Attracting and retaining women returners.Introduction This checklist is an introduction for organisations seeking to develop best practice in attracting and retaining women returners. Women returners will make up a significant proportion of new entrants to the labour force over the next decade and organisations will need to develop a range of policies in order to maximise the benefits that these potential employees can bring. Employing women returners will give you a wider pool of talent to select from, and women returners offer maturity and experience. They are also likely to offer stability and commitment, and to be highly motivated mo·ti·vate tr.v. mo·ti·vat·ed, mo·ti·vat·ing, mo·ti·vates To provide with an incentive; move to action; impel. mo . As a result, your recruitment costs are likely to go down while your retention rates improve. Women returners are likely to be well focused, and skilled at multitasking multitasking Mode of computer operation in which the computer works on multiple tasks at the same time. A task is a computer program (or part of a program) that can be run as a separate entity. . National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership This checklist has relevance to the following standards: D: Working with people, unit 3 Definition 'Woman returner' is a broad term used to cover any woman returning to paid employment, whether full- or part-time part-time adj. For or during less than the customary or standard time: a part-time job. part , after a substantial period away from work, usually taken to care for children or elderly relatives. Returning to work after a break remains the norm among the female workforce: the full-time full-time adj. Employed for or involving a standard number of hours of working time: a full-time administrative assistant. full , lifelong career woman with a family is the exception. Action checklist 1. Develop a clear corporate policy Set out a clear policy concerned with: * the recruitment and employment of women returners * their development and promotion. Where possible, try to obtain examples of other organisations' policies in this area, and learn from their experiences and those of women returners in your own organisation. Emphasise that the policy is a way of meeting human resource needs and retaining specialist skills, and secure support for it at the highest management level. Communicate the policy to line managers, and define and set up the mechanisms for implementing it. 2. Map the profile of women returners in your workforce Establish a profile of the jobs, grades and occupations of women returners within the workforce. Use this as a benchmark against which to review the progress of women returners on a yearly basis. 3. Tackle the cultural changes needed to win acceptance of women returners There may be attitudinal barriers within the organisation to the employment of women returners. Provide training in equal opportunities if it is not already available. 4. Review working practices imaginatively Investigate ways of introducing more flexible hours and flexible working practices to enable women returners to combine paid employment and family responsibilities: part-time; flexi-time; job share; term-time; and home working. Make flexible working practices available to all employees in order to minimise resistance. 5. Improve employees' access to childcare Only large organisations will be able to offer subsidised Adj. 1. subsidised - having partial financial support from public funds; "lived in subsidized public housing" subsidized supported - sustained or maintained by aid (as distinct from physical support); "a club entirely supported by membership dues"; childcare on-site, but you can actively help women returners to find good quality external provision. Consider sharing nursery places with other local employers (for example the local council), buying in Buying in has several meanings. In the securities market it refers to a process by which the buyer of securities, whose seller fails to deliver the securities contracted for, can 'buy in' the securities from a third party with the defaulting seller to make good. places at private nurseries or offering childcare vouchers. Don't neglect out-of-school care for older children: could you become a partner in after-school and holiday play schemes run in conjunction with local authorities, or the voluntary sector? 6. Provide parental and caring leave Modify existing career break schemes to take account of the needs of carers. Provide flexible leave arrangements for those with caring responsibilities for the elderly or disabled. Legislation now provides a minimum period of paid parental leave parental leave n. A leave of absence granted to a parent to care for a new baby. . The opportunity for employees to take longer periods of unpaid leave should be considered. 7. Provide opportunities for appropriate training Offer the opportunity for induction training Induction training is a type of training given as an initial preparation upon taking up a post. Its goal is to help new employees reach the level of performance expected from an experienced worker. to all returners to include confidence building and skills updating. Once they are in employment, provide training which will enable women returners to develop and gain promotion. Consider family responsibilities when arranging training times. The traditional times of breakfast and twilight twilight, period between sunset and total darkness or between total darkness and sunrise. Total darkness does not occur immediately when the sun sinks below the horizon because light from the sun that strikes the atmosphere is scattered (both by the air itself and by meetings are particularly difficult for women. 8. Examine the requirements and rules for promotion Review age limits for recruitment and promotion. Ensure that women returners are not debarred from promotion by unnecessary rules on age, experience or hours of work. Be aware of new employment legislation requirements. 9. Consider extending maternity MATERNITY. The state or condition of a mother. 2. It is either legitimate or natural. The former is the condition of the mother who has given birth to legitimate children, while the latter is the condition of her who has given birth to illegitimate children. provision to encourage women to return Can you provide maternity rights above the statutory minimum to encourage current employees to return after a break? Offer reasonable maternity rights with the option of a career break without loss of seniority. 10. Set up a 'keeping in touch' scheme Enable women on maternity leave maternity leave n → baja por maternidad maternity leave maternity n → congé m de maternité maternity leave maternity n to follow developments at work. Provide a company sponsor or mentor Mentor, in Greek mythology Mentor (mĕn`tər, –tôr'), in Greek mythology, friend of Odysseus and tutor of Telemachus. , and arrange regular mailings with copies of in-house In-house In the context of general equities, keeping an activity within the firm. For example, rather than go to the marketplace and sell a security for a client to anyone, an attempt is made to find a buyer to complete the transaction with the firm. newsletters, magazines and other communications. Make provision for a short period of work and training during each year of absence. Managers should avoid: * leaving policy implementation to line managers without ensuring that it is translated into practice, rather than undermined * neglecting the training and development needs of those returning to work after a long break: invest in skills updating and confidence building * targeting flexible working schemes at women returners only, or you will increase cultural resistance. Additional resources Books Work life balance management practices and productivity, Nick Bloom bloom 1. the general appearance of the surface. In carcass meat it is the glistening, transparent effect and the gentle pink color that gives a good bloom to the carcass. It is the result of proper tissue hydration coupled with the correct proportions of fat, connective tissue and , Toby Kretschmer and John Van Reenen London: Centre for Economic Performance, 2006 Girlfriends in high places: how womens' networks are changing the workplace, Helen McCarthy London: Demos, 2004 Back to work: a guide for women returners, Diana Wolfin & Susan Foreman Susan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is played by actress Carole Ann Ford. Background Susan is the granddaughter and a companion of the Time Lord known as the Doctor. London: Robson Books, 2004 Work life balance: the role of the manager, Caroline Glynn, Ingrid Steinberg and Claire McCartney Horsham: Roffey Park Institute, 2002 This is a selection of books available for loan to members from the Management Information Centre. More information at: www.managers.org.uk/mic Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the resources Women Returners Network http://www.women-returners.co.uk/Workbook.asp Section offering workbook work·book n. 1. A booklet containing problems and exercises that a student may work directly on the pages. 2. A manual containing operating instructions, as for an appliance or machine. 3. and factsheets relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc returning to work Organisations Equal Opportunities Commission Arndale House, Arndale Centre, Manchester M4 3EQ Tel: 0845 601 5901 www.eoc.org.uk Business in the Community 137 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7RQ Tel: 0870 600 2482 www.bitc.org.uk Women Returners Network Chelmsford College, Moulsham Street, Chelmsford CM2 0JQ Tel: 01245 263796 www.women-returners.co.uk UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, Listerhills Park of Science and Commerce 40-42 Campus Road, Bradford, BD7 1HR Tel: 01274 436485 http://www2.shu.ac.uk/nrc/index.cfm |
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