No matter the industry or size, organizations are continuously seeking ways to attract, retain, and support their employees. Among the suite of benefits that many companies currently offer, parental leave stands out as a crucial program for prospective and current employees alike. Offering parental leave not only reflects an organization's commitment to work-life balance but also its dedication to supporting diverse family structures in a changing world. By leveraging parental leave data and current insights, companies can make strategic people decisions that foster a more inclusive, productive, and satisfied workforce.
So, why parental leave data? When it comes to benchmarking, it’s an overlooked set of data that can lead to valuable insight to increase retention rates, improve morale, enhance productivity, and boost ROI. By analyzing trends and outcomes associated with parental leave policies, businesses can tailor their programs to better support employee needs.
For example, Great Place to Work found that the average amount of maternity leave companies give in the United States is about four weeks and the average amount of paternity leave given by companies is 17 days. However, companies designated as Best Workplaces for Parents give an average of 16 weeks of maternity leave and 12 weeks of paternity leave. While not all workplaces strive for a Great Place to Work designation, parental leave data can uncover impacts on organizational health and employee satisfaction that companies weren’t aware of.
Even if you have not yet started to benchmark parental leave data, now is the time to start.
The first step in leveraging parental leave data is effective collection and analysis. Companies should track various metrics, including utilization rates, average leave duration, and employee performance before, during, and after leave. Additionally, analyzing demographic data such as department, gender, and job role can provide insights into how different segments of the workforce use parental leave. Here are some places to look for this data.
Utilization rates can indicate whether employees feel comfortable taking leave. In the last year, how many parental leaves were taken? How does this compare to the number of new children that employees welcomed? Many companies don’t realize how many employees are actually taking parental leave because of underreporting, or because there’s no paid program, employees take PTO instead. This means that parental leave is dismissed. Alternatively, low rates of parental leave may also suggest a need to reassess the company culture or communicate policies more effectively.
Understanding the average duration of parental leave taken can help companies plan for absences more effectively and identify trends. As an example, paternity leave work absences have increased 183% for men since 2018, and when parental leave is available, working fathers are taking 60 days of bonding leave - a 15-day increase. If there isn’t a lot of parental leave duration data available, there may be a preference for shorter leave periods with more flexibility upon return with intermittent increments. In this case, are the policies clear with how this type of parental leave should be handled?
By examining performance metrics, companies can assess the impact of parental leave on productivity and engagement. For example, look at benchmarking data such as turnover rate/retention, time-to-hire, gender diversity, or return-to-work from leave rate. Is there a higher turnover rate for employees who go on maternity or paternity leave? What about employees with young children? This analysis can also support the implementation of programs and practices that help employees smoothly transition back to work, improving some of those key metrics and KPIs.
Quantitative data only paints part of the picture. To best understand existing benchmarking data, soliciting employee feedback through survey questions can help identify the most impactful opportunities. Unfortunately, a significant gap often exists between feedback given and actions taken. Out of nearly 3,500 employees, only a third believed that their feedback would lead to any organizational action, and about 46% felt their company should do more to address employee concerns.
It’s important for decisions and changes to policies to be tied to employee feedback so they feel that their opinions are valued.
Programs and benefit offerings are some of the easiest to identify and implement, but can also be the most expensive if they’re not being utilized. Or, alternatively, not offering a highly valued program can lead to higher turnover, especially if it has the opportunity to offset other required policies. Here are a few examples.
Armed with data, companies can tailor their leave policies to meet the needs of their workforce better. For instance, if data shows that employees rarely take the full leave offered, the company might explore offering more flexible leave arrangements or phased return-to-work options.
Data-driven insights can also help companies identify gaps in their support for diverse families, such as non-birth parents or adoptive parents. Ensuring policies are inclusive and communicated effectively can enhance the company’s reputation as a diverse and supportive workplace.
Data analysis can reveal opportunities to enhance support for employees before, during, and after parental leave. This might include offering resources for child care, creating mentorship programs for returning employees, or providing flexible work arrangements.
Finally, companies can use insights from parental leave data to communicate the value of their policies to current and prospective employees. Highlighting real-life examples of employees who have benefited from parental leave can make policies more tangible and demonstrate the company's commitment to employee well-being.
Leveraging paid parental leave data offers a wealth of opportunities for companies to make strategic people decisions. When companies make decisions based on data and employee feedback, like updating policies and prioritizing initiatives, they’re able to build better programs and have better utilization and ROI. This helps them lead through lean times with their working parent talent and create more inclusive, flexible, and supportive work environments. This not only enhances employee satisfaction and retention but also positions the company as a leader in supporting work-life balance. In the end, strategic use of parental leave data is not just about offering a parental leave policy – it's about fostering a culture that values and supports every member of the workforce.
