HR Discussion: Maternity Cover

The 2009 Baby Boom- How To Recruit Your Perfect Maternity Cover
 

With Mother's Day just gone, it's a timely reminder to ensure that you're set up appropriately to cope with maternity leave. Are you following best practice? Lucy Eckersley reveals the potential pitfalls of recruiting for maternity cover and how to overcome them.

Having worked in interim recruitment for some years, we are no strangers to the baby boom phenomenon at Bullet. But we are surprised to see that in this tough economic climate it seems to be happening again.

Is pregnancy a good option to ride out the credit-crunch? With the average cost of raising a child to its 21st birthday now at £194,000 (according to the insurers LV=) we can hardly see this being financially viable in the long-term. Yet some feel the protection offered by employment law around maternity leave is the best way of retaining their job; and dealing with bibs and cots is far more appealing than handling a recession.

Whatever the reason behind it, employers are left stuck when a member of the team announces the visit from the stork is imminent. So what things should you consider when it happens? How do you make sure you go about balancing the needs of your business with those of your expectant employee?

Can we cope?

Internal cover is the preferred cost free option for many of our clients. This can be problematic upon the mother's return though. For example, when a role has been covered by someone more junior the returnee may feel her role's been devalued. And what room is there for progression for the worker who stepped up to the challenge? If the answer is none, you may well find your employee looking for opportunities elsewhere.

Stretching resources to cover a role can detract from other areas and result in a pretty significant skill gap. Recruiting an external solution ensures you gain the appropriate experience, professionalism and impartiality many line managers feel is invaluable and its much cleaner when the mother returns.

Holding the reins

Should expectant HR professionals recruit for their own maternity cover? This could create more problems than it solves. Keen to retain control over the selection process, many admit to purposely recruiting someone who's unthreatening. The last thing she wants is to be upstaged by someone who's brighter, more talented and efficient whilst she's away.

Keeping the expectant mother out of the loop when recruiting the cover is also risky. Taking control away completely at a time that's already stressful can lead her to worry about the security of her role and the levels of trust and respect for her within the business. After all, it's only a temporary solution and not a permanent replacement.

What to look for

You're spoilt for choice - the pool of candidates now willing to take on maternity contracts has grown vastly in light of recent economic developments.

HR professionals who have been made redundant, for example, could be a great option. These candidates previously wouldn't consider 6-12 month contracts, but are now keen to do project work - eager for the security this offers. And if the new mother decides not to return, the chances are they would take the role on permanently so you wouldn't need to re-recruit. But you need to make sure you're 100% convinced of their motives and commitment - the last thing you want is for them to scarper at the first sniff of a permanent offer elsewhere.

With the absence of deliverables, milestones and targets, maternity cover contracts are sometimes regarded by career interims as 'baby-sitting' or 'seat-warming' positions. True interim management positions should be business driven; maternity covers are naturally driven by an individual's personal circumstances and hence they are less attractive to true career interims. 

Ultimately a successful cover will be provided by an individual who is happy to mentor and develop a team, someone who can sensitively implement and expand on strategy and who can take over the reins without rocking the boat.

Prepare for the unexpected

When recruiting a maternity cover, you never fully know if you're hiring a short-term stand-in or a long-term replacement. Ideally, you would approach all maternity covers as potentially permanent in order to attract the best talent but legally and morally this will always cause problems.

Look to the next 6-12 months; focus on business objectives. For example, if you're recruiting a generalist maternity cover but are approaching a period of salary reviews, choosing an interim generalist candidate with an emphasis on compensation and benefits is a great solution to getting the best level of performance.

Top tips

Ensure you're fully aware of the policies and procedures involved - it can be a legal minefield so be prepared!

Communication is key. Issues generally stem from lack of communication causing insecurities and confusion internally; ensure communication lines are open at all times. This way, there's less trepidation for the departing mother and adequate support for the contractor.

Make sure that there's a reasonable period of handover so the rest of the team are not left 'holding the baby' whilst you're recruiting the role.

Be flexible - you can never predict how to manage every maternity cover situation. A client of ours recently asked us to recruit a maternity cover for someone currently already covering a maternity! Now that is what I call I challenge!

Lucy heads up the Interim practice at Bullet, which includes a dedicated maternity cover function.  For more information,Contact us.