Cast your mind back a few weeks, if you will, to 2 January, 2008 – the day many of you will have returned to work after the Christmas break. Remember what a shock it was to the system, hauling yourself out of bed and onto public transport that freezing morning? Just getting through that first day back seemed to require a monumental effort.

If any of this sounds familiar, you can start to imagine the rollercoaster of emotions felt by many employees returning to the workplace after a long period of absence. The most common examples tend to involve employees returning from maternity leave, secondment and long-term sick leave. In recent years there has been greater recognition by law firms of the benefits to both the individual and the organisation of providing a higher degree of support than has historically been given.

Maternity coaching

Women have always had babies and this will inevitably interrupt their careers – so why is this a particular issue right now? There are two significant reasons why women are becoming increasingly important in the legal profession:

l investment: 60% of trainees are women – more than half the new intake to the profession each year, a huge proportion of the workforce. Despite this, only around 5% go on to make partnership; and

l diversity: there is a much greater emphasis on this in society generally. More and more, clients want to know the diversity policies of the law firms on its panel. Barclays is one such organisation, and Wal-Mart reportedly in 2005 asked its 100 panel firms to nominate female lawyers and those from ethnic minorities as relationship partners.

So, how can bringing in external coaches help make the return to work smoother? Despite more than three decades of official equality of opportunity for women, organisations throughout the country are fighting the current 'baby drain'. One reason for this is due to changing demographics: the current trend for professional women is to have children in their 30s rather than 20s. This frequently coincides with a pivotal point in their careers, when they are becoming well-established within their field and often on the partnership track. There are a number of studies showing widespread dissatisfaction among women wishing to combine demanding careers with the demands of motherhood. These factors are forcing firms to look at how they retain female staff, and one approach that is gaining popularity is that of maternity coaching.

So what is the role of the maternity coach? Not, as some may think, to act as the firm's 'agent' to ensure that the maternity leaver returns to work, but rather to act as an impartial, objective sounding-board, providing support during maternity leave and, if the employee does choose to return, to help her work out how to align her own and the firm's needs to make that workable. Crucially, the coaching sessions are completely confidential and thus provide a 'safe' environment in which to explore all options at this highly sensitive time where motivations, values and priorities are constantly evolving.

As with all coaching, the agenda for discussion is set by the coachee, but common topics raised include delegation, communication while on leave, whether a return to work is desirable/ viable/necessary, work-life balance, confidence building and how best to position oneself for the return to work. My experience is that in many cases, reintegrating back into the workplace is the greatest challenge: it can be a lonely and confusing journey, while juggling multiple roles at home and work – and this is probably where the external coaching support is most valuable. Interestingly, many women I have coached find one of the hardest issues to deal with to be that of perception, moving from being viewed as a committed, hard-working lawyer to someone whose commitment to work is automatically in question. There may also be resentment, not generally from superiors but from peers, who consider that preferential treatment is being given. In these situations, we try where possible to include the manager in some way in the coaching process, as they have primary responsibility for the team dynamic and for ensuring the smooth running of any new working arrangements for a team member.

There are many sceptics (of both genders) who are unconvinced about this type of 'new fangled' intervention. One partner clearly articulated his thoughts to me on the subject: "Surely this just gives the maternity leaver a chance to have a few cosy chats about babies while on leave and to whinge about the demands of working motherhood once she is back?". Fortunately that is not the view taken by the growing number of law firms which are already offering maternity coaching as an option for all pregnant fee earners. The limited amounts of research available for this relatively new concept indicate that its use as part of an overall policy of managing pregnancy more positively can have a genuine impact on
return-to-work rates.

Secondment coaching

Secondments have long been recognised as key levers in boosting performance and confidence. Offering them to professionals eager to gain insight into other businesses, sectors or locations can be a superb way of building talent and developing client relationships, while simultaneously satisfying personal ambition.

However, as always there are potential pitfalls. All too frequently there is insufficient thought given in advance as to how to keep in touch with the employee and what will happen when the secondment finishes. Without well-managed communication during this period away from the office, people can quickly become detached from their parent organisations. Similarly, alienation can be a problem on return to the workplace N I have worked with secondees returning with a spring in their step and high expectations, only to discover that they are regarded as having been on some sort of gap year; frequently they are expected to slot back seamlessly into their old role with no opportunity to use, nor value placed on, the new skills and relationships they have developed. Without the requisite time and care, the secondment experience can backfire into a wasted exercise for both individual and organisation.

Forward-thinking firms are now using coaching to assist in maximising the opportunities of secondment and minimising the downsides. Reintegration into the workplace is again probably the most important part of this coaching, focusing on many similar issues to maternity coaching but with the additional challenge of how best to make use of the new skills and experience acquired by the employee, as well as capitalising on the PR benefits where the secondment has been external.

It is encouraging to see that gradually more firms are recognising the value, at both an individual and organisational level, of supporting those employees who have been away from the office for a length of time. Research that is available demonstrates that leavers return with increased loyalty and commitment and a clearer idea of their own and the firm's needs and expectations, thus adding value to their team more quickly. It is probably worth bearing in mind that on an economic basis alone, the cost of coaching of this nature is minimal compared to that of losing and replacing a valued fee earner.

Andrea Grossman is a consultant at The Professional Career Partnership.