After finishing school, I became an Enrolled Nurse and worked in major Melbourne hospitals for 14 years. Then I became pregnant and finished my working life and began to prepare for the next phase of life. After having 3 children under 4, I stayed at home and became wife and Mum. I spent 12 years experiencing highest of highs and the lowest of lows. No one ever explained to me how being a Mum can be all consuming. From when my eldest started Pre-School, I have been involved in my children’s education by being on committees. When I look back it seems that I have done everything, from gardening to being Chairperson at the primary school’s Community Council.
Once all my girls were at school, I thought that I would enjoy having some time to myself, as it happened I seem to be spending nearly as much time at school as the girls. Then the time had come for me to start looking for work. This was something that I had been dreading. My nursing registration had lapsed and because I hadn’t had paid work for so long my confidence in getting a job was very low. I was very good at playing down my abilities, but financially it was time for me to earn an income.
I started to look on websites at public service jobs and the application process eroded my confidence even more. I started to ask around at school for help from those that worked in the public service and anyone else who I thought could assist me. On a Friday after assembly I approached one of the mums and asked for her assistance in writing my resume. She asked what kind of work I wanted to do; I said I would prefer part time school hours. As it happened her husband was looking to employ someone for their small business. I left school and went straight to meet her husband, I didn’t even have time to change. I started work the following Monday.
At first I did anything from sweeping the floor to packaging, anything that was asked of me. Gradually I learned more about the business, answering phones, quoting and invoicing. As my skill base grew so did my responsibilities and I became the office manager. After four years, I decided that is was time for me to advance my career. Again I asked for assistance from anyone who I thought would be able to give me some direction. A girlfriend suggested I contact Kate, at Career Mums; this was a very positive move. Kate not only made me think about my skills, but gave me direction on how to improve them. One being enrolling in Business Administration Certificate course at CIT, which I did and this gave me immense confidence in my abilities.
Again by asking for help from anyone and everyone, I was offered a new position with a Not For Profit Company. I am now their Executive Assistant. I am doing things that I never thought I was capable of and enjoying a career like never before.
My advice to any Mum that is looking to get back into the work force is to talk to anyone and everyone because you just don’t know what is out there until you ask.
Anna is a Canberra based mum who has three daughters - now all at school
Friday, September 7, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
The small business challenge... hiring staff
For any small business, it is a massive decision to take on staff. You have been responsible for everything up to this point. The ‘control freak’ in you has to let go in order for your business to grow and for you to focus on what you do best.
Defining the role.....
Typically, the new recruit will be an administrative person. It can be tempting to assign just about everything that has an administrative angle to this role but be careful. It is not easy to recruit someone that can provided you with marketing/sales support, bookkeeping, database management, reception, business development, and office administration duties – not to mention the differing pay rates for these jobs.
Start with a simple task list and keep the duties reasonably focused. This list will help you to create a job advertisement and a job description. A job description is critical for performance measurement down the track. Employees like to know how they are tracking in their job, and being given opportunities to grow will engender long term loyalty.
Finding someone who will fit your business.....
Fifty per cent of finding the right person is having confidence that they can do the job. This can be established through one or two interviews, candidate testing for specific skills, and talking to previous employers. The other half is your gut feel that the person will be a good fit for your team and your business. Culture fit is generally established in an interview. For example, if you are a sales driven business, you would be looking for someone who is immaculately presented, has strong communication skills, has successful sales experience, is confident, and thrives on interaction with people.
Don’t forget to sell the merits of working for your business......
Your business is your entire universe at the moment, but in the eyes of a candidate, you have an unknown brand, a shoe box office, and budget constraints. You need to pitch your potential growth and promote any non-financial benefits of working for your business e.g. flexible work arrangements. When you are reviewing candidates, look closely at candidates who have worked for other SMEs or who have established their own businesses and are looking to come back into the workplace. You want people who are happy to get their hands dirty, have a hint of entrepreneurial spirit, or have no interest in working for large organisations.
