Cameron HeroldFounder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Training

The Hidden ROI of Employee Leave | Taylor McLemore

6 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, Taylor McLemore argues that handling employee leave—particularly parental and birth‑giving leave—offers a substantial return on investment for employers. He explains that well‑managed leave creates loyal, long‑term employees who remain highly productive, and that positive leave experiences generate word‑of‑mouth advocacy that enhances the employer’s brand. McLemore emphasizes that the post‑leave period is critical: companies should reintegrate returning employees onto meaningful career trajectories, rather than treating the leave as a disruptive gap. By doing so, organizations can directly link generous leave policies to higher retention, sustained productivity, and stronger employee‑employer relationships.

Chapters

Leave handled well is a massive opportunity to create a loyal employee that you retain for a long time, continues to be highly productive. There are tons of different forms of leave from military leave to medical leave. The list is 50 plus, but I'll continue to pick on one of the more common forms, which is parental leave and especially birthgiving. Imagine that that goes really well. That person likely will tell their friends like, my company treated me extremely well because not everyone gets that, which is so unfortunate. There's an ROI to doing leave well. We can draw direct lines to employee retention and productivity. And then the other thing is that when people return from leave, that their career path continues. That leave isn't not just this gap where you lose people, but also when they came back, if they were a shining star before, were you able to set them back up on a path? And it's not that they have to maintain the same trajectory, but is it a meaningful one between the employer and the employee?