Here are some of the recommendations Forbes Contributor Shelley Zalis has heard from global executives on how to make parental leave and returnship programs more effective.
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00:00According to research from McKinsey, one in three mothers have considered leaving the
00:08workforce or downshifting their careers because of COVID-19.
00:13While there isn't one solution, paid parental leave and returnship programs may be the secret
00:18to retaining this important talent.
00:21Women's advancement in the workplace matters, and companies need to take swift action to
00:25relieve the pressure on working parents and offer increased support to caregivers in order
00:31to foster engagement and retention for the long term.
00:34Here are some of the recommendations I've heard from global executives on how to make
00:39these programs more effective.
00:41First, all parents should be deemed primary parents.
00:46After taking 20 weeks of maternity leave, Gina Bulla, Executive Director of Insights
00:51at The Atlantic, returned in March of 2021 and said what surprised her most is the perception
00:58that childcare is still considered women's work.
01:02Her husband, not considered a primary parent, was only given two weeks.
01:08She said,
01:09I took offense to that term because there is no primary parent.
01:13We're both primary parents.
01:15While many companies have enacted more comprehensive parental leave programs, if someone is worried
01:20about being penalized for participating, it's not serving its purpose.
01:26Secondly, role modeling is essential.
01:29Take it from Maria del Mar Martinez, Senior Partner and Global Chief Diversity, Equity
01:35and Inclusion Officer at McKinsey & Company, who said,
01:39quote, in many companies there's a lack of taking leave culture.
01:43Even if the programs are there, there's a lack of awareness of the programs that are
01:47available to everyone and the sentiment that if you participate, it may conflict with the
01:51rewards down the road, end quote.
01:54So how do we make employees confident to take parental leave without worrying about being
01:58penalized?
02:00Role modeling.
02:01For example, April Cielica, Senior Vice President of Global Business Services at Procter & Gamble
02:07tells me that P&G has the same benefits available to everyone, and it makes a big difference.
02:14April says, quote, at P&G we promote share-the-care messaging for a lot of our brands, which means
02:20sharing the care equally between partners no matter your household status.
02:25We need role modeling not only for ourselves, but for everyone watching our brands, end
02:30quote.
02:31Which leads us to number three.
02:34Companies need to be intentional and offer incentives.
02:37It's important to think about what the downstream incentives are for our managers who are in
02:42a hiring position so they know that they have a safe space to take risks.
02:46Tammy Foreman, Executive Director at PathForward notes, quote, the reason internship programs
02:53work so well is they are established within companies, and once people start hiring interns,
02:59the role model is there, end quote.
03:01Which is why we should focus less on resume gaps, more on experience.
03:06Five, 10, 15 years out of the workforce is very different from a long maternity leave.
03:12At McKinsey, Delmar Martinez shared a pilot program they ran where the key office manager
03:18is responsible for a development plan for the employee returning from a long absence.
03:24She noted there are incentives for the team that takes the employee and reintroduces them
03:29to the organization.
03:31With this program in place and some coaching and additional support, McKinsey reduced attrition
03:36in this specific group by 20%.
03:40Debbie Carew, CEO and founder of Inspired HR, shared a wise suggestion.
03:45Keep employees connected to your organization even after they leave.
03:50This can be done through an alumni chat on Slack, LinkedIn, or Facebook group.
03:55The social piece comes more naturally and keeps people abreast of organizational initiatives,
04:00strengthens existing relationships, and keeps an open channel for former employees who may
04:06want to return.
04:07This also speaks volumes to the type of care culture your company exhibits.
04:13Whatever policies organizations put in place, Carew says they have put into place unilaterally.
04:20Quote, if we say everyone's got the choice if they work remotely or in the office, what
04:26we see is predominantly men are choosing to go back into the office and women and people
04:31in lower income jobs are choosing to stay home.
04:35This causes a real problem as you look at your pipeline.
04:39End quote.
04:40Those who receive more face time are more likely to get plum assignments and promotions
04:44and be invited to important client meetings, all things that lead to advancing in the workplace.
04:50This is known as proximity bias.
04:53A solution I often suggest is for senior leaders to place half hour open slots on their calendar
04:58where anyone can sign up to connect for a conversation, whether in person or virtual.
05:04Getting these policies right is one of the most important things we can do as we move
05:09to a hybrid workforce.
05:11If we want to retain and attract talent as organizations, then we have to be flexible.