Contract or permanent to start with?.............
When employees are on a contract, they generally get paid on a per hour basis and there are no benefits attached such as sick leave, holiday leave, carers leave etc. Employers can either have contractors on their books or employers can hire a contractor through a recruiter. Hiring a contractor through a recruiter costs the employer more per hour but the contractor is effectively an employee of the recruitment firm so the employer has the flexibility to engage or disengage the contractor quickly without having to perform the recruitment process.
Hiring someone as a contractor or temp to start with can be a smart move to ensure that the new recruit can not only do the job, but also fits with the culture of the workplace. It also allows employers to test a flexible work arrangement before creating a more permanent position. Most of the time, candidates will work with a contract role as long as there is a view to the role becoming permanent. Keep in mind that some candidates prefer contract roles because they are short term so don’t be surprised if they move onto another opportunity.
Many employers are also happy to hire someone upfront in a permanent position. Most candidates are naturally attracted to permanent roles because it provides a sense of job security. If your business is established, there is sufficient work, and you require someone with skills that your business doesn’t have, permanent roles provide the opportunity for someone to come into the business with a medium to long term outlook.
Employment laws, staff documentation, and staff policies.........
Before hiring an employee, make sure you are up to speed on the National Employment Standards. You will need to provide a letter of offer, an employment agreement, and a job description. Once you start hiring staff, you will also need to create workplace policies (e.g. travel policy, expenses policy, flexible work policy, telecommuting policy) and have a performance measurement system to measure their work performance on a regular basis.
Make sure you visit www.fairwork.gov.au and review the ten National Employment Standards that govern our workplace. Other great resources include www.ato.gov.au and http://www.business.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
If you need help to recruit staff for your growing business, contact Kate Sykes to talk about our affordable recruitment and HR services - kate@careermums.com.au or 0400 823 914.
Defining the role.....
Typically, the new recruit will be an administrative person. It can be tempting to assign just about everything that has an administrative angle to this role but be careful. It is not easy to recruit someone that can provided you with marketing/sales support, bookkeeping, database management, reception, business development, and office administration duties – not to mention the differing pay rates for these jobs.
Start with a simple task list and keep the duties reasonably focused. This list will help you to create a job advertisement and a job description. A job description is critical for performance measurement down the track. Employees like to know how they are tracking in their job, and being given opportunities to grow will engender long term loyalty.
Finding someone who will fit your business.....
Fifty per cent of finding the right person is having confidence that they can do the job. This can be established through one or two interviews, candidate testing for specific skills, and talking to previous employers. The other half is your gut feel that the person will be a good fit for your team and your business. Culture fit is generally established in an interview. For example, if you are a sales driven business, you would be looking for someone who is immaculately presented, has strong communication skills, has successful sales experience, is confident, and thrives on interaction with people.
Don’t forget to sell the merits of working for your business......
Your business is your entire universe at the moment, but in the eyes of a candidate, you have an unknown brand, a shoe box office, and budget constraints. You need to pitch your potential growth and promote any non-financial benefits of working for your business e.g. flexible work arrangements. When you are reviewing candidates, look closely at candidates who have worked for other SMEs or who have established their own businesses and are looking to come back into the workplace. You want people who are happy to get their hands dirty, have a hint of entrepreneurial spirit, or have no interest in working for large organisations.
Contract or permanent to start with?.............
When employees are on a contract, they generally get paid on a per hour basis and there are no benefits attached such as sick leave, holiday leave, carers leave etc. Employers can either have contractors on their books or employers can hire a contractor through a recruiter. Hiring a contractor through a recruiter costs the employer more per hour but the contractor is effectively an employee of the recruitment firm so the employer has the flexibility to engage or disengage the contractor quickly without having to perform the recruitment process.
