More and more employers are making the business case for family-friendly workplace policies.
Several top-performing companies already offer six weeks or more of paid leave as they try to retain parents. Led by technology and financial companies jockeying for talent, many have a more flexible workplace and more help with finding child care than a decade ago. The issue is getting renewed attention, thanks perhaps to advocacy from President-elect Donald Trump?s daughter Ivanka.
Now many firms are going even further ? all in an attempt to make 30- and 40-somethings happy. For example, starting Jan. 1, 3M changed its policy from 12 weeks unpaid leave to a total of 20 weeks, with 10 weeks of paid and 10 weeks of unpaid leave for both birth and adopting parents.
It?s not a surprise that companies are changing policies to retain ? and recruit ? employees who are starting families. Many of these employees are moving up the ranks, and it costs 1.5 to 2 times their salaries to replace senior leaders and 70 percent of their salaries for team members, according to Workplace?Dynamics, a Pennsylvania company that surveys companies about employee satisfaction and produces Top Workplaces lists in 45 markets.
The national accounting firm KPMG already had paid parental leave and flexible work policies on the books. But a few years ago, human resources managers started hearing how employees with families, especially new parents, were feeling out of sorts trying to balance the new needs of their households with the desire to succeed at work.
?We heard that the transition to parenthood is difficult. If we can help with that and ultimately retain the individual and help them re-engage in their career while feeling still successful in this new aspect of their life, parenthood, then it?s a win-win for everyone,? said Barbara Wankoff, KPMG?s executive director of diversity and inclusion.
As a result, the firm in 2014 added new-parent coaching. So far, 200 people have taken advantage of the service, said DeeAnne Watchmaker, associate director of human relations for the Minneapolis office. Employees can sign up for coaching sessions before a child is born, during leave to set up a transition back to work, and then afterward to help troubleshoot issues both at work and home.
Allison Tyra, a human resources manager in Minneapolis, said the coaching helped her tremendously. The phone call before she had her child helped her set priorities on setting up her clients, so she could ?truly step away and give myself permission to stop checking email.?
The coach also gave Tyra reality checks on what her expectations should be. Before she came back from her four months off ? which was a combination of disability and 12 weeks of paid maternity leave ? they talked about ?how to dive back in,? including logistics of getting up to speed and how to re-engage with clients. The coach also brought up topics to make sure Tyra was ready, such as making sure child care plans were set, but also if she had tried on her work clothes to make sure they fit and worked out the drop-off schedule and home-chore responsibilities with her husband.
?It was certainly, I thought, very helpful,? Tyra said.
(Source: TNS)
