Managing Maternity

AXA ICAS in partnership with Managing Maternity Ltd helps organisations support and retain women through the transition of pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work.

Our range of integrated consultancy, coaching, development and LifeManagement™ services ensure that organisations are best placed to keep their female talent, boost loyalty and build their reputation as an employer of choice. Individual women benefit from an unrivalled package of coaching, support and practical assistance on issues such as childcare, which women tell us they really value at a time of complex transition.

Maternity Management services

We work with you to create a tailor-made solution to suit your organisation's culture, which could include a rolling annual programme, drawing on:

Maternity Coaching programme - The Maternity Project™
A unique structured programme with a mix of face-to-face and telephone coaching pre-maternity leave, during maternity leave and on return to work, focusing on the key issues faced by women around transition, work, parenting, self-image and support. The aims are to increase a sense of support, ease the transition into motherhood, enhance goal setting and project planning, and encourage a confident return to work.
Training / Group Coaching
- The Manager's Guide to Successful Maternity
- Having it All: How do you combine working and motherhood?
- Managing the Balance - Returning to work after a new baby
Workshops for managers, for pregnant women / women returning to work, designed to improve the understanding and experience of maternity in the workplace. Participants are encouraged to make practical action-plans and to identify areas in which they can obtain further support and information (including using LifeManagement™ services). A Group Coaching situation can be invaluable for building supportive internal networks, which contribute to employee loyalty. Clients are finding our workshops for women a good option for including in a Keeping in Touch day during maternity leave.
Lunchtime seminars
A series of short briefings, ideal for lunchtime meetings and parent networks on a range of topical parenting subjects.
Consultancy including MAMA audit and guidelines for managers
We help you audit and review the effectiveness of your organisation's policies and practices in managing maternity. We also develop guidelines for managers to encourage a successful, consistent approach to maternity across the organisation.
Training for internal coaches and mentors
Where a broader internal coaching or mentoring service is in place, we develop skills and understanding of what's different about maternity and the transitions women go through. We also support clients' informal mentoring networks of mothers who may be linked up with each other following return to work and who benefit from research-based insights and tools.
Pre-maternity leave review
A facilitated review process between a pregnant employee and her line manager to look at how they will manage the transition from maternity leave through return to work, taking into account business needs, flexible working policies and practical considerations.

LifeManagement™ link

For those organisations with an AXA ICAS Employee Assistance Programme, the LifeManagement™ element of the service can be accessed by women in support of their return to work plans. This service can guide an employee through all the practical issues they may face when managing their work and family commitments and assist them to make a successful and smooth return to the workplace.

Information, practical guidance and support can be provided in the following areas:

Childcare options - making the decision, locating providers and managing the ongoing relationship
Issues affecting working parents, e.g. employment rights relating to time off work for dependants, parental leave, flexible working etc.
Financial Planning e.g. child trust funds, tax credits/state benefits
Parenting support i.e. practical tips on child behaviour issues

AXA ICAS in partnership with Managing Maternity Ltd

As Europe's leading EAP provider, AXA ICAS is uniquely placed to help organisations integrate maternity management services in the broader context of managing the risks of stress at work, work-life balance and life management.

AXA ICAS maternity management services are provided in partnership with Managing Maternity Ltd.

Managing Maternity Ltd brings specialist expertise and a team of skilled coaches and trainers who are all professional working mothers, adding a unique perspective and enthusiasm for the subject. All share the passionate belief that it is possible to combine maternity, work and parenthood successfully and that it takes new skills and thinking to do so.

Click here to read the latest Maternity Matters newsletter.

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