Imagine finding out you were going to become a parent and having just four weeks to prepare? Impossible, you’d think. With so much to do to prepare, surely you’d need more time. But for one lucky Protiviti family, four weeks became their reality. As we approach Father’s Day weekend, we’re thrilled to share this moving story of how Associate Director, Adam, and his wife fulfilled the dream of a lifetime when their adoption journey gave them the best gift to date – a beautiful baby boy!
“When we found out, we were absolutely elated to have been matched. At the same time, we had to figure out logistics because we didn’t have much time,” notes Adam, who had started the process of adoption a year earlier. “It was a tactical process where every weeknight and weekend we were plowing through reviews of products online. It became like a second job and we had to make quick decisions without much time to get hung up on any one thing. So, it was incredibly exciting emotionally – also a little bit scary in terms of the timeline, but we just put our heads down and forged ahead.”
After a few years and the weighing of several available options, Adam and his wife had begun the process of learning about adoption. “It was wild. Neither of us knew anything about adoption. Everything was truly a learning experience, and it’s unlike any other process.” Two things Adam learned quickly about adoption: it’s expensive and it takes a lot of patience. “At the time we were going through this (in 2017), I wasn’t aware of Protiviti’s adoption assistance, but I learned about it on one of the employee benefits calls that we have internally. From the Protiviti side of things, it was a very quick and easy process, and it certainly helped. Adoption is quite expensive and so the opportunity for financial support is great.”
At Protiviti, we value our working parents and we’re thrilled to offer benefits that help them, from adoption assistance to paid leave programs and an employee networking group dedicated to ensuring our working parents are empowered in work and in life.
So how exactly do your colleagues react when you give them a month’s notice on becoming a parent? “Everyone at Protiviti was incredible. I still have the emails that I received back when I had to let everyone know ‘hey, I’m going to have a child in one month’ – people were genuinely happy and wildly supportive. They helped to make the process seamless from a work perspective. Actually, one of our close friends at Protiviti even threw us a baby shower before my son was born.”
And that’s just one reason why we love our employees. The meaningful relationships you build here help you through all the moments life brings you. Those relationships also open doors to important discussions. “It’s not super common,” states Adam, “but through conversations with friends and colleagues, you do find that adoption is occurring out there and it’s more prevalent than you would think. For that reason, I think shedding light on the process and having benefits that support adoption are helpful for those that are working through or thinking about it.”
Adam and his wife recently began their second journey with adoption, and are again planning to take advantage of the benefit of Protiviti’s adoption assistance. We wish him and his family the very best and we can’t wait to check back in with him soon.
As we head into Father’s Day weekend, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to all the hardworking dads out there. We thank you for your support, encouragement, leadership, and yes even corny jokes. Happy Father’s Day!
Want to hear more about Adoption Assistance? Hear from Chris in our Atlanta office.
Meet more of Protiviti’s Superdads here!
