By Priscilla Poirier, Toronto IT Recruiter
Hiring to cover a maternity leave is a very different situation than hiring to fill a vacant position. There are many variables at play, and how you approach hiring for a maternity leave can have a big impact on company culture, employee satisfaction, performance, and many other internal factors.
Don’t Try to Get By Without Filling the Gap
Some companies, rather than fill the gap with a temporary employee, try to get by without hiring. They spread out the duties of the employee going on mat leave to other people, adding more to their plates and expecting them to pick up the slack. While this can work in the short term, it can also have a huge negative impact on office morale. It could also impact the performance of the people who now have an increased workload.
Tips for Listing a Mat Leave Position
When creating an ad for a maternity leave position:
- Make it clear the role is temporary
- Communicate the length of the employment term
- Post the ad in a timely manner – so you can hire and train prior to the employee going on maternity leave
- Know that senior level positions are more difficult to fill for maternity leaves – consider using a recruiter to help with your search
- Make it clear whether or not the position could lead to a full-time time position
Use Mat Leaves as a Long Term Job Interview
Even though your main objective is to hire someone to adequately cover a maternity leave, there is also an opportunity to use this time to see if your new temporary employee could be an option for another full time position in your company. What better way to get to know the real skills and abilities of a professional then to have them work in your office for 6 months or a year? Plus, they will already be familiar with how your company operates. Why let this training and experience walk out the door if you could use them once the person on mat leave returns to work?
Making the effort to find the right person can also benefit your company if the person on maternity leave decides not to come back to work. This can change once a person takes a leave, and having the right person as a replacement could turn out to be the permanent solution for the position.
Get more hiring tips from our recruiters by reading these blog posts:
Has Digital Recruiting Put the Power in the Hands of the Talent?
55+ Is One of Canada’s Hottest Job Markets
Red Alert! 10 Reasons Why Your Recruiting Strategy Is Failing
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