Hiring someone as a contractor or temp to start with can be a smart move to ensure that the new recruit can not only do the job, but also fits with the culture of the workplace. It also allows employers to test a flexible work arrangement before creating a more permanent position. Most of the time, candidates will work with a contract role as long as there is a view to the role becoming permanent. Keep in mind that some candidates prefer contract roles because they are short term so don’t be surprised if they move onto another opportunity.
Many employers are also happy to hire someone upfront in a permanent position. Most candidates are naturally attracted to permanent roles because it provides a sense of job security. If your business is established, there is sufficient work, and you require someone with skills that your business doesn’t have, permanent roles provide the opportunity for someone to come into the business with a medium to long term outlook.
Employment laws, staff documentation, and staff policies.........
Before hiring an employee, make sure you are up to speed on the National Employment Standards. You will need to provide a letter of offer, an employment agreement, and a job description. Once you start hiring staff, you will also need to create workplace policies (e.g. travel policy, expenses policy, flexible work policy, telecommuting policy) and have a performance measurement system to measure their work performance on a regular basis.
Make sure you visit www.fairwork.gov.au and review the ten National Employment Standards that govern our workplace. Other great resources include www.ato.gov.au and http://www.business.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
If you need help to recruit staff for your growing business, contact Kate Sykes to talk about our affordable recruitment and HR services - kate@careermums.com.au or 0400 823 914.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Permanent or contract to start with?
I provide recruitment services for SMEs around the country that don't have the time or the people to work through the recruitment process. I have noticed an increasing trend where small employers tend to offer work on a contract or casual basis to start with.
When employees are on a contract, they generally get paid on a per hour basis and there are no benefits attached such as sick leave, holiday leave, carers leave etc. Employers can either have contractors on their books or employers can hire a contractor through a recruiter. Hiring a contractor through a recruiter costs the employer more per hour but the contractor is effectively an employee of the recruitment firm so the employer has the flexibility to engage or disengage the contractor quickly without having to perform the recruitment process.
Hiring someone as a contractor or temp to start with can be a smart move to ensure that the new recruit can not only do the job, but also fits with the culture of the workplace. It also allows employers to test a flexible work arrangement before creating a more permanent position. Most of the time, candidates will work with a contract role as long as there is a view to the role becoming permanent. Keep in mind that some candidates prefer contract roles because they are short term so don’t be surprised if they move onto another opportunity.
Many employers are also happy to hire someone upfront in a permanent position. Most candidates are naturally attracted to permanent roles because it provides a sense of job security. If your business is established, there is sufficient work, and you require someone with skills that your business doesn’t have, permanent roles provide the opportunity for someone to come into the business with a medium to long term outlook.
If you decide to take someone on in a permanent role, make sure you are up to speed on the National Employment Standards. You will need to provide a letter of offer, an employment agreement, and a job description. Once you start hiring staff, you will also need to create workplace policies (e.g. travel policy, expenses policy, flexible work policy, telecommuting policy) and have a performance measurement system to measure their work performance on a regular basis.
Make sure you visitwww.fairwork.gov.au and review the ten National Employment Standards that govern our workplace.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
When flexible jobs are doomed to fail
I recently came across an employer who was recruiting for an Office
Manager role for either 2/3 days each week. This was obviously a great
opportunity for many parents keen to work part time. In the end, the manager
chose someone who could work 2 days each week.
The new recruit lasted for only 4 months. Two days was not
enough so rather than working on the arrangement, the employer let the
candidate go.
Before advertising consider the following:
- Is the role central to your entire office? Is it
paramount that someone is there daily? If it needs to be full time, can it be a
job share role?
- Do you have a job description for the role?
Sometimes job descriptions need to be re-designed to accommodate a flexible
worker. For example, what duties can be during or outside of standard office
hours, or in the workplace or at home?
- If you take someone on for 2-3 days each week, it
is going to take that person longer to settle in. Ensure you have induction and
training procedures in place to assist the person in settling in faster.
- If the role has not been done in a part time capacity
before, you could potentially offer the role as a casual role to start with to
make sure it works well.
