Employee retention should be a priority for all industries. Aside from the enormous costs that high turnover can represent — one recent study reported this was around 33% of the worker’s annual salary — losing key staff can have a devastating impact on operations.
This is especially concerning when it comes to maintaining diversity among the workforce. One of the most recent challenges to the commercial landscape — the COVID-19 pandemic — has hit working mothers particularly hard. Parents have had to try to juggle additional childcare responsibilities with their work duties, which in many cases has pushed them away from their professional roles. This represents a talent loss to businesses and reduced finances and confidence for workers. As we move toward the new normal, companies must work to adjust their businesses so that they can retain working parents — especially women — and help them to thrive for the mutual benefit of everyone involved.
This is certainly not always easy to do. So, we’re going to take a look at a few of the key points that you and your company can focus on.
Offer Flexibility
When it comes to retaining any employee, your first step should always be understanding what the priorities are for those workers. For many working parents, among the highest priorities will tend to be flexibility in their position. Not every family will have the same structure in their lives, and each parent will have differing needs. Therefore, your business must demonstrate a willingness to work with employees’ needs to assert a mutually beneficial relationship.
This can begin with more flexible working practices. Particularly over the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that remote working can be both practical and beneficial for a wide range of positions. While it is not always desirable for the business of the worker to work from home full time, you should consider the potential for hybrid scheduling. Work with parents to understand whether there is scope to spend a few days in the office and the rest at home, distributed as they require.
This flexibility also needs to extend to the types of tasks that you encourage mothers working from home to engage in. Don’t just limit project management opportunities or strategic planning to those present in the office space. Whenever a project is being brainstormed, a diverse contributor base is essential, so make sure that there are options in place for them to attend remotely or asynchronously. Utilize tools like digital whiteboards that support collaboration, and encourage not just better organization, but for employees to add their ideas to wherever they are or if they are working at a different time. This more flexible approach not only affects the success of the business, it also helps workers to feel more closely connected to the company’s efforts.
Focus on Communication
Among the most important elements of any successful business is excellent communication — whether between staff and management or between customers and the business. The same applies to your ability to retain valuable working parents in the new normal. This will be particularly vital where managing remote operations is concerned.
Make sure that there is always an open dialogue between leadership and working parents. Formalize procedures for just taking time to check in with them regularly and talk about their needs. It may be the case that they are struggling with working in more populated areas of their home, and you can offer them solutions that could involve utilizing their outdoor spaces. Introducing them to the productivity and mental health benefits of such practices helps to demonstrate that you care for their wellbeing. If you’re able to provide resources such as outdoor office furniture, this can also go some way to demonstrating your company’s support for them.
This kind of positive communication approach also tends to have a cyclical effect. When working parents see that the open dialogue that is central to the company has positive results on their lives, they may well be inclined to be more forthcoming in other areas. They could offer innovative suggestions and be more involved in discussions with colleagues in ways that positively impact the overall culture of the business. As such, it’s also important to ensure that all staff have agile methods of communication. Utilizing remote tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams that have instant messaging, audio, and video conferencing channels can be helpful to keep all workers connected utilizing the most appropriate method for the circumstances.
Redesign Benefits
One of the primary aspects of any job that can keep employees on board is a comprehensive set of benefits. There are certainly some standards, such as good health insurance. However, this is a changing world, and industries need to evolve to reflect the developing needs of rising generations of working parents and their children. As such, it can be key to your retention efforts to regularly assess your benefits package and adjust it accordingly.
When you have mothers working from home, this can no longer be considered a benefit in and of itself — though some businesses try to frame it that way. Rather, you need to create benefits that are specifically geared toward the needs of remote parents. It certainly isn’t fair to expect them to spend their salary on the essential home office equipment that lets them undertake their duties. Therefore, it’s worth considering either providing the basics for remote work — computers, office chairs, even a dedicated internet connection — or funding a budget for them to purchase these themselves. If their home isn’t always suitable for working, granting access to local coworking spaces can also be a positive solution.
Particularly for mothers of younger children, subsidized child care — even outside of work hours — can be a benefit that helps them maintain a healthy work-life balance. Indeed, that balance is increasingly central to the types of benefits that attract quality employees. As such, unlimited paid time off is becoming popular. This might seem like an expensive proposition, but it can incentivize productivity and reduce the tendency for staff to take working vacations that can lead to burnout.
Conclusion
Working parents — especially mothers — are a vital part of a diverse workforce. As you approach the new normal, your company should focus on providing flexible scheduling, and effective communication that can boost retention. Providing relevant benefits can keep these employees meaningfully connected to your company and also provide incentives to continue innovating.
