A 2021 study shows that organizations that effectively support working parents have an 86% reduction in the number of employees who want to leave the company. This is especially important as The Great Resignation continues.

Because the majority of the workforce consists of working parents, it is in your best interest to support the working parents in your organization. This improves your employee attraction and retention rates.

Follow these guidelines to better support working parents in your organization.

Offer Flexibility

A recent study by Catalyst and CNBC shows that 76% of employees desire flexibility in their work schedule and/or location. Also, 64% of working parents say they would consider changing careers to have a stronger work-life balance.

You can promote flexibility in these ways:

• Provide a remote or hybrid work model with a flexible schedule.
• Focus on each employee’s results rather than the number of hours worked each week. This promotes equity in compensation, recognition, and promotions.
• Offer employees who start or add to their family a part-time schedule as they transition back to work.
• Offer several weeks of paid time off to employees who experience miscarriage or late-stage loss.

Increase Family Benefits

Send surveys to your employees who are parents to determine their desired benefits. Use your findings to better support working parents in your organization.

Ensure your benefits are as inclusive as possible. Examples include:

• A flexible allowance for egg freezing, fertility treatments, surrogacy fees, or adoption fees.
• Reimbursement up to a set amount for adoption-related services.
• Stipends to cover child-related costs such as birthing classes or lactation services.
• Discounts on daycare.
• A set number of days of backup care through the employee’s preferred babysitter.

Establish a Working Parent Employee Resource Group

Create an employee resource group (ERG) to connect new and seasoned parents. These employees can share parenting resources and have discussions within a supportive environment.

The ERG leaders can engage with new hires’ profiles to foster a sense of community and support working parents in your organization. These leaders can invite employees to the group to create a culture of belonging.

Encourage ERG leaders to advocate for benefits for all parents and all family structures. Equality of parental leave is especially important for LGBTQ+ parents and adoptive parents.

Enhance the Transition to and from Parental Leave

Support working parents in your organization as they begin or return from parental leave. Consider implementing these best practices:

• Proactively create a workflow to redistribute the work.
• Announce the employee’s leave to the team.
• Communicate how the work will be redistributed.
• Ask the employee to organize documents and projects for the teammates who are filling in.
• Encourage the employee to conduct transition meetings so the work is effectively passed on.
• Have the employee transition back three days a week for several weeks.
• Encourage managers to regularly check in to see how the employee is doing and provide support.

Need Temporary Help During Parental Leave?

Morris Bixby can provide temporary workers to fill in when your agricultural employees are away on parental leave. Learn more today.