roundtable


her maternity leave; having missed nine months, she felt she was ‘not worthy’ to contribute to discussions, and that the world had moved on in her absence.


Taylor suggested the wider use of ‘Keeping in Touch days’, whereby returners are invited to company events, seminars, training, and generally made to feel involved.


Shimmin expanded on this: “You don’t stop being part of the team when on maternity leave. If there are any internal mutterings, I ask the relevant people how they would like their wives or sisters to be treated ... which tends to prompt a different answer. It can’t be just a management exercise, it has to be a whole team buy-in.”


Collis agreed: “It’s all about ownership – it’s not just a ‘tick the box’ exercise. It’s about accepting that everybody is different; some people need a bit of a push but you can’t just keep going through the motions. The benefits include absolute commitment to the business; I’ve seen it with one of my team, a returner, who is now one of our best advocates and if anybody is concerned about returning after maternity leave, I just direct them to her.”


McQueen noted that human resource departments already had processes in place for long-term sickness, but that such processes were often lacking for those returning from maternity leave.


Rowe expanded upon this, saying that conversations had to revolve around, “where do you want to get to, and how do you want to get there?”, rather than simply parachuting returners back into their previous roles.


Bradley agreed with the need for good management for returners, but was nervous about aligning maternity leave with long-term sick leave. She went on to make the point that, ”Flexible and part-time workers always tend to do more than required because they appreciate the flexibility; but there is a two-way relationship with business when they are part-time so it is your duty of care as a manager to set the agenda.”


Shimmin picked up on real risk of losing people by failing to adequately manage them back to work. She also made the observation that, “A man will tend to tell you about his job description, whereas a woman will tell you what she does. Men aspire for promotion whereas women are more concerned about doing a good job….so the organisation structure tends not to encourage women to seek promotion.”


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH COAST – MARCH/APRIL 2017 Flexible working hours


Brenda Long, chairman of Blandy & Blandy, expanded on the point of senior people setting an example for flexible working in the organisation, using her own company by way of reference. “A number of our female partners work four days a week, but the men won’t do it; they are concerned it will affect their career progression in the firm.”


Davis stressed the need for management by objectives, not by hours, to counter this perception and to reduce this culture of needing to be seen at work to be perceived as working. She went on to make the point that shared parental leave would drive different behaviours and reduce the pressure on men to conform to old stereotypes.


McQueen then raised the interesting point that the way jobs are advertised is still very old-fashioned, with roles usually carrying the description of the daily working hours (eg 9am – 5.30pm) rather than the working week required (eg 37.5 hours per week). Given that the majority of the roles are flexible, employers should likewise be flexible and transparent right from the outset.


Role models


In bringing the discussion to a close, Napier-Munn asked the roundtable, who they felt to be an exceptional role model to Women in Business and why?


Both Davis and Collis cited Nicola Horlick as a role model, being a woman who managed to normalise so many taboos and stereotypes, such as the need to power-dress whilst building a multi-million pound asset management business and coping with an eventful personal life.


Shimmin demurred: “I worry that role models such as Nicola Horlick could be perceived as unattainable and difficult to relate to for most women. I prefer my role models to be closer to home; for example, the partner who put me forward for promotion 20 years ago is my role model. Being able to see that little bit further down the career path was incredibly useful.”


Nicola McQueen


Kate Collings


Laura Davis


Tamsin Napier Munn businessmag.co.uk 25


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