Sling & Stone

When we first introduced paid parental leave in 2021, we took a good look at the landscape in New Zealand and across our global market [Sling & Stone is also in Australia, Singapore and the United States]. While we saw many organisations offering paid parental leave and some with very generous support, we identified an opportunity to champion gender equality further. Specifically, we noticed that more traditional policies have a disparity in leave entitlements between primary and secondary carers. Studies show that men are often less likely to take that primary care leave, even when it can be transferred to them. 

We believe that parents play an equally vital role in raising a child, and those initial weeks as a family are incredibly precious to everyone. So, when we designed our enhanced policy, we wanted to challenge that traditional approach by offering equal leave entitlement, regardless of whether you would be considered a primary or secondary carer. We're hoping to foster a more inclusive environment for everyone, and that also extends to non-heterosexual couples and parents who don't identify with a binary gender. 

Sometimes, employers tell us that even though they have an equal-paid parental leave policy, partners and fathers don’t fully utilise it. What’s uptake been like at Sling & Stone? 

Since we launched the policy in 2021, 15 employees globally, including three male employees, have directly benefited from it. It's been widely accepted and adopted. They've all been able to take those extended periods of leave and embrace that time with their families. 

We offer employees eight weeks of paid leave if they’ve been with us for two years, and up to 12 weeks if they’ve been with us for three years or more. 

Our policy allows employees to take leave in any shape that they would like in the first 12 months. Two fathers chose to take it all upfront in one block, while another used the leave to work shorter weeks. 

How did you determine what benefits to offer?

We considered the factors I mentioned earlier about being a catalyst for positive change and our focus on diversity and inclusion. 

We also took a comprehensive look at the landscape in all our markets to understand the statutory entitlements and what other organisations of a similar size and nature were offering at that time.

How involved were your employees in the development your policy?

At the start of every year, we do a strategic review of our benefits to make sure they reflect our purpose and our values and resonate with our team. 

In 2021, that led us to identify the need to introduce paid parental leave. This was driven by our global growth as a business and our workforce demographics. We had had a couple of people go on parental leave and that sparked the conversation of wanting to support employees through major life events. Work-life balance was also a hot topic at that time due to COVID.

We collaborated very closely with the CEO on the global leadership team to design a policy that exceeded those statutory requirements and addressed those inclusivity gaps that we saw at the time. 

We established a tenure-based model for paid leave, balancing a competitive offering with business sustainability. 

As part of the process, we also implemented inclusive compassionate leave for baby loss that hopefully demonstrates our commitment to supporting employees through very challenging times.

I was going to ask about that because I noted it when reading your policy. You are very clear on the support available if an employee experiences a miscarriage, stillbirth, the loss of a child within the first 24 months and termination. I'm curious about what led to such a detailed, thought-out policy with this particular aspect of the parenting journey. 

We know people go through those very challenging situations, and some of the statutory entitlements that you receive is perhaps not enough. And as an employer, we're very people first. We really want to support our team through these big life events. If we can set them up for success, then that's great for our culture and it hopefully means our team wants to stay with us for a long time.

When it comes to miscarriage and termination, a manager may not even know that the employee or their partner is pregnant. Have you seen the fact that it's specified in a policy normalise those conversations?

Absolutely. Having it explicit in a policy and talked about does normalise those conversations around difficult subjects. People do feel like they can either speak to their manager or come directly to the people team. Obviously, we treat all those requests sensitively and confidentially.

How long did it take you to develop the new parental leave policy?

A couple months in total. We spent quite a bit of time upfront researching, especially because we wanted a globally-consistent offering that is competitive across all four markets. 

It's important not to rush these things so that you can get it right and have a policy that you can stick to.

Aside from paid leave, what else was important to Sling & Stone in terms of your  parental leave support?

We looked at all stages of the parental leave journey. 

In the lead-up, we offer flexibility to attend appointments as needed, as well as flexibility in the working week or working days and/or wellness leave so employees can look after themselves. There’s also a lot of planning with the employee around them stepping out to spend time with their family so they feel supported through that process.

Throughout the parental leave period, we will touch base to check-in, particularly as their return nears. We understand their preferences can change after their baby arrives, whether it’s their working capacity when they return or the length of leave they want to take. 

When it comes to the return, we have thorough re-onboarding, including re-inductions on our tech, business operations and their role. We make sure there are facilities on site should someone want to feed or express at work. There’s flexibility in the working day around childcare arrangements and things like that. 

What’s the feedback been like? 

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The team definitely expressed significant appreciation of the policy. We are proud to have launched one of the first progressive offerings within our industry back in 2021 with that equal entitlement.

The team felt a strong alignment between our policies and our purpose, values and culture. This policy, in particular, has been cited as a powerful example of our commitment to an inclusive and equitable workplace.

What did the rollout look like?

Once we'd gone through that process of writing the policy and really collaborating with the global CEO and leadership team, we launched the policy to the whole team. We like to talk about those things first, rather than just share them on Slack or by email. We used our global team meetings to take the team through the new policy step by step - what it meant, who could access it, what entitlements there were, how to apply etc. We then shared the policy in writing with the team as well, and it is hosted in our online handbook, where all of these policies are searchable.

We also incorporate it into our onboarding processes. Whenever a new employee joins the agency, we take them through the policies and show them how to find them so it’s not  forgotten about or hidden.

We also celebrate when people announce their pregnancies or that they're expecting a child with their partner, and when they go out on parental leave. Hopefully that makes the policy visible to the wider team.

Where to from here?

It's been really encouraging to witness the positive evolution of parental leave policies both legislatively in some of the markets we operate in and across the industry. A key trend I've observed is policies moving away from the primary and secondary carer labels towards  more inclusive and flexible access to parental leave. It reflects the growing recognition of modern family dynamics and the heightened commitment to gender equality. 

We're pleased with the current structure of our parental leave policy and want to remain committed to supporting employees during those significant life events. We continue to monitor the industry best practices and legal developments to make sure that our policy remains relevant and supportive.

Sling & Stone works with inspiring brands and companies doing great things, so I'm curious how widely you share your parental leave policy?

We recognise the importance of sharing our progressive parental leave policy beyond just our internal team, particularly because we have the privilege to work with so many great clients who are leading employers themselves. 

At the time of launch, I authored a LinkedIn article titled, “It's time for inclusive paid parental leave”. It generated positive engagement with over 100 reactions from industry connections and sparked an important focus on parental leave practices. 

Secondly, we've actively shared our policy through Crayon and key recruiters in Australia with something similar so that our approach is visible to a broad audience of potential partners and talent. 

Thirdly, we reference our policy for industry award entries. In 2022, we won PR Week Best Culture of the Year APAC and in 2023, we won PR Week Asia Best Place to Work APAC. Our parental leave policy was included in those entries.

Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would like to share about your policy?

In terms of our benefits, the parental leave policy is part of a broader holistic approach to supporting the team. We understand that not everyone is going to tap into that policy. We cater to diverse needs and life stages, such as:

• Our team enjoying flexibility of working remotely for up to six weeks per year from anywhere in the world, which is quite valuable to people with families overseas

• Closing and gifting paid time off between Christmas and New Years

• External and internal training and career development opportunities

• An Employee Assistance Program with access to three professional counselling sessions per year if needed 

• Options for the extended holidays and working in our other global offices - and much more.

We take a comprehensive approach to our benefits and our employee value proposition, making sure that we've got something for everyone

Thank you, Fran! I’m excited to see where Sling & Stone and your parental leave policy go next. 

View the Sling & Stone policy on The New Zealand Parental Leave Register.