- Manage your expectations of the role and the
length of time you are happy for someone to work in it.
- Consider the possibility that the person will be
able to increase their days/hours over time to assist the business.
- Talk to your employee. If there is a problem, don’t pretend that it will go away on its own. Sit down with your employee and work out what is working well and what isn’t. Then brainstorm a game plan to get it on track.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Five Myths About Managing Flexible Work Arrangements
By Kate Sykes and Emma Grey
Old-school managers still shrivel inside when a staff-member approaches with a flexible-work request. ‘It can’t be done!’ is the knee-jerk reaction, closely followed by ‘Shh... What if everyone wants it?’
One of the National Employment Standards, effective since 1 January 2010, provides employees with children under school-age, or children under 18 with a disability, a “right to request” a flexible work arrangement. A refusal (required in writing, within 21 days) can only be on “reasonable business grounds” and the employer must detail those reasons specifically.
Moving into the ‘Digital Age’, many workplaces still operate on Industrial Age patterns. And with an ageing population, retiring baby-boomers, Gen Y moving into parenthood and ‘Digital Natives’ coming behind them, employers – whether they’re ready for it or not - are heading into a future dominated by ‘survival of the most flexible’.
It’s not as scary as it sounds. Here are five long-held myths about flexible employment and tips on making it work.
Flexibility is just for working mums
Women comprise close to 50% of the workplace and in 65% of Australian families, both parents work. Requests to care for children are commonplace and, increasingly, caring for elderly parents is another key driver.
Transport and traffic problems in main centres have caused many employers to offer core work hours from 10am-4pm. Employees work from home outside those hours, to avoid delays.
Physical and mental illness, further education opportunities, career down-sizing for work-life balance, travel and other special needs (training as an elite sportsperson, for example) are common reasons for flexible work requests.
The retention of baby-boomers and their corporate knowledge through flexible work and semi-retirement is one of the key challenges facing workplaces today.
Once one person has it, everyone will want it
Particularly in the case of part-time work - and the reduced income that accompanies it – this isn’t true. Some employees prefer the routine and certainty of a team-based environment, where work is supervised rather than the isolation and distraction of working from home.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, and flexibility may be as simple as staggered start-times or as complex as working from another country.
Flexibility is often requested in response to the life-cycle. People drift into and out of it as their circumstances change.
Having a policy is not enough. There needs to be a formal process that the employee and manager will follow to ensure that a proposed flexible work arrangement is thoroughly considered. Providing more rigorous procedures when requesting a flexible work arrangement will not only ensure that the arrangement is thoroughly dissected, but will also ensure that ‘tyre kickers’ will be turned off by the work involved in negotiating a workable arrangement.
The team will resent it
With a well-managed flexible work arrangement, consideration will have been given to ‘who does what’, particularly during times when the employee isn’t at work. The arrangement will have been communicated clearly to the team by the manager and provision will have been made to cover off key tasks (often at the suggestion of the employee, and others in the team, who know the work best). Opportunities will have been identified for other team-members to develop, by covering some tasks in what is effectively a ‘job-share’ situation.
Ideally, stakeholders will have been consulted and will have a say in how the impact will be managed. Even law firms (particularly since the majority of law graduates are now female) are starting to communicate more with clients about how to make this work.
Once they have a flexible work arrangement, we’re stuck with it
Flexible work usually follows a life-stage or specific situation, and is often established within a trial period. If someone is sick, or has a young child or an elderly parent who requires care, if they’re involved in an important event outside of work, or if there are unique circumstances about their location – often it’s only for a fixed term.
Employees who work flexibly, work hard. They’re usually more focused, manage their time better and are more productive. If the situation is managed well, their morale is higher, they’re more loyal and their better wellbeing means fewer absences.
It’s all right for other fields, but this job can’t be done flexibly
Flexible work means anything outside standard hours and location. Some job roles can’t be done at home. Others can’t be done with varied work hours. However there might be an option to job-share with another employee with similar skills.
