In the last month alone, I’ve spoken with three friends who are senior executives at different companies, all with the same issue.
A star performer left for parental leave and then resigned the week after they returned.
In each case, the employee received six months of leave with full benefits only to resign just as they returned to work. I have mixed feelings about this – on the one hand, I applaud people who go after their passions. If that means moving to a job more suitable to their new role as a parent, more power to them. On the other hand, I do feel like the employee has an obligation to their employer who provided a generous leave policy.
How much parental leave does your company offer employees? Is it enough for them to truly settle into the role and adjust to a new family dynamic? What if you could extend their leave, while ensuring they return to work as a long-term employee – happy, comfortable, and energized to do their best work?
Many companies struggle to keep up with revenue goals & personnel needs when their team members are on parental leave, but there is another solution no one has considered!
Keep can help in these situations, for nearly any type of employer, with or without existing parental leave policies:
Employers that currently provide 12 weeks but are thinking of increasing this policy, those that have already generously extended well beyond 12 weeks, or those that would like to provide some leave but do not have a formal policy in place to do so, can provide this extended leave benefit as a Keep Bonus.
This means that the employee’s PTO comes in the form of an up-front bonus, and in return they commit to staying at the company for a predetermined period of time after their leave ends.
A Keep Bonus, paid up-front, is a very welcome addition for those expecting, well, a very welcome addition. The money can be used for newborn necessities, travel to visit loved ones, starting a college savings fund, home improvements, or simple life expenses. Note that the bonus paid would effectively be an advance on the employee’s salary that would have been received via regular compensation, so there’s no added financial burden on the employer.
With a Keep bonus, the parent gets more time to adjust to a new family dynamic and the employer gets a dedicated long-term employee. It feels like a fair deal for sure.
If you’re an employer and want to learn how this can work for your team, reach out to me at kathryn@keepfinancial.com or my co-founder, Rob Frohwein, at rob@keepfinancial.com.
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Originally posted on LinkedIn by Kathryn Petralia.
#ParentalLeave #Maternity #HR #HumanResources #EmployeeEngagement
