Turning Family Leave into a Retention Strategy

Tuesday 23rd June, 2026
2:00pm - 2:30pm 

Family leave is one of the highest risk moments for female attrition – when it should be an opportunity for talent retention.    

Join Michelle O'Keeffe and Jane Flood, one of Ireland's most experienced return-to-work coaches, for a practical 30-minute session on how to turn family leave into a genuine retention and talent strategy. 

Research shows that when employees feel supported during life transitions like having children, retention improves, recovery and re-engagement happen faster and loyalty to the organisation deepens.  

This starts by understanding the hidden challenges facing returning employees and the steps people managers can take today to support their teams.

What Returners Won't Tell HR (Until It's Too Late)   

Having coached hundreds of returners across a range of industries, Jane will share the recurring themes she hears behind closed doors: the concerns, frustrations and pressures that can ultimately lead talented employees to leave. 

If you’re a HR leader, people manager or responsible for re-onboarding programmes, this session is for you. Drawing from their extensive experience, Michelle and Jane will provide practical insights you can apply immediately.

iStock-1484343612 (1)

What You'll Learn

  • The real challenges employees face when returning from leave. 
  • What managers commonly get wrong and how to better support returning employees. 
  • Practical steps organisations can take to strengthen retention, engagement and career progression after leave. 
iStock-1154717065 (1)

  • What good looks like now: practical examples of structured support for mums and managers that safeguard female leadership pipelines and create more equitable career progression opportunities. 
  • A quick look at how Platform55’s Maternity Support Programme helps organisations support parents at scale and demonstrate impact. 
  • The data: What is the impact of offering support and the cost of getting it wrong.  
 

Reserve your Place.

About the Speakers

Jane Flood

Jane Flood

About Jane

Maternity Coach, Platform55

Jane Flood is an experienced HR and Leadership Consultant with over 20 years' experience helping organisations build strong cultures, develop leaders and navigate change. As former Head of Human Resources at DID Electrical for more than 11 years, she led people strategy across a large and complex workforce, bringing extensive expertise in leadership development, employee relations, organisational change and employment law.

Alongside a successful senior leadership career, Jane has also balanced the realities of raising three boys, giving her first-hand insight into the challenges of combining work, family life and career progression. This blend of commercial HR expertise and lived experience is what makes her work with Platform55 so valuable, helping individuals and leaders navigate the moments where work and life collide.

 

Michelle Headshot

Michelle O'Keeffe

About Michelle

Co-Founder, Platform55

Former digital media MD turned workplace change-maker. Michelle co-founded Platform55 after experiencing first-hand the gap between what organisations say they support and what employees actually experience.

She brings the business case for gender equality to life - connecting pay gap data to talent strategy, leadership pipelines and the bottom line.

Kerry Logo_HEX#005776_Valentia Slate (3)-1
AXA named no. 1 insurance_logo
Ornua_Logo-450x155
Zurich_Insurance_logo
csm_kpmg_logo_5862adf0d9