Four strategies to successfully navigate career breaks in the legal sector

Talent retention

On the other hand, strategies that support the retention of returning talent tend to focus on:

• demonstrable transparency around career progression opportunities, and
• building confidence.
  
  

Confidence to return

Confidence is such a big topic for returner, considering the inevitable shift in priorities and the consequent feelings of uncertainly. Not infrequently, people express feeling, at best, at sea, at worse, entirely alone, as working parent guilt and people pleasing go into unhealthy overdrive. Struggles ensue around asserting healthy boundaries - or asserting themselves – due to fears around so-called “loud” parenting or, perhaps, not knowing the new team, updated case law or technological advances.

Clearly, there are gold-standard ways to handle time away, as well as less than ideal approaches. Here are four ways to embrace returner talent, whether as a returner yourself, or as an organisation committed to successfully supporting a returner’s return. This could involve offering individualised support or by educating team members and line managers on how to become better colleagues.

Four ways to embrace returner talent - for returners

1.  An often-overlooked piece in the returner puzzle, is the bit before the career break even starts. Prepare for it, and leave your work in a way that you'd like to come back to, ready to hit the ground running should you choose to do so. This includes having those all-important conversations about communication whilst you are away, and career progression on your return.

2.  During the break, consider how you wish to communicate, if at all, with work colleagues and clients, and have a plan around contact to effectively manage your imminent return and ease the transition. This might involve trialling childcare, accessing Keep in Touch Days, or consider new ways of working.

3.  Returning requires a certain mindset and positive mental health, particularly when it comes to working parent guilt and avoiding overwhelm. So work, perhaps with a career break returner coach, on staying positive, confident, resourceful and resilient. Anticipate conversations and challenges before they become too difficult:

• How can you remain present, retain optimum focus and reduce digital distraction? What time management tools do you find useful? Eisenhower’s 4 Ds method perhaps, time blocking, or how about the Pomodoro technique?
• Are you clear on your boundaries? What are your non-negotiables? How will you assert them? Can you learn to say no positively?!

4.  Finally, when considering career progression beyond, ask yourself: “Who am I now?” Identify your goals, and re-define success as you see it, now as opposed to in the past. Your break will undoubtedly change you, even if only in small part. Be ready to progress only when you are ready – no one else.  Don’t be afraid to lean on mentors, role models or peer to peer support groups, whilst upping business development and networking.

Four ways to embrace returner talent - for law firms and other legal organisations

Here are four strategies to improve the returner’s experience:

1. Offer meaningful, practical support which could include:.

• Altered lunch breaks and discrete/ private rooms to accommodate new mothers wishing to breastfeed/ express.
• Increased use of online Zoom/ teams or other cloud-based video platforms, to support flexible, remote working from home, whilst making business development and training more accessible too.
• Offer formalised returner coaching/ training programmes.

2. Deploy effective mentors and role models, and encourage parenting or other special interest groups for returners to align with a supportive 'team'. This 'team' could include their actual team, or colleagues within the wider firm, whether peers or leaders.

3. Improve parenting policies around shared parental leave.

4.  Don’t make assumptions around career development. Ask returners directly about their needs and ambitions, whilst openly encouraging progression if that is what they want.

For a more in-depth exploration of all these coaching strategies - and more - access the Return and riseonline course for career break returners. For career break return coaching enquiries, whether as an individual or organisation, contact Nikki Alderson by email [email protected] or via the website.