Our reboarding program: Building a better model for leave support
Creating environments where all colleagues can thrive is crucial for attracting and retaining top talent. Recognizing that careers can experience disruption during significant life moments is essential for organizations seeking to provide adequate levels of support to all employees.
Our reboarding program is one of the ways we offer personalized support to colleagues during the moments that matter most. Our goal is to minimize the impact of extended leaves—whether parental, health related, or otherwise—on career success and satisfaction by proactively planning and supporting colleagues before, during, and after their leave.
In 2023, our reboarding and parental support program was recognized by the WEF as a diversity, equity, and inclusion “lighthouse.” This program is part of a broader effort to recognize diversity and inclusion initiatives that McKinsey helped launch in 2022.
But what does it take to create and evolve a program like this? In this post, we share our journey and learnings for other organizations to explore as they seek to build more inclusive work environments.
The program building blocks
Our journey started with data collection. We wanted to understand the experiences and needs of parents at our firm, beginning in Europe—the pilot region for the program (29 countries and 56 offices). By using data from our HR system, annual employee surveys, and interviews with parents, we pinpointed key pain points affecting their experiences, and their root causes.
We discovered that returning from extended leave is a big moment, especially for those on parental leave. Women often take longer leaves than men, and we noticed higher attrition rates among those coming back from leave compared with the rest of the workforce. To address these challenges, we designed a comprehensive program to ease the transition back to work.
The reboarding program features five elements: a tailored reintegration plan with sponsorship support, individual coaching from executive coaches, a smooth return to meaningful client service for consultants, calibrated performance evaluations, and broader supports like flexible work models, parental benefits, healthcare benefits, and supportive colleague communities.
After seeing the positive impact of the pilot in Europe, we decided to expand the program globally. In 2022, we collaborated with colleagues across regions to roll out the program. This meant each office had to take ownership of the program and adjust it as needed, adapting to different contexts, leave lengths, and parental support structures depending on the local setting (for example, breast milk shipping programs, parental leave duration, and cultural attitudes toward leave).
Originally designed for consultants returning from parental leave, we broadened the program to include all colleagues returning from various types of extended leaves, including health-related leaves, recognizing that they face similar challenges.
Learning, evolving, and refining
The reboarding program is a continuously evolving initiative, meant to change in rhythm with our colleagues’ needs. We focus on tracking outcomes, collecting feedback, and adapting our model as needed. Implementing the program has highlighted both strengths and areas for improvement. Additionally, we must adapt the program to changes in broader firm processes that affect our colleagues.
Expanding the program from the European pilot involved embedding it across our People function at global, regional, and office levels. This expansion required collaboration among various groups, including our global diversity and inclusion team, which is responsible for strategy and innovation; HR managers, who handle leave and the reboarding program itself; and our professional development teams, who provide the individualized support needed for the program’s successful application to consulting colleagues.
We are enhancing our formal mechanisms for tracking outcomes and collecting feedback while continuing to place a high value on understanding individual experiences through the direct 1-on-1 interactions our HR and professional development teams have with colleagues returning from leave. This human connection is essential to ensuring the program is not just a process but a supportive, personalized experience.
Our “think global, act local” approach ensures that innovations in one region can benefit colleagues worldwide. Through global teams and forums, we learn from one another and apply successful strategies across regions.
We’ve learned that there are several things needed to make this model work. Successful implementation requires clear ownership, adequate capacity, and ongoing communication. It’s crucial to remain data-informed, track progress, and involve all leaders in supporting the program. Leadership commitment to supporting colleagues and championing the program is paramount.
For organizations looking to create a similar program, start by identifying the critical elements for successful reintegration within your context and the pain points that colleagues experience along the way. Design a basic offering that local teams can manage, secure sufficient resources, and establish clear success metrics. Prioritize communication to ensure that everyone is informed and engaged, and monitor the program’s progress, adapting it over time as needed. But above all, stay committed—consistent execution is critical to building and maintaining a program that works.