Importance of Flexibility: It is important to work in flexibility into the parental leave policies to accommodate individual journeys and experiences. It's crucial to create a safe space where employees can openly discuss their needs and preferences.
Supportive Work Environment: Having a supportive work environment and encouraging open communication about parental leave can help employees feel valued and understood during this significant life event.
Seasonality Considerations: Timing parental leave strategically to align with the industry's seasonality can help minimise business disruptions and facilitate a smoother transition back to work (e.g. we know Feb → May and Sep → Nov are busy period periods where deals are likely to be missed, so only trying to miss one). Note, this point was made with the Mother’s career progression in mind vs. what was best for the firm.
Portfolio Considerations: If you have board positions and founder 1:1’s you need to decide how you are going to approach these before you go on maternity leave. The standard seems to be to keep board positions (although directors can be downgraded to observers) but you can get someone else to join as well if needed. Make sure to set expectation with founders up front - you intend to make sessions but you can’t control how you will feel in those first weeks / months post birth.
Paid Parental Leave: Offering fully paid parental leave for both mums and dads is considered best practice and can positively impact the well-being of employees and their families.
Parental Leave benefits: Consider not just paid leave but other benefits. Some things that were discussed were night nurses or childcare support (from e.g. Bubble) and mental and physical support on transition back to work. Also consider having policies around other things like miscarriages, egg freezing and IVF.
Partner's Role: The involvement and support of partners in taking parental leave are crucial. Encouraging male partners to take leave and be actively involved in childcare can promote a more balanced and supportive environment for working parents. Coaching pre birth can be helpful to set expectations and talk about difficult issues before you are sleep deprived!
Benchmarking for Best Practices: While benchmarking can be helpful, it's essential to focus on best practices within the industry and set policies that prioritise the well-being of employees rather than conforming to average standards.
Returning to work: Go at the pace that makes sense for you. Be careful about coming back part time as it’s difficult to do this job part time - make sure you are being paid for the work you are doing. Aim to set boundaries early on for when you need to be available for your children (e.g. blocks for bath time etc.). Make sure to develop a network of women going through it at the same time to support the transition.
Please note this was a small sample size so results may not be representative of the whole industry