popular in the business because they allow for easy customization and adaptability to changing HR processes and policies.
Emily Rogers— founder of Expat Parenting Abroad is amongst the dynamic leading businesswomen. At this Expat Parenting Abroad, Emily Rogers combines her personal experience and professional career in Human Resources to provide coaching support for assignee partners. Let’s look at an exclusive interview with Emily Rogers.
Brief us about your journey till now
My professional career was in Human Resources, however, as we moved around Asia it became more and more difficult for me to continue in my career. Instead, Emily Rogers invested her time and energy into volunteer work, with charities, networking organizations, and schools. Until She got to a point where she couldn’t keep reinventing herself with every move. Emily Rogers discovered Amel Derragui at Tandem Nomads and she was inspired to start my own portable business – a business that harnesses my professional and personal experiences, but more importantly that will continue no matter where I live in the world.
What were the initial challenges you faced?
I’m sure any business owner will share, the learning curve when you start is so steep. From the technologies to the marketing, from the services offered to clients to the weekly content creation. There are days when it all seems overwhelming, but then you get a client saying, “you’ve changed my life” and all the ups and downs, they’re worth it!
I try to see each challenge as an opportunity, a moment in time to learn something new, to try something different, to strengthen my skillset. If we allow the challenges to overcome us, then it becomes very difficult to stay focused and keep moving forward.
What is the reason behind your long-standing success?
People measure success in different ways, yes, I have won awards but more importantly to me, I have made a difference in the lives of my clients. I am passionate about improving the lives of parents living abroad, supporting them to transition well, to ensure their family thrives. With so many international assignments failing every year, not only is there an economic cost, but the emotional and wellbeing cost to the family. If Emily Rogers can help prevent that failure, if she can support the family to thrive, then she is successful.
What are the products/services Expat Parenting Abroad focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market?
Emily Rogers provides coaching and support through two core programs. The first is especially unique, as there are many relocation experts, but no one else focuses on supporting parents to ensure their family thrives.
Families Thriving Abroad is a program that is a step-by-step process to support the transition period for a family no matter if it’s their first or fifth move or repatriating. Whether they are in the armed services, diplomatic core, or working for private companies – the issues and challenges the family face remains consistent and there are simples steps they can take to ensure the family thrives.
Kickstart Life is a program supporting people who are looking for something more in their life, they’ve lost their passion, their drive, or their direction. The outcome is unique to the individual, it could be to reignite their career; learn a new skill; volunteer; perhaps start their own business; the key is that so often they have no idea where to start or what they could do, and I help them to discover that.
Emily Rogers also offers tailored coaching programs addressing the specific needs of individuals. Some of the topics have been supporting parents of a teenager through identity questions; a working mother wanting a promotion; a single mother to have a better connection; a family repatriating. The topics of coaching are endless, the commonality is seeking support to know how to move forward and take action.
How do you decide to take a step further in terms of your products/services?
In 2021 Emily Rogers has invested in a new platform that will support her to grow and scale her services to ensure that Emily Rogers can deliver coaching and support effectively to people no matter where they are in the world. Whether I am supporting 10 people or 1,000 people this platform allows me to show up and support them in a meaningful way.
Can you please brief us about your professional experience?
My professional career was in Human Resources, working across a variety of industries including hospitality, outsourced call centers, government sector, FMCG, manufacturing, and professional services. Emily Rogers enjoyed a variety of roles and had the opportunity to work across the full remit of HR functions, most recently my regional role including coaching senior managers.
Moving regularly across Asia, with language barriers and so on it became more and more difficult for me to work in a traditional sense. Emily Rogers retrained with WIAL, consulting and training executives and leaders across industries winning Global Coach of the Year 2015.
Emily Rogers also provided leadership to the various organizations she volunteered with including being a Board member of the international school where our girls attended. I feel privileged to now be able to combine my professional experiences with my personal experiences to serve my clients.
How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique?
I am currently working on my own. I have an amazing accountability partner who supports me each week to stay focused and energized. I also work with my business coach, Amel Derragui.
Emily Rogers sees 2022 being able to grow her team, Emily Rogers is in planning mode for how this might look, a key factor is that the team will be virtual.
Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight?
Working with women, particularly mothers who have given up so much of their lives to follow their partner abroad, is so rewarding. Through the constant reinvention, through the loss and grief associated with leaving a career behind, women lose self-confidence, they lose sight of wants important to them.
My program Kickstart Life supports people who have lost sight of themselves, who are no longer living a life that is fulfilled, rediscover what it is that they want in their life. I find this work particularly rewarding, the positive change that people can create in their lives through the step-by-step process is really powerful. Emily Rogers recently received this feedback from a client:
Rachael Ansar – “This was such a positive experience! I’d forgotten who I was because I was so busy trying to be a full-time wife and parent for the last 10 years. Emily Rogers helped me rediscover my passions and purpose in life. Now I feel clear about my direction professionally and can enjoy my time with my family.”
What are values and ethos do you encourage in Expat Parenting Abroad as well as in your personal life?
Family is central to everything at Expat Parenting Abroad, it is also my core value. Starting my own business has not only made me a better mum but a better person on the whole. I am demonstrating every day for my daughters that you can juggle motherhood and business, that it can be done in a meaningful way, that it can reward not only yourself and your family, but your clients too.
According to you, what are the main factors that businesses should focus on to be relevant in the market after the Covid19 outbreak?
Emily Rogers feels the pandemic has taught us how vulnerable we all are. Going forward businesses need to ensure they are considering the emotional and physical wellbeing of their people and their clients. There needs to be a refocus on our core values as people, to care for and respect each other. If businesses can lead the way, we all have the ability to recover and thrive post-pandemic.
According to you, what needs to be done to promote woman entrepreneurship across the country?
Women struggle so often with self-confidence, especially as mothers. We oscillate between two pillars – doubt and guilt. We doubt that we have the capability, we doubt that we have the energy, we doubt that we could do anything bigger or better. Then guilt that we want more, guilt that we invest time and energy outside of the family, guilt that we are not satisfied. These two pillars keep us confined to what we have always known and often prevent new ideas.
To promote women into entrepreneurship we need to do more to support them to get down from these two pillars, to finally have confidence again. This can only happen through conversation, through storytelling, through sharing experiences. Creating networks for women entrepreneurs, creating safe spaces to share, celebrating role models.
For any woman reading this, wondering if it is possible for them, I say ‘play bigger. Get clear on what you want and start now to play big towards that.
It’s a rat race out there. How do you cope with that?
No matter how ‘busy’ life gets, I always stay focused on my values. Ensuring that I, and my clients, are prioritizing what is important, not sweating the small stuff, but taking the next right step to keep moving forward.
