MOMS IN THE C-SUITE
know, when Take Our Daughters and
Sons to Work falls on the calendar (third
Thursday in April). Children are welcome
in the office and can often be found working
the vending machines, watching cartoons,
or doing homework in the break room.
Her boys have been known to accompany their mother to meetings and
conventions, where she never hesitates
to “point out and embarrass them.” She says this
is giving Luke and Erik a
chance to learn the value of
a strong handshake, making eye contact, and other
lifelong skills. Raising kids
isn’t easy for anyone, says
Roberts. “I want them to
also be happy, polished
professional people. I want
that for all the people I
love and care for.”
Looking ahead
Roberts feels she is just
getting her arms around
the role of president of
Molly Maid, which cleans
1.6 million houses annually. Under her leadership,
the company continues to
innovatively market the
brand, and Roberts has
turned her attention to
preserving relationships
with the company’s growing customer base.
“Customers give us
the keys to their home,
and our service providers
are in bedrooms and closets that their best friends
never go into,” she says.
“We cannot lose sight of
the importance of that
relationship. The future
of our business is predicated on the maintenance
of those relationships.”
Her plan to focus on
improving customer relations dovetails with adopting new technologies to create a seamless
process for clients to reserve, pay for, and
provide feedback on the quality of Molly
Maid’s services. Reducing the paperwork
of administrative tasks also will free up
time for the company and its franchisees
to focus on the emotional aspects of keeping customers happy.
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“The reality
is that if my
children
are happy, then
I am happy.”
Roberts sees some analogies between
the service her business provides and opportunities for women today. Twenty years
ago, many people considered having a maid
come into their home as an indulgence
that was frowned upon. That thinking
has changed considerably, as many now
choose to use professional cleaning ser-
vices so they can spend more time with
their family.
Roberts says she would like to see a
change in thinking by women about both
motherhood and the importance of supporting one another. Unlike many in her
mother’s generation, she says there are
vastly more choices today for women with
children. And technology is making it easier than ever for parents
to stay connected with
their children. Women
need to consider choices
as opportunities, she says,
but too often the focus is
wrongly placed on the
choices a mother makes.
“We [women] are our
own worst enemy. We
have sort of created two
sororities of those who
work outside the home
and those who don’t,” she
says. “It is so much more
powerful for all of us to
say that we are each doing
our thing to contribute,
whether it is to pay the
bills or make the lunches
in your home. Neither is
better.”
With so many options,
many women continue to
feel torn between having
and not having the elusive “all.” Roberts scoffs
at the notion and says it
is up each