A thorough proposal will consider which tasks need to be done at work, which can be done elsewhere, which must be done during ‘standard hours’, which can be done outside of that, whether two staff members can share a task and whether the task needs to be done at all.
Even at a basic, informal level, “employers-of-choice” sit down with their teams at the start of each week and ask what their needs are outside work. Between them, the team openly juggles work requirements, while allowing staff the time they need to balance their lives. Talented people stay in environments like this.
Emma Grey from WorkLifeBliss and Kate Sykes from Lift Recruitment and Career Mums, run masterclasses for managers on how to create and implement flexibility in the workplace. The training is ideal for line managers and HR staff who are developing or revising flexible-work policies and procedures, and includes detailed templates for successful outcomes for the workplace and for staff.
Click here for more information and upcoming training dates.
Old-school managers still shrivel inside when a staff-member approaches with a flexible-work request. ‘It can’t be done!’ is the knee-jerk reaction, closely followed by ‘Shh... What if everyone wants it?’
One of the National Employment Standards, effective since 1 January 2010, provides employees with children under school-age, or children under 18 with a disability, a “right to request” a flexible work arrangement. A refusal (required in writing, within 21 days) can only be on “reasonable business grounds” and the employer must detail those reasons specifically.
Moving into the ‘Digital Age’, many workplaces still operate on Industrial Age patterns. And with an ageing population, retiring baby-boomers, Gen Y moving into parenthood and ‘Digital Natives’ coming behind them, employers – whether they’re ready for it or not - are heading into a future dominated by ‘survival of the most flexible’.
It’s not as scary as it sounds. Here are five long-held myths about flexible employment and tips on making it work.
Flexibility is just for working mums
Women comprise close to 50% of the workplace and in 65% of Australian families, both parents work. Requests to care for children are commonplace and, increasingly, caring for elderly parents is another key driver.
Transport and traffic problems in main centres have caused many employers to offer core work hours from 10am-4pm. Employees work from home outside those hours, to avoid delays.
Physical and mental illness, further education opportunities, career down-sizing for work-life balance, travel and other special needs (training as an elite sportsperson, for example) are common reasons for flexible work requests.
The retention of baby-boomers and their corporate knowledge through flexible work and semi-retirement is one of the key challenges facing workplaces today.
Once one person has it, everyone will want it
Particularly in the case of part-time work - and the reduced income that accompanies it – this isn’t true. Some employees prefer the routine and certainty of a team-based environment, where work is supervised rather than the isolation and distraction of working from home.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, and flexibility may be as simple as staggered start-times or as complex as working from another country.
Flexibility is often requested in response to the life-cycle. People drift into and out of it as their circumstances change.
Having a policy is not enough. There needs to be a formal process that the employee and manager will follow to ensure that a proposed flexible work arrangement is thoroughly considered. Providing more rigorous procedures when requesting a flexible work arrangement will not only ensure that the arrangement is thoroughly dissected, but will also ensure that ‘tyre kickers’ will be turned off by the work involved in negotiating a workable arrangement.
The team will resent it
With a well-managed flexible work arrangement, consideration will have been given to ‘who does what’, particularly during times when the employee isn’t at work. The arrangement will have been communicated clearly to the team by the manager and provision will have been made to cover off key tasks (often at the suggestion of the employee, and others in the team, who know the work best). Opportunities will have been identified for other team-members to develop, by covering some tasks in what is effectively a ‘job-share’ situation.
Ideally, stakeholders will have been consulted and will have a say in how the impact will be managed. Even law firms (particularly since the majority of law graduates are now female) are starting to communicate more with clients about how to make this work.
Once they have a flexible work arrangement, we’re stuck with it
Flexible work usually follows a life-stage or specific situation, and is often established within a trial period. If someone is sick, or has a young child or an elderly parent who requires care, if they’re involved in an important event outside of work, or if there are unique circumstances about their location – often it’s only for a fixed term.
