Unlocking the Potential of Returning Workers: A Pathway to Address Labor Shortages and Promote Diversity in Senior Management Positions
Introduction:
In this digital age, where technological advancements and changing work dynamics are reshaping the job market, employers are facing numerous challenges in filling labor shortages and bridging skills gaps. However, amidst these challenges lies a unique opportunity – the return of women to the workforce after a significant hiatus. After three years of Covid lockdowns, an increasing number of women are now ready to re-enter the job market, presenting employers with a largely untapped talent pool. By harnessing the potential of returning workers, companies can not only address labor shortages but also promote diversity and inclusivity in senior management positions. However, tapping into this talent pool comes with its own set of challenges, including caregiving demands, skill gaps, and effective management strategies.
Overcoming the Challenges:
For many women, caregiving responsibilities have been the primary reason for their exit from the workforce. The impact of these demands continues to affect their ability to work in the office full-time. Furthermore, returning workers may require brushing up their skills, as they have been away from the job market for an extended period. To successfully integrate returning workers, companies need to go beyond mere acknowledgement of gaps in resumes. According to Julianne Miles, the co-founder of Women Who Return, a support pathway organization for career breakers, creating comprehensive support systems that align with the unique needs of returning workers is crucial.
Creating Support Pathways:
Companies seeking to benefit from the skills and experiences of returning workers must establish support pathways tailored to their specific requirements. These pathways encompass various reasons for career breaks, such as child-rearing, relocating abroad, caring for sick relatives, or starting a business. By providing flexibility in work arrangements, companies can allow returning workers to balance their employment with ongoing demands at home. Moreover, since the job market has undergone significant changes in recent years, returnees may require more time to adapt to office expectations compared to those transitioning from one job to another. Therefore, clear communication and written documentation become imperative, especially in hybrid work environments where remote and in-office work coexist.
Paid Training Programs:
“Returns” – paid training programs designed to update and enhance the skills of participants, have emerged as a popular route for attracting returning workers. Financial services companies, known for their historical loss of female talent before middle management, have spearheaded these programs. For instance, Morgan Stanley offers 12- to 16-week reentry programs in multiple global locations, targeting external professionals who have taken at least a year off. Goldman Sachs has revived its long-running program in 2021, specifically aimed at workers returning from Covid-related furloughs. These programs enable returning workers to familiarize themselves with the latest office technologies and adapt to new work arrangements, whether in-office or hybrid.
Addressing the “Broken Rung”:
The opportunity to bring women back into the workforce presents a potential solution to one of the biggest barriers identified by consulting firm McKinsey for women’s progression to senior management roles. Termed the “broken rung,” this phenomenon stems from women opting out of the career path due to various reasons, including career breaks. McKinsey’s research reveals that, in the US and Canada, for every 100 men who are recommended for their first promotion to management, there are only 87 women in total. The number drops significantly for black women, where only 54 make it to management positions. By nurturing the return of women to the workforce, companies can bridge this gap and create a more inclusive environment that enables women to progress in their careers.
Retaining Returning Workers:
While hiring returning workers is a significant step, it is equally crucial to ensure their retention. Assigning mundane or irrelevant tasks or failing to provide suitable open positions can lead to dead ends for returnees and risk discouraging them from staying engaged in the workforce. It is essential to hire returning workers into meaningful roles that align with their skills and interests, allowing them sufficient time to readjust. One example of a successful retention strategy is Proskauer law firm’s CaRe program. Employees who have taken substantial parental leave receive 100 percent of their salary for a 75 percent work schedule in their first six months, enabling them to manage childcare and travel responsibilities effectively. Additionally, human resources staff collaborates with partners to arrange coverage when returnees are away, ensuring a seamless transition.
The Benefits of Welcoming Returnees:
Apart from addressing labor shortages and promoting diversity, companies that invest in welcoming and supporting returning workers gain several less obvious advantages. Cognitive diversity, which is crucial for innovation and problem-solving, is a significant benefit of embracing returnees. Given their unique experiences and perspectives, returnees bring fresh ideas and insights to the table. By unlocking the potential of this talent pool, companies can foster a culture of inclusivity and broaden their pool of creative thinkers, enhancing their competitive edge.
