It started out as a quiet murmur in the workplace, and then it grew to a dull roar. But these days the unique demands of female employees leaving and re-entering the workforce is a tumult that few employers can afford to ignore.

As the baby boom generation moves out of the work-place and new generations move in, women’s careers are peaking at the same time as their biological clocks. And employers who fail to strategically address this reality, risk squandering education and development dollars they have invested in female staff.

However, with proper planning based on sound advice and best industry practices, a savvy company can also maximize its training resources, focus on the advantage of it’s human capital and likely increase the number of qualified candidates it can attract and retain.

Scholarly evidence clearly suggests that women, who are returning to work, particularly after having children, are starting to speak up in their words and with their feet. A recent study published by the Harvard Business Review found that 75 per cent of “off-ramped” women, who want to rejoin the ranks of the employed, manage to do so. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that, according to Hewlett, “ONLY 5 per cent of highly qualified woman looking for on-ramps are rejoining the companies they have left.” Flip that equation around and we see that 95 per cent of female employees are gone for good once they leave a firm. For employers that means the odds are stacked against retaining female employees who go on maternity leave, no matter how productive or talented. For firms that invest heavily in employee education and development, the implications are staggering.

But a quiet movement is emerging to avoid this kind of brain drain. Research has shown that proactive human resource return to work strategies aimed at supporting workers who have stepped away from the workplace to start a family will produce bottom-line benefits related to greater employee productivity, increased loyalty, improved retention and decreased absenteeism.

In an effort to stay ahead of the curve on this trend, Johnson & Johnson has implemented work-family programs that generated savings of $4 for each $1 invested, according to a 2003 study by Bogas & Fentonmiller. In addition, they write that the staff turnover at the Big 5 accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche was up 50% in some years and they calculated that it cost the firm $150,000 each time an employee left even only after a year or two.

The Cultural Evolution

What is driving this movement? In large part, it’s the emergence of the dual-earner households have become the norm today. According to Women in Canada, whatever it is:

“THERE has been a sharp growth in the employment of women with children in the past quarter century. In 2003, 72 per cent of all women with children under age 16 living at home were part of the employed work force. There have been especially sharp increases in the employment levels of women with very young children.”

Another change has been the steep decline of the traditional nine-to-five job. Hewlett notes that 29 per cent of high achievers and 34 per cent of ultra-achievers work more than 50 hours a week and that a significant proportion of women are on the job 10 to 20 more hours a week than they were five years ago.

The real-life impact of these numbers on women trying to balance the demands of work and family coupled with the challenges or re-entering the work force post-maternity leave, take an emotional and motivational toll. According to a 2003 Duxbury and Higgins study, on the whole over the last decade, jobs have become more stressful and less satisfying, and employees are less committed to their employers.

What Women Want

As return-to-work policies become standard fare in most organizations, employers are faced with a choice: develop a clear strategy for maternity leave transition or risk to losing these valuable employees upon re-entry to the workplace.

The key to solid policy development is knowing what these women want. A 1999 study conducted by Nora Spinks & Norma Tombari, in partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada, noted that the Nexus Generation (between the ages of 18-35) actively seek out employers that offer flexibility, responsibility, challenge, innovation, task variety, skill development, a sense of community and an opportunity to align personal values and business values.

The Royal Bank responded with a range of work-family life initiatives that have already produced some positive results. A recent study of an initiative called flexible work arrangements (FWA) indicated that:

• 81% of users said FWA’s made them more effective in managing work/family responsibilities;
• 70% reported lower stress;
• 36% felt they would leave if there were no FWAs.

In addition to the positive effects of flexible work arrangements, the Royal Bank of Canada has adopted a ”whole person” approach to employee wellness, working not just to resolve a symptomatic problem but also to create an overall healthy work environment. Factors such as these have become crucial for women who are “shopping” for organizations as they plan their re-enter the work force. In response, smart human resources strategists are getting a head start on their retention planning and developing programs that focus on the whole person.

The building blocks of an effective program include pre-maternity leave planning, a communication strategy with workers while they are out of the workplace and a maternity leave re-entry transition program focused on employee productivity, increased engagement and loyalty.

The benefits are improved retention of talented, well-trained employees, decreased absenteeism due to stress-related health issues and, of course, a healthy impact on the bottom line.

Maureen Clarke, MA is a coach, facilitator and trainer with 15 years experience in the business world in the area of education & development. Maureen is the Principal of The Blueprint Group, a company that specializes in programs for organizations for their female employees returning to work post-maternity leave.

For a list of resources used in compiling this article, please contact us at: info@blueprintgroup.ca