Mother’s Rooms at Hudl Headquarters
An interview with Gabe Buglewicz, Facilities Designer at Hudl, to learn about the improvements to mother’s rooms in Hudl HQ.
What updates or changes have been made to Hudl’s mother’s rooms with the move to HQ?
GB: We’ve made quite a few upgrades — the most important thing to note is that we now have designated mother’s rooms! Not a room that is used as a phone booth/meeting room/storage when it’s not being used by mothers — but a room strictly for mothers who need to pump at work. Some other updates we’ve included are a mother’s room lobby, a mirror, storage for equipment/bags, a sink, microwave and a larger built-in refrigerator.
Currently there are two mother’s rooms in the HQ (located on 4th & 5th floor), with room to add a mother’s room on 6th floor as the office expands.
How are these updates an improvement over the previous setup? Do we expect to see any of these changes replicated in other offices?
GB: I think one of the most helpful changes might be the addition of the mother’s room lobby. It’s the room attached to the mother’s room where the sink, refrigerator, microwave and storage are located. This allows for a mother to come into the lobby room and grab her bag or sanitize her equipment without interrupting another mother who is pumping in the adjacent room.
I think as we continue to make improvements to other offices (or add offices), we’ll definitely use our Lincoln office as a benchmark.
What was taken into consideration when designing the mother’s rooms?
GB: First and foremost, we wanted mothers to be comfortable. There are a lot of factors that go into finding that comfort level. As a working mom who has pumped at work before and not always had a great experience, I wanted to make sure that wasn’t the case at Hudl! We wanted to make sure the space was separated, both acoustically and off the main path, so that mothers felt like they could step away without making a big production.
We also wanted to provide all the conveniences that you’d have at home — a comfy spot to sit, including a personal table in case you want to continue working while pumping, a sink to clean your equipment and a microwave to sanitize equipment. We didn’t want mothers to have to run back and forth from their lockers to the room, so a place to store their bags and milk was key.
We thought about the mother’s rooms all the way down to what to name them! We wanted to follow suit with our other meeting rooms and name them after athletes or coaches. We selected women who came back to their sport after having children and continued to thrive in the game (Kim Clijsters, Dara Torres and Serena Williams). I know firsthand that it can be hard coming back to work after having a child, so hearing success stories about other mothers is just one more motivator.
How can you reserve a mother’s room?
GB: You can reserve a mother’s room just like you would any other meeting room — through Outlook. The only difference when booking the mother’s rooms is that you must request access to book. This is a one-time request to our IT department, and once you gain access you can book as needed. You may also book the room as a walk-up on the Robin system, just be sure to check the schedule on the iPad in the mother’s room lobby.
Mother’s rooms are required for certain locations by law. Why is having state-of-the-art mother’s rooms important to Hudl?
GB: As Hudl continues to grow, so does the number of working mothers that we have on staff. We don’t want mothers to have to question if or where they can pump. We want mothers to come back to work feeling comfortable and knowing that there is a place that was designed for them!
Where can people send suggestions or questions about the mother’s rooms?
GB: Hudl has a Slack channel (#pumpitup) for nursing moms. As a Facilities team member I monitor the channel, respond to questions and look for suggestions on what we can do better or what we are missing. If people don’t feel comfortable making suggestions or asking questions in the Slack channel, anyone on our Facilities team is happy to help!
Hudl offers 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, 6 weeks of paid paternity leave, and 6 weeks of paid parental leave following adoptions.
Interested in joining our team? We’re hiring!
Thanks to Gabe Buglewicz, our interviewer, Nicole Wheeler, and the Hudl Together task force.
