How to Help Employees Return from a Career Break

Before she left the workforce in 2015 to start a family and raise her children, ShayAnn Baker spent the prior five years working as a reporter/producer and the four years before that as a human resource specialist. When she was ready to start earning a paycheck again, she knew that she didn't want to go back to being a journalist.

"The newsroom is not a family-friendly place," Baker said. Instead, she decided to pursue a career in the public sector after being accepted into the inaugural class of Return Utah, a returnship program launched by the state. This is the only state program in the country that facilitates public-sector jobs for experienced professionals who are looking to re-enter the workforce after a career break.

In the wake of the pandemic, some companies have created new programs to help returning employees, while others expanded or reimagined existing programs. The goal they share is to assist experienced professionals who have taken career breaks in re-entering the workforce, or "relaunching," without having to start over in an entry-level role.

"Most relaunchers in employer-sponsored career re-entry programs will return to the same or similar roles as those they left, or else have some very strong transferable skills that apply to the new field," said Carol Fishman Cohen, co-founder and CEO of iRelaunch, a Miami- and Boston-based consulting and training company that specializes in career returnship programs.

Baker initially trained for a communications specialist role where her experience "telling stories" as a reporter/producer would be considered an asset. However, after she graduated from the 16-week project-based program, she received two offers: one for the communications role and the other in the human resources department as a program manager for the Return Utah program. 

Although she initially hesitated to return to HR, she realized that running a first-of-its-kind program presented a unique career opportunity.

"It makes sense for HR to run and oversee returnship programs because HR plays a pivotal role," Baker said. This includes recruiting talent, training managers and providing resources to ensure that expectations are met on both sides.