Surveys

Managing Maternity Survey 2008

Results of the Managing Maternity 2008 survey will be available soon. 

AXA ICAS in partnership with Managing Maternity Limited invited Human Resource and Diversity Professionals across the UK to take part in our annual benchmarking survey into workplace practice on maternity management and retention.

Key trends identified by the survey include:

• Longer maternity leave - average is now 8.8 months, with longer leave reported in the private sector and larger organisations. In 39% of organisations, average maternity leave is between 10 and 12 months. This has important consequences for organisations looking to enable a successful return, particularly given the economic climate and the pace of workplace change during the maternity leave period.
• There is an indication that return to work rates are falling. The average return to work rate is 81.6%, compared to 84% in 2007. 50% of organisations say it is lower for second or subsequent children. Why? It is possible that the economic climate leads women to look at different options, rather than return to an uncertain workplace. Longer maternity leave could also lead to women re-evaluating work / family priorities. Increasing cost of childcare could be a factor. This also corresponds with the growth of female entrepreneurs.
• Flexible working is becoming more embedded but there appears to be a split between the perception among senior managers of the importance of flexible working and the experience of line managers around implementation. Half say it causes logistical problems, 35% believe it causes resentment among colleagues and one in ten believe it shows a lack of commitment.
• Role of line managers is vital – 74% said that reluctance or difficulty experienced by managers in implementing flexible working has an impact on the decision of women to leave the organisation after having a baby. Managers are effective at ensuring continuity, recruiting cover, Health & Safety and Risk Assessment but when it comes to the career development of women returning after maternity leave, supporting the effective use of Keeping in Touch days, as well as saying the right things / dealing with the emotions, managers are seen as much less effective.
• Keeping in Touch Days – uptake is at best sporadic, with more than a third (37%) of organisations saying that less than 10% of women have taken up this option since their introduction in 2007. In spite of low uptake, 70% of organisations said they are effective in helping to enable a smooth return to work
• Fathers – 38% of organisations reported an increase in fathers looking at and taking up flexible working options. 60% of organisations said they foresee a high level of interest by fathers in the possibility of taking Additional Paternity Leave.

Read a full copy of the survey report by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

AXA ICAS Survey Identifies Top HR Issues

We are consistently told of the burden to the UK economy of people issues such as absence, retention, and organisational change, but with limited resources where do HR departments need to focus their efforts?

The results of July 2007 AXA ICAS survey has identified what UK businesses consider to be the main challenges currently facing HR. The attached graph shows how the main issues varied according to the size of the organisation. Performance Management was the most frequently cited issue by respondents to the poll with nearly two thirds saying this is currently one of the top three challenges they face.

Performance management was much less important to organisations with fewer than 100 employees.

The greatest challenge was recruitment and retention.

Just over one third claimed this was one of their top three issues.

One in three cited diversity and equality as a top issue.

Recruitment and retention was much lower on the agenda. Only 25% of those employing more than 5,000 workers identified this as one of their top issues.

Approximately 50% of businesses of this size claimed that supporting employees was a top HR issue.

Flexible working was identified as a top issue for nearly a third of respondents who employ fewer than 250 workers but no company with more than 1,000 employees saw this as a top HR issue.