Attracting and retaining talent for long term success
It is our core mission to make the future work for everyone. We believe in talent, not labels, and we know that differences are not deficits. The pandemic has driven massive shifts in working patterns, employee needs and employers’ responsibility towards their people. With the Great Resignation / Re-Evaluation, employers now need to approach hiring and retaining key talent for permanent roles in a new way.
Along with a growing talent pool of untapped potential, there is a real opportunity to transform workforces for future success.
At Adecco, we connect thousands of people who are at risk in the labour market with purposeful jobs each year, while providing companies with key talent to take their business forward.
This series of papers highlights the long-term benefits that those who might once have been excluded from work bring to companies.
In this paper, Family Matters: Helping Working Parents Thrive, we share our thinking on how organisations can rethink their approach to working parents and address challenges this demographic faces in the working world. We provide guidance on attracting and retaining working parents and highlight how to ensure this valuable talent succeeds long-term.
Why working parents are key for your workforce
The onset of the pandemic has impacted every employee, across every sector, across the globe. And with parents making up 40% of the workforce, it stands to reason that understanding this demographic’s needs is essential in any organisations’ success. Moreover, it benefits companies to ensure working parents are taken care of – those that offer paid family leave see increased employee morale and productivity. Yet, when we look at the numbers, it seems something is missing here. 865,000 US women left the workforce in September 2020 alone. That same year, the number of families with at least one parent employed dropped from 91.4 % in the previous year to 88.5%. And 50% of families have reported one or both parents leaving their jobs, reducing hours or taking a break from work.
This valuable talent, which is already such an integral part of the workforce, is being undervalued. Even with the labour shortage and the rising number of working parents leaving the workforce or changing jobs, many employers still aren’t recognising that changes need to be made. Yet organisations can turn the tide to attract and retain working parents and thus, transform their permanent workforce. We’re here to show you how.
2.5 million US women have left the workforce during the pandemic.
45% of working parents have experienced discrimination due to family obligations during the pandemic.
68% of working parents have had to scale back on work responsibilities due to childcare issues.
-32% decrease in likelihood of women with childcare responsibilities to consider changing jobs when able to work remotely.
In companies that offer paid family leave:
80% report an increase in employee morale.
70% report an increase in employee productivity.
Attracting working parents
Building a diverse workforce which is inclusive of working parents starts with tapping into that talent pool. Rethink hiring processes to make sure you’re not only finding the best candidates but are also ensuring each candidate feels seen and understood and are therefore driven to join your organisation. Here’s how:
Provide family-focused benefits
Offering benefits that help working parents in their roles now and in the future will set you apart from the competition. Find out from existing working parents in your company what works, what they appreciate and what they’re missing. A family-friendly culture can include flexible schedules, remote options, paid family leave, emergency caregiving leave or providing mentors who are working parents themselves.
Be clear, transparent, and accessible
You may already have family-friendly policies and benefits, but are they visible to candidates? Ensure every job description states these clearly and they are up to date, as this sends the positive message that your company is inclusive. Moreover, this will make candidates feel more comfortable asking about parental benefits during the interview process. Update your careers page so that all benefits are easy to view and use working parents’ stories within the company as real-life examples of what being in your organisation will look like.
Upskill leaders
Provide leaders with up-to-date information, training and workshops so they always know the latest policies and benefits your companies provides for working parents. Because many leaders will be part of the hiring process, it’s important that they understand how to deliver an inclusive message – and what should be included in that message – when communicating with candidates.
Offer flexibility
Having a flexible working schedule is no longer a perk, it should be a given. This is especially true for working parents, who have to balance family responsibilities and work obligations daily. When creating job descriptions, put flexibility front and centre. This doesn’t just mean offering flexible hours, it can encompass hybrid or fully remote options, job sharing (splitting a full-time role into two part-time roles) and returnships (easing back into the workforce in a short-term role while upskilling for the future).
Reflect your culture with role models
When promoting your inclusive company culture, incorporate working parents’ success stories. There will be positive stories to tell from a diverse group of people here, such as different age groups, sexual identity, race and types of roles. You can also involve working parent role models in the hiring process. They can help with wording on job descriptions and screening applications as well as contribute to interviews. This not only demonstrates how opportunities truly impact people within your company but can reduce bias during the selection process.