Employees who work flexibly, work hard. They’re usually more focused, manage their time better and are more productive. If the situation is managed well, their morale is higher, they’re more loyal and their better wellbeing means fewer absences.
It’s all right for other fields, but this job can’t be done flexibly
Flexible work means anything outside standard hours and location. Some job roles can’t be done at home. Others can’t be done with varied work hours. However there might be an option to job-share with another employee with similar skills.
A thorough proposal will consider which tasks need to be done at work, which can be done elsewhere, which must be done during ‘standard hours’, which can be done outside of that, whether two staff members can share a task and whether the task needs to be done at all.
Even at a basic, informal level, “employers-of-choice” sit down with their teams at the start of each week and ask what their needs are outside work. Between them, the team openly juggles work requirements, while allowing staff the time they need to balance their lives. Talented people stay in environments like this.
Emma Grey from WorkLifeBliss and Kate Sykes from Lift Recruitment and Career Mums, run masterclasses for managers on how to create and implement flexibility in the workplace. The training is ideal for line managers and HR staff who are developing or revising flexible-work policies and procedures, and includes detailed templates for successful outcomes for the workplace and for staff.
Click here for more information and upcoming training dates.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Things They Didn't Tell You About Parenting
By Penny Webb
You know the drill. You fall pregnant. There is joy and happiness. There is morning sickness and nibbling on ginger biscuits to help you get through the train ride to work without throwing up in your handbag.
There are the pregnancy books and magazines. The parenting books and magazines. And before you know it, you are an ‘expert’ on birth plans, umbilical cords and pelvic floors. You happily recite to your girlfriends about how you’ll breeze back to work ninety minutes after giving birth, or at least check your emails because the hospital has Wi-Fi.
You will knowledgeably spout like a fountain all you know about understanding what babies cries mean, self-settling, attachment parenting, breastfeeding – hell; you’ll even know what a perineum is after all this!
And your mother will sit quietly sipping her tea, wondering if there was an eBook she could send you the link to and suggest you buy.
Well, now there is. It’s called Things They Didn’t Tell You About Parenting. And, for just $4.99, it will tell you ALL the things nobody told you about parenting.
Thirty two amazing parents who write (or are they writers who parent?) have created an anthology of truth, searing honesty, raw facts and emotional testament to the reality of parenthood.
My own journey was littered with pre-eclampsia (me), jaundice and reflux (baby #1), severe back pain (me again), eczema and asthma (baby #2) and a serious lack of sleep all round – including our neighbour who moved house three months after our first son was born because of the noise!
A corporate career running events worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, flying interstate and overseas in fancy-pants stilettos came to a grinding halt. That lifestyle was swapped for nappies, cardigans and ugg boots.
I wasn’t told that the best job in the world would be the hardest.
I wasn’t told that my business card with that impressive title inked there for all to see would mean squat when I had been awake with a newborn until 4am.
And I wasn’t told that I would struggle one day and high five myself the next because I’d managed to wash my hair and get out of my pyjamas before 3pm
.
I wasn’t told……..
So now we’re telling you. It’s real. It’s raw. And it’s rejuvenating. Not necessarily in that order, though.
You can find out more about Things They Didn’t Tell You About Parenting and buy a copy for $4.99 at http://thingstheydidnttellyou.com. All money raised from the book goes to the incredible Foundation 18 (http://foundation18.org), to help support orphaned girls in Indonesia. Penny Webb is a contributor to the book. She blogs at http://sshhmummysonthephone.blogspot.com.au/.
You know the drill. You fall pregnant. There is joy and happiness. There is morning sickness and nibbling on ginger biscuits to help you get through the train ride to work without throwing up in your handbag.
You will knowledgeably spout like a fountain all you know about understanding what babies cries mean, self-settling, attachment parenting, breastfeeding – hell; you’ll even know what a perineum is after all this!
