Having a newborn is hard under the best circumstances. Add a pandemic, fluctuating stay-at-home orders and lack of traditional resources — like friends and family who are safely able to provide childcare support — and having a newborn becomes a lot harder.
David Wallace and his wife likely didn’t expect to welcome their son, Talon, in the midst of global chaos. Yet that’s exactly what happened last summer.
As a product delivery coach for Xero, a SaaS company that builds accounting tools, he’s responsible for coaching teams in Agile software development practices and streamlining workflows. And while he’s grown his career by saving teams time, there weren’t enough work hacks in the world that would make him efficient enough to juggle the needs of his role and his newly busy home life.
He needed time off to concentrate on his wife and son.
Luckily, said Wallace, Xero had his back. While the United States consistently ranks far behind other nations in offering robust parental leave policies, Xero strives to buck that trend by ensuring its team has the time needed to focus on their personal lives and prioritize their mental health. Last year, the company expanded its paid parental leave to a notable 26 weeks for primary caregivers and added additional paid time off for all employees. Rather than have employees earn time off through tenure, these benefits are provided from day one.
It makes a difference, Wallace said.
“When employees feel cared for, it builds trust in leadership and loyalty to the company,” Wallace said. “That makes it a better, more exciting place to work.”
To learn more about Xero’s efforts to foster a more balanced workforce, Built In Colorado spoke to Wallace about his experience as a new father navigating career and family, and why the company’s emphasis on employees’ needs creates a more motivating culture.
First off: Congratulations on becoming a father! Could you share a little bit about your experience with taking time off as a new parent?
I was able to take two weeks of partner parental leave, which I was able to combine with an additional two weeks of PTO and well-being leave due to the generous amount of time off we receive. This gave me an entire month to be able to bond with our new son and give my wife the support she needed as she adjusted to being a new mom recovering from childbirth. This time was priceless to have in navigating it all together, especially since we have no family close by and our friends are quarantining due to COVID-19.
When you returned to work, Xero expanded its parental leave policy. Were you able to take additional time off to spend with your family?
Shortly after I returned to work, I found out Xero was expanding the partner parental leave to six weeks, and I was given the opportunity to take an additional week off.
I waited until our son turned 3 months old to take the additional time, which corresponded to my mother-in-law coming to visit. Having this time off during her stay allowed my wife and I to go out as a couple and reconnect while knowing our son was safe and taken care of. It would have been very difficult to do so while working, and I think it’s crucial for new parents to stay connected as a couple after they have a baby.
The level of empathy our leaders have shown is unique — I’ve never seen anything like it.”
How does this new parental leave policy affect the company’s culture?
The expanded leave tells me that Xero really cares about people. They didn’t have to expand those benefits, but wanted to ensure everyone could have much-needed time with their families.
It tracks with the rest of the way Xero treats us as employees. The level of empathy our leaders have shown is unique — I’ve never seen anything like it. When employees feel cared for, it builds trust in leadership and loyalty to the company. That makes it a better, more exciting place to work.
A closer look at PTO at Xero
- Paid holidays: 11
- Vacation days: 21
- Wellbeing days: 10
- Parental leave: 26 weeks
- Days off to volunteer: 1
Were you worried about work or your team while you were away?
I was absolutely not worried about work or my team while I was off. My manager made it very clear that I was expected to not check in on email or Slack — or even think about work while I was away.
The teams were very supportive and proactive in communicating that they didn’t expect me to be online while I was out. This level of support and explicit communication of expectations was incredibly effective in helping me know that I was genuinely expected to focus on my family, not work.
I was genuinely expected to focus on my family, not work.”
What is Thrivepass? How did it help you as a new parent?
Thrivepass is a program that gives employees $25 per month to be spent on things to help with wellness. It could be a massage, ergonomic home office equipment or other items and services that make life easier and better.
When our son, Talon, turned 4 months old, we struggled to get him to sleep in his crib. He had reflux and we had gotten in the habit of holding him to put him to sleep. We really needed help from a sleep consultant. We were able to put our Thrivepass funds toward the sleep consultant and ended up paying less than $50 out of pocket.
That was literally life-changing. We started the program just before Thanksgiving, and had him sleeping in his crib through the night by Christmas. I kept singing, “All I want for Christmas is a good night’s sleep!” I got my wish! It has made our lives so much easier and it’s been incredible knowing we have that support. The fact that the Thrivepass program paid for the majority of it made it that much better.
What is well-being leave?
What do generous company benefits mean to you as an employee?
The benefits at Xero are much better than the benefits I’ve had at other companies. Not only are they more generous, but you can also tell they put thought into what would be most beneficial to the employees.
It means the world to me to have these benefits. Knowing I work for a company that values family and supports its employees makes my time more enjoyable. It’s freeing to not worry about work when I need to take time off. It’s important for Xero to have these benefits so that their employees are able to give it 100 percent at work and 100 percent at home.
This attention to the human side of things is priceless and makes Xero a company I’d like to work at for a long time.
