What are 8 out of 10 Leaders not comfortable doing?

This month we're exploring the role of People Leaders in creating workplaces that are inclusive, and where individuals can thrive both professionally and personally.??

But first, co-founder Tracy Gunn joined RTE's??Richard Curran on The Business?to discuss all things leadership, Simon Harris, and his?new role as?Taoiseach.? They also discussed how he'd balance being the leader of the country with his young family. Lots covered in 6 minutes, you can listen back here.?

We know that being a People Leader is an increasingly complex role. People leaders are now managing diverse and multi-generational teams, supporting employees through challenges that different life stages bring whilst delivering business results.

As legislation and policy continue to evolve organizations are responding by introducing a range of policies to support employees through moments that matter in life. But policies are only as good as the people implementing them.?

Leaders are now tasked with responding to a wide range of issues that they feel ill-equipped to talk about from sensitive topics like miscarriage, fertility, and domestic violence to mental health and shared family leave. However, from our research:

8 out of 10 Leaders say they aren't confident having sensitive conversations about these topics in the workplace.??

Discrimination faced by new parents

Added to the complexity of managing modern families, co-founder Michelle O'Keeffe ?? talked to The Independent newspaper and?shared examples of discrimination that parents, usually women, face in workplaces every day after family leave, comments like 'I hope there are no more surprises'.? You can read more here.?

People Leaders play a pivotal role in creating workplaces that are inclusive, fair, and where people feel supported. Do you feel equipped?

What's the ROI of investing in leaders?

Stanford conducted an extensive five-year study involving nearly 24,000 workers and approximately 2,000 Managers. They found replacing a poor manager with a good manager resulted in a 13% increase in productivity.

A Harvard study proved that employee experience drives revenue. When employees have a positive experience, uplifts of 50% in sales can be achieved.

Studies by Gallup reveal that Managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units

A study of over 900 employees by Catalyst discovered that employees with highly empathic senior leaders report higher levels of creativity (61%) and engagement (76%) than those with less empathic senior leaders (13% and 32%, respectively).

EY, in their Empathy in Business survey, found that 86% of employees believe empathetic leadership improves morale and helps create an inclusive environment. BUT, you've got to mean it. According to EY, 52% of employees believe their company’s efforts to be empathetic toward employees are dishonest. So if you're trying to fake it, you may do more harm than good.

Equipping leaders with the skills to lead modern families benefits everyone. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it also makes commercial sense.

We'll be sharing our recommendations in our People Leader Series on 9th April from 11-11.30am. If you'd like to hear more, reserve your virtual seat by registering registering here.

As ever, we're here to transform how you support modern families at work. Drop us a note at [email protected] if you'd like to chat.

Til then, all the best,

Team Platform55