And your mother will sit quietly sipping her tea, wondering if there was an eBook she could send you the link to and suggest you buy.
Well, now there is. It’s called Things They Didn’t Tell You About Parenting. And, for just $4.99, it will tell you ALL the things nobody told you about parenting.
Thirty two amazing parents who write (or are they writers who parent?) have created an anthology of truth, searing honesty, raw facts and emotional testament to the reality of parenthood.
My own journey was littered with pre-eclampsia (me), jaundice and reflux (baby #1), severe back pain (me again), eczema and asthma (baby #2) and a serious lack of sleep all round – including our neighbour who moved house three months after our first son was born because of the noise!
A corporate career running events worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, flying interstate and overseas in fancy-pants stilettos came to a grinding halt. That lifestyle was swapped for nappies, cardigans and ugg boots.
I wasn’t told that the best job in the world would be the hardest.
I wasn’t told that my business card with that impressive title inked there for all to see would mean squat when I had been awake with a newborn until 4am.
And I wasn’t told that I would struggle one day and high five myself the next because I’d managed to wash my hair and get out of my pyjamas before 3pm
.
I wasn’t told……..
So now we’re telling you. It’s real. It’s raw. And it’s rejuvenating. Not necessarily in that order, though.
You can find out more about Things They Didn’t Tell You About Parenting and buy a copy for $4.99 at http://thingstheydidnttellyou.com. All money raised from the book goes to the incredible Foundation 18 (http://foundation18.org), to help support orphaned girls in Indonesia. Penny Webb is a contributor to the book. She blogs at http://sshhmummysonthephone.blogspot.com.au/.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The challenge of how to return
By Kate Sykes, CareerMums
Many women are opting out of the workplace prematurely because they are not exploring other options with their employer – beyond their existing role.
For example, Sarah is used to working in a senior HR management role worth over $100k. Sarah now has three children and has not been working in her role for at least 2 years. She is contemplating resigning from her role because she will need to return to close to a full time capacity. Sarah is not willing to do this because her children are aged 6, 4, and 1. Juggling a senior position, school, pre-school, childcare and living in Sydney is just too much at this stage.
Sound familiar??
It seems like a clear-cut decision but the ramifications for many women in this position means a real struggle re-entering the workplace again down the track.
So what other options are there?
At some point, we have to decide what we want from our career when the kids are young. Do you upsize, maintain, downsize, or flat-line your career? It can be confronting but you have to be practical and realistic about your situation.
In Sarah’s case, she is happy to downsize her career right now. An option for Sarah is to talk to her employer about contract work or working on specific HR projects for 1-2 days per week.
This provides Sarah with the flexibility to be with her children and keep her toe in the workplace. Her employer wins as well – they get to retain a productive, loyal and experienced employee with the possibility that they can work more hours/days down the track.
Food for thought.
Many women are opting out of the workplace prematurely because they are not exploring other options with their employer – beyond their existing role.
For example, Sarah is used to working in a senior HR management role worth over $100k. Sarah now has three children and has not been working in her role for at least 2 years. She is contemplating resigning from her role because she will need to return to close to a full time capacity. Sarah is not willing to do this because her children are aged 6, 4, and 1. Juggling a senior position, school, pre-school, childcare and living in Sydney is just too much at this stage.
Sound familiar??
It seems like a clear-cut decision but the ramifications for many women in this position means a real struggle re-entering the workplace again down the track.
So what other options are there?
At some point, we have to decide what we want from our career when the kids are young. Do you upsize, maintain, downsize, or flat-line your career? It can be confronting but you have to be practical and realistic about your situation.
In Sarah’s case, she is happy to downsize her career right now. An option for Sarah is to talk to her employer about contract work or working on specific HR projects for 1-2 days per week.
This provides Sarah with the flexibility to be with her children and keep her toe in the workplace. Her employer wins as well – they get to retain a productive, loyal and experienced employee with the possibility that they can work more hours/days down the track.
Food for thought.
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