From Here to Maternity
Clarity Coaching's Career Parent Programme is helping senior executive women cope with the challenges of work and motherhood.
Almost 700,000 babies are born each year in the UK, most to working parents. But there's no reason maternity leave should equal career suicide for employees or the loss of valuable staff for employers.
With Clarity Coaching employers can ensure they hold onto key female staff before, during and after maternity leave.
Benefits of maternity leave coaching for employers
If not handled effectively maternity leave can lead to poor communications between employers and staff, badly organised interim cover and increasing workloads for other employees. Add to this the possible demotivation of returning staff, and employers risk losing good people.
Having invested valuable time and money in staff training and development, employers are committed to retaining their most experienced senior staff. And Clarity Coaching's Career Parent Programme's one to one support for key senior women executives - or Career Parents - can help them do just that.
Employers using the Career Parent Programme find that more women return to work after having children. Fewer leave, so expensive recruitment costs and time spent on training can be avoided.
The coach acts as an intermediary between employer and employee, helping to ensure that interim job cover during maternity leave is well planned, the company's clients continue to receive good service and business performance is maintained.
Regular communication between HR and the career parent during maternity leave encourages motivation, greater confidence on returning to work and an improved work-life balance.
Coaching also promotes the company image as a 'family-friendly employer' - a key attraction for senior level staff.
Benefits of coaching for pregnant women
As well as providing impartial support at an emotional and anxious time, Clarity Coaching helps maternity leavers prepare for their absence, ensuring colleagues and clients are informed.
It is also a good opportunity for career parents to delegate work and develop key direct reports.
And it acts as an effective confidence booster, ensuring that on return to work the career parent looks the part, is taken seriously and is fully equipped to perform their role.
Maria Lewis who is an IT Training Manager at an investment bank in London was anxious about the affect her maternity leave would have on her department. With the help of her coach she devised a strategy that would keep her in the communication loop while absent.
"This meant I was still very active in key decisions that would affect my department," says Maria. "I developed a close relationship with the coach, I really appreciated the chance to talk to her and found the programme helped me to gain control. Shortly after returning to work I was promoted, which was an added bonus!"
Viccy Hodgson who works in PR and Marketing in Leeds decided to try the Career Parent Programme, having heard about its benefits. "And I'm so glad I did," says Viccy. "The coaching helped me cope with inner conflicts, plan my workload and handover and ease my foot off the work pedal gradually in preparation for maternity leave.
"Talking to my coach was one of the only times I was truly comfortable to discuss the pressures of work and planning to have the baby. I didn't need to worry about giving the impression that I wasn't focused on the business."
Clarity Coaching was founded by Yvette Puliga in 2006. With over 20 years' experience of people management, training and development, Yvette also once ran her own small retail business and has first-hand experience of juggling work and childcare.
"Whilst working as a recruitment consultant for an HR Interim recruitment consultancy I realised what little support there is for women going on maternity leave to enable them to come back with 'all guns blazing'," says Yvette.
"Companies may have well structured maternity policies, but they don't necessarily provide the emotional and practical support career parents need when facing this transition from work to home.
"Clarity Coaching helps bridge the gap. Acting as a helping hand for high-flying mums, the coach enables women to plan for maternity leave, enjoy time with the new baby, stay motivated and match the pace on returning to work."
For further details of the Clarity Career parent Programme for women or for men affected by maternity leave contact Yvette Puliga on Tel: 0113 281 8085 email [email protected] website www.claritycoachinguk.com