For continued growth and success, companies need to stay ahead of market trends and understand what will attract and retain top talent. In today’s market, this includes holistic programs that help employees balance their personal and professional obligations without sacrificing the other. Over the past few years, companies are increasingly recognizing the strategic importance of offering paid parental leave and how it can be leveraged for recruitment, reduce turnover, boost productivity and engagement, and build a healthier workforce. We’ll explore three ways paid parental leave with Parento is a strategic investment to help companies future-proof their workplace.
Parenthood is a transformative life event that has a significant impact for individuals and the workplace, but often overlooked. Employers’ options for paid parental leave are complicated and messy, so it often goes on the backburner as an afterthought. It's not always clear how important paid parental leave is for their employees and overall business success but it’s a clear winner, ranking in the top requests from employees.
The data speaks for itself – there’s nearly a 70% reduction in turnover within 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and millennials, a significant workforce demographic, are 86% less likely to quit when offered this benefit. However, the challenges associated with traditional offerings demand innovative solutions, which is why Parento has taken three successful business strategies and integrated them for a comprehensive and cost-effective business solution to help companies transform their workplaces: Provide Gender-Neutral Paid Parental Leave Insurance, Reduce HR Workload with Leave and Claims Expertise, and Offer Holistic Support for Employees with Personalized Coaching.
Alone, these three strategies may seem overwhelming to implement and maintain. But through Parento, they're all bundled together and pack a big punch. Let's examine these three strategies.
The first strategy for companies to future proof their workplace is by providing paid parental leave. Despite the evolving landscape of paid parental leave, the United States lags behind, with only 27% of private sector employees having access to paid leave. This deficiency not only affects individuals but also hampers overall productivity, engagement, and retention. Paid parental leave has transitioned from being a mere "perk" to a decisive factor in attracting and retaining top talent.
To solve for limited access to Paid Family Leave (PFL), Parento has helped companies even the playing field by bringing paid parental leave to employees in 42 states plus Washington D.C. Even in states with PFL programs, Parento supported all employees and mitigated costs for employers through the first and only solution for paid parental leave insurance. Companies with 10 or more employees are able to future proof their workplace by leveling the playing field with gender-neutral paid parental leave for all employees, making it a highly valued program.
Paid parental leave insurance is affordable and covers salary expenses during parental leave, ensuring budget certainty and a remarkable 95% return-to-work full-time rate. The fixed premium covers the entire program, making it a customizable and tax-deductible solution for companies of various sizes and structures.This ensures cost certainty and scalability, supporting business continuity and DEIB efforts in all industries.
Now that there’s a solution for paid parental leave, how is it managed? The second strategy is to reduce HR workload with leave and claims expertise. It’s no secret that HR has been taking on more and more responsibilities over the years, and now they’re burdened with a high workload, managing compliance, deadlines, and applications. With employees’ increasingly high expectations for a positive workplace experience, taking specific tasks off of HR’s plate is essential for scalability as the function grows and diversifies.
Built into the Parento program to reduce HR workload, Leave Concierge goes a step further by supporting HR. Employees often need hand holding during the process of applying for parental leave, and the Parento team expertly handles leave and claims administration, PFL/Short Term Disability (STD) filing support, and payroll reconciliation. On average, managing these aspects in-house requires 5 hours per leave for PFL or STD, and 25 hours to process one leave (Tilt). And this doesn’t take into account any errors or time spent understanding new state programs and leave laws.
It’s clear that paid parental leave can be a complex puzzle for new parents and employers, which unfortunately leads to a significant number of denied claims from PFL programs (or missed opportunities for paid leave). This leads to the third strategy, offering holistic support for employees with personalized coaching and guidance.
On average, new parents spend 43 hours navigating their parental leave options, many giving up and not taking parental leave when it’s needed the most. Parento addresses this challenge with its comprehensive support system, making Leave Concierge a valuable resource for employees just as much as employers.
The Parento program extends beyond leave and claims support to include Parent Experience, emotional and parenting coaching to employees. 75% of parents reported that they could have used more emotional support than they received, and 30% decrease in productivity amongst returning new moms without employer support.
With an average of 13 hours of use and unlimited 1:1 coaching, this holistic approach proves to be a highly valued EAP offering and ensures a personalized experience, covering topics from work-life integration to emotional wellness.
There’s a reason these three strategies are included in the Parento program. Paid parental leave is a vital tool for companies to future-proof their workplace. As the modern workforce evolves, investing in holistic programs like Parento is a strategic investment, bridging the gap for employers and enhancing the overall experience for employees. Companies can build a plan that meets their demographics and the fixed premium covers the entire bundled program - insurance, leave concierge, and coaching - which are all proven successful strategies for companies to attract and retain top talent.
To learn more, chat with sales or request a quote to see how paid parental leave can transform your workplace.
