Top 5 Reasons Why Companies Should Invest in Maternity Coaching

Last night, I had dinner with an old colleague of mine. For the purposes of this blog I’ll refer to her as Fay and actually, she wasn’t just an old colleague of mine, she was also one of my first professional role models. I hadn’t seen her for years (#thankyoulinkedin) so I’d been looking forward to catching up.

But before we go any further, let me tell you a bit about Fay. Fay was my line manager and mentor when I began my working life as a Junior Sales Manger at one of Australia’s largest organisations. She is someone I credit for setting my career on a positive and productive trajectory. Fay gave of herself and of her knowledge generously, encouraged me work towards my potential and supported me to advance my managerial skills as well as my profile. She had so many years of success and experience within the company, I couldn’t help be in a little awe of her. I admired the loyalty she had to the company and to those for whom she worked, and also the passion and commitment she brought to her role as Senior Sales Manager.

So, back to last night. After a few glasses of red and some rather energetic ‘girl talk’, our attention turned to our careers. Fay was interested to know what I’d been up to for the last few years and was thrilled to learn I had started my own business coaching company. When she curiously asked about my niche clients, I explained that while I was essentially a leadership coach, I’d recently had an increasing number of clients wanting to engage me as a specialist maternity coach.

I doubted myself when I thought I saw Fay’s eyes momentarily flicker with sadness but when she uttered her next words, I knew that I hadn’t been mistaken. She said, “I wish they’d had maternity coaching when I was pregnant. I gave up working after I became a mum. The whole thing was handled so badly, I didn’t want to go back.”

Wait. WHAT???

To me, the loss of Fay to any company (let alone, one of Australia’s largest!) seemed incomprehensible to me. This woman’s loyalty, enthusiasm, experience and expertise could not have been replaced. I was sure of it. She simply was, The Best.

It’s because of Fay that I’m writing this blog. Her story jolted me into action and I hope it does the same for those of you who are reading this.

The importance of maternity coaching in Australia is still relatively unknown, so here’s a snapshot of why it’s so vital to the growth of any organisation, large or small, near or far:

1. It keeps female employees and their line managers engaged, active and productive before, during and after maternity leave. It also reduces the potential for organisational skill and performance deficits traditionally associated employee maternity leave. You don’t need Psychology 101 to know that people invest in you when you invest in them, but did you know that studies show that 54% of women notice their careers are affected once they give maternity leave notification? Maternity coaching assists both the employee and line manager to make a smooth transition by keeping relevant parties involved, communicative and pro-active during vital transition stages.

2. It’s been proven to facilitate a faster return to full productivity after maternity leave has been taken. Less ‘down time’. Enough said.

3. It improves female retention rates and decreases company ‘brain drain’. Pardon the pun, but this really is a no brainer, and yet 33% of new mothers don’t return to work after giving birth. I’m sure you’d agree, good employees are hard to find, so doesn’t it make sense that companies should do what they can to hang on to them? In America, Deutsche Bank is one of a growing number of companies offering maternity coaching in recognition of this fact and an effort to maintain their female talent pipeline.

4. It lowers the probability of potential recruitment and replacement costs. Did you know it costs 200-500% of an executive’s salary to hire and retrain a new recruit? Why on earth would an organisations want to put themselves through such an arduous and expensive process if it could at all be avoided.

5. It attracts and retains loyal, high-achieving women and mothers. Maternity coaching supports high-achieving women to successfully manage one of the most important transitions of their lifetimes within in the context of their professional lives. Employees, especially at executive level, know what they’re worth in a competitive marketplace. So, in order for organisations to become ‘employers of choice’, they need to offer remuneration benefits that attract and keep their key employees. Moreover, there’s no denying that women play a vital role in the workplace, especially as companies continue to develop and implement diversity and inclusion programmes. Maternity coaching is now being seen as an offering that gives companies a competitive edge.

Fay’s story was a cautionary tale to employers who need to develop policies and processes that guard against losing talented, passionate and experienced female employees. I wonder how many other ‘Fays’ there are out there.

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