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Welcoming a new addition to the family is a joyful—albeit challenging—time for parents. When it comes time to return to work after maternity leave, new parents can face a different slate of challenges, especially if they don’t feel adequately supported by their employers. Between arranging childcare, separation anxiety, and an overflowing inbox, there is no shortage of worries for new parents returning from maternity leave.
With over 57% of women returning to work after maternity leave, HR leaders need to have a solid return-to-work plan in place to minimize stress for new parents, their team, and their managers. Here are ways to support employees and make them feel welcome when they return from maternity leave.
Have a maternity leave transition plan
Think of your maternity leave transition plan as a toolkit that establishes and outlines everything that needs to happen before, during, and after maternity leave. Your toolkit could include the following:
- Have a written plan: Having everything in writing makes it more accessible and easy to understand. Your plan can highlight new parent resources included in your benefits package and provide a thorough transition outline. Try and think through different scenarios, like if an employee has to extend their leave, so all bases are covered.
- Include a communication plan: Maintaining open communication during maternity leave could be a great way to make employees feel valued and appreciated while respecting their boundaries. It also guarantees that employees know any essential company news like promotions, performance reviews, and salary changes. Before leave starts, discuss the how, when, and why of communicating while they are out.
- Schedule some “keep in touch” days: Maternity leave doesn’t mean going completely no contact. Many managers opt to schedule regular check-ins while the employee is out. Just be sure the sessions are productive, the employee is comfortable with the frequency of communication, and you don’t take up too much of their time.
- Set a return-to-work meeting: A return-to-work meeting is often the first face-to-face meeting after an employee returns from maternity leave, when you put a transition plan in action. Some topics that might come up include project and team priorities, explanation of benefits, expectations, and what the next 30, 60, and 90 days might look like.
The first few days after returning to work are critical for the company and employees, so don’t leave anything to chance. Having an in-depth, well-thought-out maternity leave transition plan is a must.
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