Kingsley Napley is a law firm based in London. Founded in 1937, today it has 481 members of staff, of which 70% are female, including 56% of its 75 partners.
Charlotte White, HR officer at Kingsley Napley, says: “We want to be a family-friendly workplace, where everyone feels supported both at home and at work. Family circumstances pay a huge part in employee wellbeing.”
As part of its package of family-friendly benefits, Kingsley Napley offers parental leave coaching through P&P Coaching. All members who take parental leave can have three coaching sessions, one before leave, one during, and one within the first eight weeks of returning to work.
“Having a child is a big life change,” says White. “It’s a joyous time but it can be stressful too so we want to support our employees through this transition.”
All of the coaching is confidential, with the agenda driven by the individual employee and their needs. Topics could include putting together a handover plan before they take leave, reconnecting with colleagues when looking to come back, and negotiating going part-time if they want to change their work-life balance.
“Some employees might focus more on the career aspects while others, especially when it’s a first child, may want to explore how they will adapt to family life,” says White. “It’s completely up to them what they want to cover.”
Feedback from Kingsley Napley employees who have benefited from the parental coaching shows that it is a valued part of the organisation’s benefits package. As well as employees saying it was useful and that it made them feel supported, one commented that having the coaching had even encouraged them to go for a promotion.
White says: “This is in line with our firm values of integrity and fairness. We want our firm-members to know that having a family isn’t a hindrance to their career progression.”