Conclusion:
The return of women to the workforce following the Covid pandemic opens up a valuable opportunity for employers to address labor shortages, bridge skills gaps, and promote diversity in senior management positions. By establishing comprehensive support pathways, offering flexibility, and providing paid training programs, companies can facilitate the successful integration of returning workers. It is essential to recognize that hiring returning workers is not sufficient; organizations must prioritize their retention by providing meaningful roles and adequate support. By doing so, companies can harness the power of cognitive diversity and create an inclusive work environment that fosters innovation and growth.
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Three years after Covid lockdowns pushed many women out of the workforce, they are starting to return. That means employers have a rare opportunity to address labor shortages and skills gaps, and could also help diversify their access channels to senior management positions.
But taking advantage of this new source of labor will not always be easy.
Many have been forced out of the workforce due to caregiving demands that may still impact their ability to work in the office full-time. Some women have been away long enough that their skills need brushing up. And managers must find the best way to supervise and evaluate workers who may be new to the job but are not new at all.
Companies with experience hiring returnees have found that success requires a commitment beyond a willingness to overlook gaps on an applicant’s resume.
“It’s a relatively untapped talent pool for mid- and senior-level people. . . But it’s not enough to say ‘we’ll make it a level playing field,'” says Julianne Miles, co-founder of Women who return, which helps companies create support pathways for workers who have taken a significant career break, for a variety of reasons. These reasons could be, for example: taking care of children, living abroad, caring for sick relatives or starting a business.
The longest break for a participant in the programme, so far, is 30 years – for a chartered accountant who started a family and relaunched her career at the Bank of England.
Employers should provide flexibility to returning workers to give them time to get used to balancing paid employment with ongoing demands at home. Given how much the job has changed in recent years, returnees may also take longer to adapt to office expectations than employees coming directly from another job.
“Especially in a hybrid environment, it’s important to have everything in writing,” advises Tara Van Bommel, senior director at Catalyst, which helps companies make their workplaces more welcoming to women.
A popular route to attract workers is through “returns”: paid training programs that seek to update or improve the skills of participants and prepare them to apply for vacant positions within the company.
Financial services companies, which have historically suffered an exodus of female employees before reaching middle management, were among the pioneers in this area.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley now offers paid 12- to 16-week reentry programs in a dozen global locations to external professionals who have taken at least a year off. Rival Goldman Sachs restarted its long-running program in 2021 specifically to target workers returning from Covid-related furloughs.
These programs can help get workers up to speed with the latest office technology, whether it’s Zoom or experimental uses of artificial intelligence, and get them used to working in an office again, or in the types of hybrid arrangements that have emerged since the pandemic.
Optimists believe getting people back to work can help overcome what consulting firm McKinsey says is the biggest barrier to getting more women into senior roles. Currently, in the US and Canada, for every 100 men recommended for their first promotion to management, There are 87 women in total, and only 54 black women…and women never catch up. Much of what McKinsey calls the “broken rung” on the career ladder is due to women opting out of the career path by taking time off.
But hiring returning workers is not the same as retaining them. Miles warns that returns can turn into dead ends if the employee is assigned useless tasks or if the sponsor does not have a suitable open position. That risks discouraging workers who already have a relatively weak connection to the workforce. It works best, he says, to hire a person returning to a regular job and give them more time to adjust.
At the Proskauer law firm, employees who have taken substantial parental leave receive 100 percent of their salary for a 75 percent work schedule in their first six months, under its CaRe program. This gives them time to organize childcare and travel schedules. Human resources staff works with company partners to arrange coverage when returnees are away.
“It was really pivotal for me,” says Kerry Shriver, who has been on the show twice. “I’m not sure I would have chosen a partner without the respite that CaRe gave me.”
Companies that invest in welcoming returnees after a major career break also see other, less obvious gains. “The main benefit of diversity is cognitive diversity, and people who have taken career breaks have had different experiences,” Miles says.
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