Parental Leave at Hudl
My Hudl career started May 2013 when I joined the coach support department three days after graduating from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. At 22 years old, I was concerned with free lunch, happy hour and unlimited vacation. These benefits are still outstanding and part of the reason I love working at Hudl, but over the past six years, my priorities have shifted. I’m now concerned with benefits that are family-oriented — health insurance, 401K matching and, most recently, a generous parental leave policy.
You might be wondering what “generous parental leave” really means. At the end of the day, this is about treating our team (and their families) like a family. Nearly two years ago, Hudl implemented an incredible parental leave policy: 12 weeks for maternity, six weeks for paternity and six weeks for adopting parents. Our sales team takes this benefit one step further.
We understand that family planning and budgeting are extremely difficult with the addition of a child and even more challenging with variable compensation (also known as commission). The last thing we want is an expecting mother or father to have to worry about a diminished sales pipeline or sales commission due to being out of the office and away from time with clients. Hudl guarantees 100% of projected commissions to all sales reps and sales managers that are out on parental leave. This policy helps provide consistency on a commission-based compensation structure.
We want our sales team to be able to enjoy time with their child the same way a salaried employee would. To help make the transition back to work, we also assign a rep to the territory of anyone on leave to help bridge the gap. In 2018, 12 members of our sales team utilized parental leave, including four on our sales management team. We expect this number to grow in 2019. Here’s how a couple explained their experience.
“Our policy allowed me to be creative with how I used my six weeks. I took the first few weeks off to help out right away and be around our son as much as possible, but from there I used my remaining time as needed. Maybe a day off here and there, or an afternoon off here and there to help at home or with appointments. Overall, this policy allowed me to be extremely involved in the first few months of our son’s life and I’m forever grateful for that!”
“The maternity policy allowed at Hudl me to enjoy 12 weeks at home with my family. I was able to see every new precious moment, bond with my son, recover and be prepared to come back to work feeling good!”
“Maternity leave was a coveted three months I was able to spend with our new addition. It was an incredible experience to be afforded as a Hudl employee and first-time mom!”
I’m pleased to announce my wife and I are expecting a baby girl in June. Knowing that Hudl values time with family and encourages employees to maximize parental leave greatly reduces stress for me and my wife. It’s empowering to see leaders across the company utilize our maternity and paternity policies for their growing families.
Our competitive sales team is made up of nearly 120 sales reps focusing on the high school, college and club spaces. We’re expanding with open sales roles in a variety of markets. To learn more, see our open positions or connect with me on LinkedIn.
