Parental Support For Organizations

 
 

OFFERING 1: WORKSHOPS FOR EMPLOYEES THROUGH THE FOUR PHASES OF THE PARENTAL JOURNEY

Whether you are the individual having the baby or the spouse, both men and women feel the pressure, excitement, anxiety, and worry that comes along with family planning. Throughout the four phases of the journey ("the trying", pregnancy, parental leave, and re-entry into work), this experience can be exhausting, distracting, overwhelming, and stressful.

These workshops are a way for employees to:
1.Gain awareness about how the transition they are in is impacting their ability to be an engaged employee.

2.Build community about the changes they are experiencing and connect with others who are in similar positions

3.Integrate what they are learning into the workplace with their team members and colleagues

OFFERING 2: SUPPORTING THE TEAM WHO HAS A PREGNANT TEAM MEMBER

When a team member announces she is pregnant, it can be shocking or overwhelming for the group especially if the team hasn’t experienced this before. From numerous appointments, to physical and emotional changes, team members might “just not know what to do” and therefore avoid or bypass managing it all together. The pregnant individual might feel uncomfortable asking for extra time or consideration and then will bypass her own needs to accommodate the perceived organizational expectation.

My workshops and coaching for teams who have a pregnant team member have been shown to:

  • Decrease pregnancy discrimination in the workplace (in the US 90% of women report pregnancy discrimination at work) Increase psychological safety within the team

  • Empower the pregnant individual to ask for what she needs

  • Support the surrounding team members in creating and executing on an actionable process

  • Improve alignment, efficiency, and productivity for projects and initiatives

OFFERING 3: PREPARING THE TEAM FOR THEIR TEAMMATE TO GO OUT ON PARENTAL LEAVE

For both men and women, it can be anxiety provoking when a male or female employee is preparing to go out on parental leave. If a company or department is feeling strain or uncertainty, there can be real tension in battling wanting the person to come back quickly, and wanting to respect giving the individual time away to tend to their new family.

My workshops and coaching for teams who have a member leaving for parental time off has shown to:

  • Guarantee that the individual feels confident to take the entire leave time that the company offers (right now upwards of 26% of people cut their parental leave short due to fear and lack of alignment at work)

  • Solidify boundaries for all team members while the individual is out

  • Empower the group to ensure projects and initiatives are organized and workload distributed so that there is readiness for the individual to take the leave

OFFERING 4: REALIGNING THE TEAM WITH A MEMBER RETURNING TO WORK AFTER PARENTAL LEAVE

Returning to work after parental leave can be filled with overwhelm, anxiety, grief, and stress. Due to lack of experience, team members can also be ill equipped to manage their colleague whose needs might vary depending on family circumstances, possible lack of childcare, or financial constraints.

My workshops and coaching realigning teams who have a member re-entering the workplace after parental leave has shown to:

  • Increase the number of people staying at the company after re-entry (right now, statistics show close to 40% of individuals are leaving their current employer after having a baby due to inadequate maternity/paternity benefits)

  • More smoothly execute the redistribution of work after the team member has returned

  • Increase likelihood of thoughtful transition period for the entire team

  • Expand focus, productivity, and overall team efficiency

OFFERING 5: A TAILORED HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS

This handbook includes tasks and checklists that will support team members in how to manage an employee who is pregnant/is the spouse of someone who is pregnant, preparing for leave, and re-entering into the workplace. This resource is important for colleagues, supervisors, and direct reports, so that team members feel empowered and aligned through these various phases of transition. *It is highly encouraged that team coaching accompanies progress through the handbook.*

A sample checklist from the guidebook that includes a timeline and detailed support for follow through:

Team alignment in preparation for your team member going out on parental leave:

  • Meet with the expectant parent or the spouse of the expectant parent Handbook includes tips, expected outcomes, and structure for this conversation.

  • Document daily/weekly/monthly activities Handbook will walk through instructions on how and when expectant parent or spouse of expectant parent should be documenting daily, weekly, and monthly activities. Handbook will advise when this needs to happen in
    preparation for leave, especially if the individual needs to take leave early.

  • Inform The Team Handbook will share best practices on when and how to inform the team. Informing the team should only happen after the ‘leave terms’ have been agreed upon with the individual and his/her supervisor. Handbook will also detail out the process of backup and process, as well as new training requirements.

  • Reassign Work Handbook will explain how to assign and redistribute work while the individual is one eave. Handbook will show how to prioritize tasks so that it is clear who they should go to and the timing of when they should be tackled. Handbook will share when it is needed to outsource additional help vs keep the redistribution of work in house.

  • Return To Work Handbook will help establish a return to work program and process to help integrate the employee back into the workplace. The business and team depends on things moving as smoothly as possible and a thoughtful plan of approach with buy-in from the team helps give this a good chance at happening.