The maternity transition is a life event that can have a lasting effect on women’s careers. Organisations that recognise and provide support at this time, stand to benefit hugely, in terms of productivity, performance and inclusion measures.. Here are the top 10 benefits of maternity coaching for organisations
1 Better engagement with work on return
Returning mothers can struggle with re-adjusting to work. This can be due to unrealistic expectations, a lack of self-confidence or their personal arrangements /set-up. Maternity coaching helps them deal with any issue impacting on their feelings about work.
2 Better communication with manager and team
Many managers can feel in the dark when a team member becomes a mother. Due to legal constraints they cannot ask about future plans, and often women decide to withhold information that they fear will be detrimental to their status at work. Maternity coaching promotes better dialogue between mother and manager as they go through the transition.
3 Increased adaptability
Being a parent is all about being flexible and adaptable. This is a huge asset for organisations. Maternity coaching helps women identify this newly acquired skill and how it can be applied to work.
4 Career development
Returning mothers often need help with developing career plans. Maternity coaching can help them set realistic goals and to identify the skills and attributes they will need to achieve them.
5 Support with individuals who are overwhelmed, stressed or anxious
Some, mothers present at coaching feeling unable to manage their emotions when in fact they have heightened stress and anxiety. Coaching can help them to develop strategies to cope with their feelings. It also helps them communicate this to managers and in turn provides support to managers.
6 Improved retention
Depending on the industry, maternity coaching can improve retention of returning mothers by between 30% and 90%. The return to work presents a risk to employers and many women who struggle at this point eventually decide to leave their job.
7 Talent development
Maternity coaching works by itself and is hugely beneficial to mothers and organisations alike. However, as part of a talent development programme maternity coaching can contribute towards the development and progression of high potential women. It does this by helping women to re-focus on their careers and ambitions, providing a safe space to explore their options.
8 Performance and productivity
Maternity coaching addresses the ‘side effects’ of being a working mother such as stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, low-confidence and minimises their impact on performance and productivity.
9 Opportunities to explore different job designs and working patterns
Mothers need and want flexibility and are willing to try out different ways of working. This allows organisations to throw out the rule book and create new types of jobs and ways of working that focus on output not presenteeism
10 Improving the Gender Pay Gap
Any initiative that reduces the impact of motherhood on a woman’s career will reduce the Gender Pay Gap. Maternity coaching is an affordable way to work towards this.
