
How to Attract and Hire Working Mothers
If you run a business, no matter how big or small, there is likely to be a working mom on your payroll. There are lots of jobs for mothers and it is the employer’s job to advertise it as such to attract the right kind of work. Working mothers are doing their best to maintain work-life balance which includes many different things. Sometimes, a workplace mom can feel as if they are struggling. This is when it becomes important to create jobs for single moms and create mom-friendly workplaces. Working moms are some of the best employees that you will have because of their hard working and driven attitude. Here is a list of 11 ways that you can attract working moms to work for you.
Key Takeaways
- Provide accommodations that go above and beyond what is required.
- Communicate your company values and culture.
- Create a space where parents can speak their concerns.
- Adjust transition plans for specific situations.
- Craft enticing returning to work opportunities.
1. Look Inward at Your Company
When considering how you will attract working moms to your business. Instead of thinking about what you can change going forward, look to the past first. Look at company data and draw conclusions based on the behavior of mothers who have or do currently work for you. Have they been vocal about the existence or lack of accommodations? Have they worked there for a short time only? Consider what kind of culture you have created and determine if a mother would like to work at your company. This way, you can identify outdated policy and make changes accordingly. It will help you get things going on the right note.
2. Communication Is Key
When advertising for a position at your company, one thing that every applicant is look at is the benefits that you offer. It is important to be transparent about the kind of benefits that you offer including those that are associated with working moms. If you feel as if your company has a culture that would mesh well with a working mother, consider labeling your job posting as a mom-friendly workplace. Helping filter your job correctly will attract the right kind of applicants and hard-working moms are exactly the kind of employees you want. This is just one of the many ways that you can communicate to create the best outcome possible.
3. Offer Daycare
Something often offered at larger companies, but can be offered at those of any size, is daycare within the office. Daycare is almost a necessity nowadays. Often, all guardians of a child are working as well as other family members. It makes it difficult to find childcare that is affordable. If your business can offer daycare to your employees, you will have lots of working moms willing to work for you.
In addition, due to the pandemic, many moms had to quit their jobs in order to provide childcare. As we ease our way back into normalcy, moms are ready to get back out there. Childcare is not only a positive thing for the mothers, but also for the business and the economy as a whole.
4. Provide workplace accommodations
While there are so many accommodations that can be offered to all employees, there are a few that apply only to those that are caring for children while they work. This means that offering things to working moms that might not be offered elsewhere will have that wanting to work for you. Providing areas for breastfeeding, private refrigerators and extending break times are just a few small things you can do to make a workplace more mom friendly. It truly is all about the little things you can do to help them make their day-to-day just a little easier.
5. Flexible hours
If there’s one thing any mom can tell you, it is that things randomly come up with kids all of the time. There could be some notice, but there is a lot of small emergencies that happen. Working moms need flexible hours or the ability to give you a short notice when things come up. This could be anything from basketball games to picking their children up from school to meeting with teachers. It’s important that working moms know that whatever they need to do for their children, it can be done without risking their job. In fact, flexibility is the number one thing that moms consider when returning to work.
Tops 3 things moms consider when returning to work:
- Flexibility (71%)
- Strong benefits (38%)
- Supportive boss (31%)
6. Great Maternal Leave
There always has been and always will be women in the workplace that become pregnant and need to take maternal leave. Unfortunately, maternal leave is often too short and even unpaid. Attract the working mothers by offering a great maternal leave that includes ample time for their recovery and bonding as well as have it be paid. This is one of the biggest things that you can do to provide support to those who become pregnant.
While maternity leave is often offered to applicants, in the U.S., it is rarely paid. Most countries offer 24 weeks of paid maternity leave. It is clear that the U.S. is lagging, but you can help be a part of the few that offer paid maternity leave. Even if you only offer 4 weeks of paid maternity leave, that is still much more than a lot of companies are currently offering.
7. Determine Transition Plans
Not every woman is cut from the same stone. Each woman’s body is different and requires different things when it comes to transitioning out of and into the workplace with maternal leave. In addition, job-specific needs when it comes to transitioning must also be discussed. When trying to attract women to your workplace, make sure to communicate that you are ready to meet their needs. For example, consider a woman who needed a C-section and has a laborious job versus a woman who did not have a C-section and has a desk job. These are two very different situations, and it is up to the employer to reach out and help determine the best course of action for a transition plan.
8. Create a Space to Talk About Their Needs
Oftentimes, companies think they know exactly what their employees need all of the time. Unfortunately, some things slip through the cracks leaving employees frustrated and in need of change. One thing that you can offer as part of attracting working moms, as well as all working guardians, is giving them a place to voice their concerns and needs. Offer a space in which healthy conversation can take place so you, as an employer, can meet their needs accordingly and more efficiently. It is a really easy way and takes all of the guessing out of what to offer to your employees.
9. Continuously Check Your Policy
One of the simplest things you can do to make your company more attractive to working moms is just checking your policy on maternal leave, accommodations and more. It becomes really easy to assume everything is up to date and running smoothly, but time flies and opinions on procedures change quickly. Do yourself a favor and take a beat to analyze how your company has been doing things and adjust accordingly. It can save a bigger issues down the road.
The biggest issues moms in the workplace face:
- Little to no paid maternal leave
- No flexibility when returning to work
- Discrimination in the workplace
- Ability to find and afford childcare
10. Programs and Educational Opportunities
While providing daycare is a great option, why not take it another step further? Likely, if you are trying to attract working moms to your place of business, it means that you value them like other companies may not. Daycare is sometimes not enough to soothe a mom’s mind as she transitions into work. Access to proper education and other opportunities through your company is the cherry on top to seal the deal with working moms. Moms don’t just need someone to look after their child, but someone to engage them and help them learn. Create an educational environment and help working moms seek out opportunities for their child to advance their education. It is just one way to take accommodations another step further.
11. Make DEI a Central Ideal in Your Workplace
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Diversity is the presences of different races, genders, religions, sexual orientations and more. Equity is fairness in your process that also understand societal disparities. Inclusion is creating a culture where all are welcome to share their ideas and participate to the same degree as their peers. If you employ all of these things at your workplace, any working mother is going to feel good about working for you. DEI ensures that they will have a positive environment to work in. Creating this kind of workplace does take time, but it does a lot of good for your entire business. Additionally, you must have all three in order for them to work properly.
The Bottom Line
Working mothers are not your average worker, they may be balancing more, but they are also the hardest working people you are ever going to meet. They have a drive like none other. It is always in our best interest to attract them to our workplace. There are a lot of things that employers can do to make a workplace more enticing for them to want to work at. Basically, offer lots of accommodations and always be communicating. Creating a space that is welcoming and is always ready for growth is key for attracting working mothers to your workplace.
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