Congratulations: You’re having a baby! Between reveling in the news, taking weekend power naps (while you can) and dreaming about your future mini-me, you might begin panicking about how your life will change — including your professional life.
Sure, you’ll probably take a break from late nights at the office and Friday happy hours, but having a baby doesn’t mean you have to put your career on hold. After all, more than 70% of mothers with children under 18 are in the workforce, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Whether you are carrying the babe, or your spouse is, here are some tips to prepare for your family leave:
Have a solid communications plan – starting with your manager
Similar to any job change, you’ll want to consider how and when to communicate your good news. As hard as it is not to share your exciting news with favorite work friends first, it’s best to start with your manager. By talking with your manager early on, you can determine the best approach for sharing the news broadly, when appropriate.
Share it like the good news it is
Sharing the big news with your manager and co-workers can be a stressful experience. Understandably, you’ll be wondering: How will people react? Will they be happy? Will this impact your career progression? While it can be daunting, share the news with confidence and excitement, knowing that what you say influences how people perceive the news and ultimately respond. This is another reason why it is crucial to have a plan in place prior to announcing it so you can provide specifics and instill confidence amongst your team as you lead up to the transition.
Determine the timing of your announcement
When you share your news is entirely up to you, and if you’re the one who is pregnant it may be influenced by how you’re feeling, how early you start showing and what your relationships at work are like. It’s best to assess the situation based on your workplace environment, individual manager and your level of comfort. In my case, I shared my news with my manager at around 12 weeks, but other coworkers and friends I know shared this information as early as six weeks. The difference? They had morning sickness and luckily, I did not.
The longer you wait, the more likely it is that you will lose control of your message. An equally important consideration is to move quickly – once you tell one person, tell the rest. While a phased approach is natural, expediting those communications will help colleagues feel well informed about the news and give them time to think about the coverage plan during your leave.
Develop a transition plan
To create a comprehensive coverage plan, you’ll want to make note of your responsibilities day-to-day and week-to-week. To do this, you can review your work calendar, long lead project plans, reoccurring tasks, etc. For each activity, clarify your role in the project and the responsibilities involved. Lastly, partnering with your manager, determine who is going to provide coverage in your absence and begin outlining a transition plan. Once a plan is in place, share it with your manager and discuss it as a team. Together, you can align how responsibilities will be covered and by whom.
Initiate the knowledge transfer
Consider the specific information that your colleagues will need as they take over projects. This is vital in making sure they’re set up for success while you are on family leave. I recommend outlining the projects or processes that you currently own, and providing links to relevant background materials, in a single document so everything is one place. This process can also help you identify where you might need documentation and supporting materials that may or may not exist.
Connecting for brief but regular conversations with those you will be handing work over to is also helpful. While documentation is a foundational tactic, 1:1 conversations are always helpful to provide dialogue and ensure you’re providing the right level of detail to adequately prepare your co-workers. Go with what works best with your team and company culture.
Get grounded in your benefits
In addition to preparing others for your leave, you’ll want to prepare yourself, too. Make sure you understand your family leave benefits. Start having conversations early about what’s included and what’s recommended. Talk with your HR partner and your benefits specialist, and also seek advice from those who’ve been through it before.
Prepare for departure
As your leave approaches, delegate more. This gives those taking over projects ownership while still working alongside you should questions arise. If you’ve been prepping in advance, you can make the gradual shift from taking on new work to providing final counsel, reassurance and comfort to those who are going to be leading the work during your leave.
Appreciate that your team is capable and that you’ve done everything you can to prepare them for the transition. And now, it’s time to prepare yourself for welcoming a tiny new addition into your family!