Parental Leave
Coaching
Support & Retain your top talent as they grow their families.
The transition from working person to working parent is massive.
It is no wonder that many new parents report extremely high levels of stress and often feel lost when they return to work from parental leave.
Managers often report feeling just as lost–not sure what to say or how to support their new parent employees.
They end up saying all the wrong things, saying nothing at all, making incorrect assumptions, and inadvertently pushing their high performers to other organizations with better support systems.
There is a better way.
Enter Parental Leave Coaching
Parental Leave Coaching supports parents and their managers as they prepare for leave, take leave, and return to work.
Parental Leave Coaching:
Empowers employees to plan a healthy, supported, and intentional transition.
Aids managers in supporting their best people.
Demonstrates your company’s investment in working parents and signals to all employees that it’s worth pursuing a career with you.
Helps everyone harness the value that working parents bring to the workplace.
Beyond support.
Parental Leave Coaching is culture change and a long-term investment strategy in your most valuable asset:
Your people.
Imagine employees who…
Feel prepared to go on leave with a strong plan for their return. They know who will cover for them, how they will communicate during leave, and what the return will look like.
Are engaged and able to perform at their best as they prepare for leave and upon their return.
Have successfully transitioned all of their major projects to others and everyone, both internally and externally, understands their new roles.
Experience a more positive leave because they don’t worry about what is happening in their absence. They have a clear communication channel that fits their needs.
Return to work more relaxed having enjoyed their leave without wondering how their return to work will go.
Feel confident in knowing the work they are returning to, how to pick it back up, and their goals.
Feel included and seen at work in their new role as a parent.
Find work to be a meaningful part of their parenting and parenting a meaningful part of their work.
And what if your
managers could…
Feel well-prepared for conversations about parental leave.
Have a blueprint for exactly how to make a leave plan.
Be clear and confident in leave communication plans with their employees.
Feel excited to welcome back their employees and facilitate a smooth return.
Understand “The 5 P’s: Pivotal Leadership Lessons of Parenthood”, and how to make the most of their employee's new roles and skills.
Feel empowered to connect authentically around their employee’s experiences as a new parent–and to support them at every step of the journey.
And what if your company could:
Become an exemplar of working parent support.
Retain top talent, rather than wasting money on replacing them.
Invest in a tool that boosts engagement, productivity, and wellness for employees.
Have their choice of applicants for every job, knowing that being a top company for working parents draws in the strongest applicants.
Recognize that work and life are inextricably intertwined, and that supporting parents allows employees to flourish in all of their roles.
A 2016 pilot program of the RETAIN Parental Leave Coaching program with senior leaders of a large retail company in Australia found immense benefits including:
100% of participants were retained as employees
85% of participants had an increased ‘sense of being valued by the organization’
77% of participants reported increased confidence in work-life integration
69% of participants reported increased productivity, health, and wellbeing
Not only that, a recent study demonstrated that for every $1 spent on supporting working parents, companies saw an $18 return.
The ROI is unmistakable.
“Even after the first session, I feel so much more prepared- this has been so helpful!”
–Former PLC client
About Your consultant
Dr. Anne Welsh is a specialist in the transition from working person to working parent.
After leaving a dream job at Harvard University due to a lack of family-friendly policies at the time, she created her own boutique firm to enhance the experience of working parents everywhere.
Drawing on her own previous research career looking at the transition to parenthood and career development, the experience of supporting working parents as both a therapist and executive coach, her own experience as a working mother of 4, and her training as a RETAIN parental leave coach, she offers unique, multifaceted support to parents and the companies that seek to harness their superpowers.
For more of her writing on the value of working parents give her a follow on LinkedIn here.
How it works
Companies can contract for each expecting employee, or we can create broader, wider-reaching contracts.
In either case, expecting parents and their managers will receive:
The unique Parental Leave Assessment (with a separate manager version) to assess their strengths and places for growth as they move into leave and beyond.
Perinatal mental health screenings throughout by a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Expert.
10 Coaching sessions for the individual, spaced over the three phases of leave (preparing, during, and returning).
3 Manager coaching sessions, also spaced over the three phases of leave.
A Parental Leave Planning Workbook to facilitate planning and communication around the entire leave experience.
Want to see a Return to Work Plan sample?
Fill out this form and you'll receive the sample return-to-work plan and an invite to book time on my calendar.
I look forward to connecting.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Of course! If your company doesn’t offer this benefit, I offer individual parental leave coaching with all the same benefits.
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Reach out! I am happy to help you plan out how to advocate for parental leave coaching through your employer.
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▹ Consulting around working parent-friendly policies and practice.
▹ Executive coaching for working parents at any stage of parenting.
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Yes! I have multiple trainings and workshops related to working parent support including how to prepare for leave, how to transition back from leave, and manager training for supporting expecting employees.
I also have multiple workshops for women’s career development and wellness at work.
I can also create workshops specific to your industry and already have those for women in law, STEM, and healthcare.
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Great! I can offer a group version of the parental leave coaching package.
Have other questions? Get in touch to discuss specifics. I look forward to hearing from you!
plan for your company’s growth.