Undoubtedly, the benefits of employing Nigerian mums outweigh the cons. Mums play a pivotal role in the success of any business because they're good negotiators, have excellent communication skills, and are Queens of multitasking and prioritising amidst having less sleep. 

They’re not your average workers. Working mums are some of the most hardworking employees who maintain a sturdy work-life balance. For these reasons, you should invest in your working mums and create a diverse and inclusive environment for prospective hires. Here are five steps you can take to attract and retain mums in your company:

• Study your company
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When considering hiring mums, reflect on your company and the current data on working mums in your company. Observe the behaviour of mums in your organisation and how the rest treats them as employees. 

Sit with the management and ask critical questions like how many mums take up executive or leadership roles in your organisation? Does any mum communicate how well or poorly they're treated? 

Look inwardly at your work culture and see if it favours working mums. By doing this, you can identify unfavourable policies and make changes accordingly.

• Identify their needs
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As an employer or HR professional, you must identify and understand the needs of mums in your organisation. Parenting isn’t about pregnancy and postpartum. It's a never-ending journey. Give them personal days off to attend to their babies, infants, or school events. This will position your organisation as a family-friendly working environment.

• Offer lactation rooms for new mums
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While these may not be feasible for every company, if you cannot afford a daycare, offer a space with safe locks in your company for new mums to breastfeed their babies or express milk.

 In a recent survey, only 9% of organisations have a workplace breastfeeding policy in Nigeria. With only the public sector taking the majority of this, women in the private sector lack such support.

 Showcasing your commitment to supporting working mums in their journey is pertinent. You can also add a refrigerator to store expressed breast milk. 

• Offer on-site daycare 
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Big corporations usually offer a daycare within the office to support mums. Daycares are gradually getting expensive by the day, and it'll be thoughtful of your management to support mums with discounted offers on your daycares.

By providing a daycare option, many mums wouldn't have to quit their jobs due to the demands of motherhood. This will also bolster your workforce and increase talent retention.

• Maternity needs
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There will always be pregnant women in your organisation. As such, they must take maternity leave to care for themselves and their child. 

Offer an attractive paid maternity leave inclusive of recovery time. A paid maternity leave is one of the most essential benefits for any pregnant and new mum in the workforce.

• Offer a flexible transition period
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The transition period back to the office can be challenging for mums. A mum who gave birth through a caesarean section isn't the same as a mum who gave birth through vaginal delivery. Hence, both scenarios need different working modes to cater to their bodies. As an employer, you must communicate with them to know their needs and tailor their transition period accordingly.

Over 20 million Nigerian women are in the workforce, and 95% are in the private sector. As an employer or HR professional, you can set your company for success and increase talent retention in your mum force by deploying policies to favour working mums to boost their productivity.