Corporate Services
Besides providing company sponsored paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements and harnessing paid keeping in touch days, it is also incredibly beneficial to support parents to return to the workplace so that they can continue growing their careers alongside their families.
Empowering Parents @ Work Corporate Program
This semi-structured program empowers parents to take control of their careers and successfully navigate each key transition point (ie prior to parental leave, during parental leave, upon return to work) to create a smoother, more positive return to work experience.
The program also aims to build independent skillsets for longer term success – empowering parents to still dream big, and continue to access opportunities that progress their careers well beyond their initial return to work.
The program is offered as a series of 1:1 online career coaching sessions, ideally commencing prior to parental leave and extending for several weeks after the parent’s return to work date. However, as the program is highly flexible and individually tailored, participants can join at any time during their transitional journey.
How does the program work?
We are true partners with employers and tailor the program to the needs of your business to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as well as employee wellbeing.
The program aims to create a supportive bridge back to the workplace to ensure a smoother, more positive experience for parents. This in turn may enhance retention rates and improve the gender diversity of leadership pipelines.
What topics does the program cover?
PLAN for leave:
In this phase we develop a parental leave plan so parents are well prepared to hand over, keep in touch whilst away, and return to work in a role that aligns with their career and life goals. This plan will cover things such as:
- Discussing what will happen to their role whilst they’re away,
- Creating strategies for how to stay up-to-date with changes in the workplace, industry and profession,
- Developing communication plans for confirming return-to-work and future career goals with their manager,
- Building support networks at home and at work to support their transition.
PREPARE to return:
In this phase we develop a return-to-work plan so parents are well prepared to transition back to work, manage the competing demands of work and family, maintain self-care and overcome any challenges or concerns about returning to work. This plan will cover things such as:
- Determining their ideal combination of work and family,
- Preparing for discussions with their manager about return to work arrangements,
- Developing strategies to rebuild self-confidence and create a fulfilling and realistic self-care routine to support a sustainable return to work,
- Revising and aligning career goals and objectives,
- Working through any challenges or concerns about returning to work.
PACE re-entry:
In this phase we reflect on the return to work transition, what’s worked well and what hasn’t, so adjustments can be made and additional support obtained as needed. We will cover things such as:
- Overcoming challenges and adjusting to changes at home and work,
- Setting expectations with others regarding readjustment periods and/or changes to routine,
- Regularly communicating about progress and where extra support may be needed,
- Creating a strategy to establish and maintain workplace visibility,
- Developing a plan to sustainably manage the combined demands of work and home.
POSITION for growth:
In this phase we reassess and set future career and lifestyle goals to enable clarity around career progression, understand any skill or knowledge gaps, and identify workplace supporters who can help to facilitate future career growth. We will cover things such as:
- Revisiting career and lifestyle goals since returning to work,
- Identifying development gaps between current and desired next roles,
- Creating an aligned learning plan to support career progression,
- How to develop an extensive network of workplace supporters.
Key program benefits
- We’re purpose led, which means everything we do is with the aim to level the playing field and create more inclusive opportunities at work.
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We’re specialists with a focus on empowering parents to successfully take control and navigate one of the most crucial and challenging transitions in both their lives & careers – that of returning to work after parental leave.
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Our person-centred approach means our semi-structured programs are tailored to the specific and unique needs of each and every parent. This is how we get the best outcomes as each parent has their own unique set of circumstances and challenges.
- We are true partners with employers, providing data-driven insights and recommendations to continually improve the experience, outcomes and retention of parents returning to your workplace.
Who's the program for?
We partner with employers across Australia and New Zealand to empower their working parents with the support, tools and knowledge to continue growing their careers alongside their families and help craft their best life.
We work with organisations across different industries and tailor our programs to the specific needs of each workplace.
What's included in the program?
- 3 or 5 x one-hour individual career coaching sessions with enrolled participants,
- Supportive career resources for participants and managers,
- Regular reporting of program data and insights to the Program Sponsor,
- Annual written report of data driven insights and recommendations delivered to the Program Sponsor within a tailored debriefing session,
- Templates and materials provided to support the internal roll-out of the program at your workplace.
How long is the program?
Parent participants are typically on the program for around 12-18 months. This timeframe reflects the program ideally commencing prior to parental leave and extending for several weeks beyond the return to work date. However, the program format can be adjusted to start at a later time if needed.
What's the investment?
The investment includes two fees:
- A partnership fee, tailored to your organisational requirements. This covers regular program reviews, program resources materials for participants/managers, and reporting (includes program statistics, participant feedback and insights, along with recommendations for action).
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A per participant program fee. This covers the 1:1 career coaching sessions for parents. The number of sessions delivered per program to each individual parent will depend on the program option chosen (ie 3 or 5 sessions).
FREE: Live at Lunch Masterclass for Managers
This is a FREE presentation on How to Best Support, Include, and Retain Parents Who Take Parental Leave.
It’s for managers who may be a bit unsure about how to provide practical and best practice support to team members before, during, and after parental leave.
Webinar topics include Becoming a Working Parent, Challenges for Managers Around Parental Leave, Broader Trends & Data-Driven Insights, 4 Practical Ways to Provide Support and How to Create a Village.
Duration: The live webinar runs for approximately one hour, including Q&A.
Bonus Takeaways: The webinar can be recorded and provided to your team, along with a copy of the slides and our Parental Leave Preparedness Assessment for Managers.
Specialist mental health support services
According to Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) pregnancy and early parenthood may be the first time some parents ever experience significant changes to their mental health. Prevalence is indicated as up to 1 in 5 pregnant or new mums/birthing parents, and up to 1 in 10 expecting or new dads/partners/non-birthing parents experiencing depression and/or anxiety.
To address the impact of this significant issue, we have partnered with a leading specialist mental health provider to offer perinatal counselling services alongside our career coaching program. Unlike general EAP support, specialist perinatal counselling takes into account unique parental challenges such as biological changes, infant/parent sleep, feeding, and changing family dynamics.
Our career coaching and mental health programs work together to offer optimal support to parents at what can be an incredibly challenging time. This specialist support means parents feel understood and receive services better tailored to their needs, which leads to better outcomes.
Want to find out more?
If you are looking for ways to better support parents @ work, then please get in touch with us at hello@hummingbirdcareers.com.au
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