Programmes for Working Parents

Support your working parents through one of the toughest times in their careers - returning to work after parental leave.

Returning to work is a transformational time in a parent’s life. Confidence can wobble, doubts can arise in your mind, guilt can be amplified and let’s not even talk about the sleep deprivation. Our programmes have been uniquely crafted by our founder, Emma Mclean, to help both mums and dads feel supported in dealing with these challenges as well as helping them develop a plan for getting through.

Returning with Confidence Programme

Established in 2020, our signature and market-leading programme has been designed to empower parents returning from primary carer leave with the essential trio of confidence, community, and connection. 

Confidence through equipping parents with proven and useful strategies that include boundary setting, saying no, finding time for yourself, sharing the load at home, career planning and strengths identification.  

Community through meeting others, hearing their stories, sharing what works with each other and knowing we are not alone. Sometimes just knowing we are not alone makes us feel a whole lot better. 

And connection with others who are at a similar life stage is an incredible source of support and expands your professional network at the same time. 

Returning with Confidence is available in two formats: in-house for organisations wanting a dedicated cohort, and open enrolment for individuals and smaller teams. 

In-House Cohorts

We are proud to partner with New Zealand’s largest employers, including ANZ, Fonterra, BNZ and One NZ to run the programme in-house. In-house programmes are tailored to meet the specific needs of an organisation, offering options of coaching, workshops, and mechanisms for accountability. 

The programme is a scalable and proven strategy for welcoming back employees from parental leave, significantly enhancing the overall leave experience. 

Schedule a call with emma

Open Enrolment

Our open cohort brings together returning parents from across different organisations, so that participants gain insights beyond their own workplace culture, build out their professional network and feel supported by others who are experiencing similar challenges. 

Coming together in four workshops over four weeks they are perfect for parents who are about to return to work or who have returned in the last 4 months.  

Cohorts are run regularly through the year, click here to reserve your place on the next one. 

Impactful

Since its inception in 2019, our programme has successfully graduated over 450 participants, with some individuals electing to experience it more than once - it’s that good! Key to our approach is the cultivation of a cohort-based community, providing support and camaraderie during this pivotal phase in their lives. This community often continues to thrive beyond the programme’s conclusion, offering long-term benefits.

Meaningful

Investing in this programme means not just facilitating a smoother transition for returning parents but also embedding additional value into your parental leave policies.

It underscores a commitment to inclusive practices and employee wellbeing, distinguishing your organisation as a leader in supporting working parents.

Accessible

Coaching sessions are conducted over Zoom to offer flexibility and convenience, enabling participants to engage from wherever they are, eliminating commute times and fostering a comfortable learning environment. This virtual format also allows for a diverse range of participants, enriching the program with varied perspectives and experiences, thereby enhancing the learning outcome for all involved.

Trusted By

The “Making Space for Dads” Programme

“32% of working dads have considered leaving their jobs due to difficulty balancing work and caregiving responsibilities, while 30% often feel overwhelmed.”

The HR Director, March 2024

This unique programme creates space for dads to feel supported and equipped during a transformational time in their career and personal life.

Through interactive workshops, we dive deep into the real challenges working dads face today. Based on real-life insights and research these workshops provide practical solutions to common struggles. After each workshop, summary notes and resource recommendations will be distributed.

By addressing the challenges working fathers face, organisations can improve retention, productivity, and demonstrate commitment to gender equality and work-life integration.

MAKE SPACE FOR YOUR DADS

 FAQs

  • Great question! Coaching is about helping your move forward. It is about creating space for you to get clarity on what you want. Often these thoughts can remain spinning around in our minds and it is only when we talk them out loud, that they begin to make sense. Coaching is not therapy and it is not a place where you can get advice like you might from a consultant. 

  • I bring to my coaching all my lived experiences. My first career of 25 years in corporate strategy, my 18 years of being a Mum and my Executive Coaching practice that I have been in since 2019. Depending on my coachee’s needs, I may use a blend of coaching and mentoring. Coaching to help them understand with more clarity around what know they need and mentoring to provide some ideas that other working parents have found useful to put into play.

  • Both! The best way to work with me if you are an individual is coaching. All my coaching is done over Zoom so location is not an issue. In fact, I have worked globally with my individual coaching clients from NZ to Australia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Japan. If you are interested in finding out more please book a free 30 minute Discovery Call.  I offer a couple of different coaching packages which I can share with you during this conversation.

    If you run are an employer, I can work with you in several ways – including designing a “Returning with Confidence” programme that meets the needs of your employees, supporting your parents with customised coaching, supporting your people leaders with actionable ideas, running practical workshops for your parents or hiring me to speak at your company forums.

  • Yes, we do! We love working with Dads and listening to the perspectives they bring as a working parent. Coaching helps to make space for Dads to think about what kind of a Dad they want to be and what that means for their life at home and at work. Coaching is also useful for Dads to create a plan on how they could support their partner as they return to work.

  • It is unique and effective because it is packed with actionable insights gained from the over 350 parents that have completed the programme since 2019. We know what works when it comes to smoothing the transition back to work from parental leave. From how to ask for what you need from your People Leader to practical ideas for sharing the load at home. The programme is proven and continually optimised as we learn more about what parents find useful when it comes to smashing the challenges they face. From workshops, to coaching to accountability – the programme will be blended to suit your needs. Another feature that our employers value is the sense of community and belonging that the programme provides. Just knowing we are not alone helps us.

  • Currently we only run these in-house for employers. If you are interested in getting a programme set up for your company, schedule a Discovery Call with me and I can share more about how a Pilot could work.