My re-start has gone very smoothly so I wanted to share with you what enabled this. As well as what some of the professional and personal challenges were so that you, as a colleague, line manager or employer, can bare these things in mind in the future.

Key challenges when returning to work

1. The biggest challenge is the emotional challenge. For me, it was mix of emotions, and a confusing mix. So, when people asked how I was feeling… I didn’t know. I missed my baby, but I also missed my colleagues when I was with my baby.
   • Solution: give people the space to talk. Instead of quickly checking in out of courtesy put some time aside to listen to the whirlwind they are experiencing (shout out to my colleague Addie here who let me talk about the mixed-up hormonal ball of emotions I was feeling without judgement and with 100% empathy).
2. Only having half the information. With a lot of things that were going on I knew some of what was happening but didn’t know what I had missed. I felt like I had the first and last chapter of a book, without the bit in the middle. Enough information for everything to make sense but also constantly feeling like something was missing.
   • Solution: Set up full briefings on everything. Even if you think nothing has changed or that the person worked on that topic before. Remember it is a re-start, so a new starter induction is needed.
3. Energy and focus. To begin with, keeping up with the pace and not letting my brain wander onto thinking “I wonder if he is eating enough at nursery today” was a struggle. It eases with time though.
   • Solution: make time. Don’t expect colleagues to go straight into the back-to-back meetings or deliver on outcomes straight away. They need time to re-train their brain to focus on work.

Strategies for an effective return to work

• Time. It sounds easy but time to adjust is the number 1 factor in a smooth re-start.
• Colleagues showing they care about your re-start by booking in a coffee with you and asking how you are feeling
• Using the Keeping in Touch (KIT) time wisely whilst on leave
• Communication with your manager in advance of the first day to check what you need and what the expectations are on both sides
• After a few weeks (or maybe months) sitting down with the re-starter and creating a new personal development plan. It may have some of the same things it did before their leave, but their perspective and priorities may have changed so give them the chance to re-start.

Finally, to all of those wonderful members who knew me before my leave ‘Hello again!’ and those I am yet to meet I’m looking forward to getting to know you. I am glad to “be back”.

To find out more about how Inclusive Employers can support you with advice and programmes for employees returning to work please contact your Account Manager (if you are a member) or send us a message.

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The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have been Inclusive Employers members for over 2 years. Its inclusive mentoring programme, which came to be called ‘Rising Together’, was developed after NMC’s Learning and Organisational Development Business Partner conducted a review of its data around career progression.

The initial motivation was to support Black and ethnic minority colleagues to progress to managerial roles, and beyond. As the team responsible for developing this programme began its discussion and internal research, they learnt that various groups within the organisation faced barriers to career progression. The team made the decision to widen to reach of the mentoring programme to all under-represented groups.

The Rising Together internal advertising campaign explained the protected characteristics. It also focused on the desire for senior leaders to learn about the obstacles that NMC employees face. This would help to support the goals of the programme:

• To improve internal policies and processes, and
• To improve our culture, to ensure everyone felt included and afforded the same opportunities.

In order to ensure the programme offered everything that its mentors and mentees would need, the NMC involved its staff networks – Workaround (disability), BMe (cultural network) and LGBT+ – and employee forum, from the beginning. Together they decided on the title of the mentoring programme, ‘Rising Together’. 91 employees applied to the mentoring scheme and 20 mentees were matched with 20 mentors for the pilot programme. Applicants were chosen by a selection panel consisting of representatives from staff networks, the employee forum, HR colleagues and two directors.

Supporting mentees through maternity leave and returning to work

This inclusive mentoring scheme has been very successful. One of its greatest success stories is the positive impact of Rising Together on mentees who have participated in the programme during their maternity leave. One of the mentees applied to be in the inclusive mentoring programme whilst their maternity leave was in progress. The employees line manager thought it would increase their confidence and feelings of being supported when returning to work.

NMC’s Learning and Organisational Development Business Partner felt this was a great opportunity to maximise the impact of the inclusive mentoring programme. It was agreed the employee would use their keeping in touch days to participate in mentoring sessions and the learning events that were part of the programme. This employees’ mentor was an HR colleague. As a result of her feedback and their mentoring relationship, improvements have been made to NMC’s maternity policies. Although both parties of this mentoring relationship had not identified each other as their preferred choice for being paired with, they both reflected afterwards:

“… we realised we were perfectly matched.  We have now become more than mentor/mentee and have become friends, both having learned so much from one another“

Rising Together participants

Inclusive mentoring success!

This mentee has now returned from maternity leave and been promoted. She attributes this to the confidence she gained from being a part of the mentorship programme and having kept her corporate knowledge up to date. NMC’s Learning and Organisational Development Business Partner reflects:

“We have been delighted to see her child on the screen during occasions when virtual learning sessions have been taking place.  So many children, pets and other family members have been joining in with our sessions – it has felt truly inclusive!“

Learning and Organisational Development Business Partner, NMC

Another mentee applied for the programme whilst she was pregnant. Her maternity leave began half way through the programme and she decided to continue this relationship throughout it. Her mentor was a male manager who has also learnt a lot from participating in this programme:

“He is learning how better to support all his team and their individual needs and discuss topics he previously would have avoided.  He has been particularly impressed with how his mentee is preparing for both motherhood and a smooth transition back into the workplace.“

Learning and Organisational Development Business Partner, NMC

The success of these mentoring partnerships is highlighted by the fact that both of the relationships spotlighted here have continued beyond the 6 month time period that was set for the programme. In another partnership, the mentor left the organisation but continued to support their mentee for the duration of the programme!

NMC’s experience highlights the brilliant benefits for employees and organisations alike, when they design and deliver considered, inclusive programmes. Other successful outcomes include:

• 6 out of the 20 mentees of the programme have now been promoted,
• all 20 reported feeling more confident around applying for future roles, and their development in general,
• the mentors have enjoyed seeing where they can help others, both from mentoring and from making changes to make the organisation more inclusive. One commented:

“The programme acts as a reminder to treat everybody as an individual and not make assumptions”

After such fantastic outcomes, NMC’s Learning and Organisational Development Business Partner is now busy carrying out a full evaluation of this pilot programme and planning to introduce the next cohort of mentees and mentoring to ‘Rising Together’.

For more information about mentoring programmes and how Inclusive Employers can support you with this, please get in touch via info@inclusiveemployers.co.uk.

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