Partners& has been awarded Menopause Friendly accreditation.
Menopause Friendly accreditation from Henpicked demonstrates an employer’s commitment to promoting menopause awareness, understanding and support across their organization. It is a recognised standard of achievement illustrating that companies have satisfied an independent panel of judges, that their organisation is offering the right support to their employees.
We are delighted to be an early adopter of this important accreditation. Partners& want to ensure menopause is a subject we are all comfortable talking about openly, so we can offer the right support to those within our organisation who need it. Partners& has a 49% - 51% male to female split with an average age of 43, so we recognise that it will affect most of our employees in some way, be that themselves, their partner, mother, daughter, friend, or team member. The process to accreditation has been very informative to the entire company and we are undoubtedly a better employer as a result.
To gain accreditation, Partners& were asked to demonstrate evidence of their activities across six standards: culture, policies and practices, training, engagement, facilities and evaluation.
Partners& launched its Menopause Awareness program on 18th October 2021, World Menopause Day, by broadcasting Henpicked’s introductory webinar, ‘Menopause in the Workplace’ to the entire company. From there they: included menopause awareness in their induction process for all new starters; built a page dedicated to the menopause on the company’s intranet, giving support, information and signposting for more information; trained menopause advocates, volunteers from within the company who act as a trusted source of support and information to those who need it; trained line managers to offer support to colleagues to manage their menopause symptoms, including a temporary change of work pattern, reduced travel, the ability to dial in to meetings, more frequent breaks, time off, providing a fan in the office and flexibility with exam dates if needed.
The company also created a specific chat group on their internal comms system, Yammer, for people experiencing the menopause to share their experiences and gain support from one another. In December 2021 an informal ‘Mince Pies and Menopause’ meeting was organised, giving people the chance to chat about their experiences of the menopause, or their experience of supporting someone going through it; husbands and partners were welcomed. It was so well received, the next one is already planned for December 2022.
Not content just making changes within their own company, Partners& also invited a select number of their ecosystem partners on the journey, asking them to commit to the Partners& Pledge, which involves a commitment to organising one D&I activity (which includes menopause awareness), in 2022.
Our people are at the very heart of Partners& and it is gratifying to see the positive reception our menopause activities have received across the business at all levels. Many had no idea what their partners were going through and have, for the first time in their lives, been properly educated on this entirely natural but, at times, challenging process. We are proud to now be an accredited Menopause Friendly employer and look forward to rolling out many more activities during 2022.
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