Menopause Awareness Commercial Training at Chamber Training
Each year 900,000 women leave the workplace through the lack of support around the menopause therefore Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Training has decided to introduce a new course as part of their 2024 Commercial Training Brochure. Our Menopause Awareness half-day course aims to increase delegates understanding of the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and provides you with the practical tools you can take into the workplace to create and implement a menopause supportive workplace culture.
We decided to speak to Matthew Hammersley, HR Manager at Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, to find out why he thinks Menopause Awareness Training is important from a HR perspective.
What is the importance of your role to help support the wellbeing of employees?
“My name is Matthew Hammersley, HR Manager at Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. I lead on all wellbeing activities for our employees, it’s so important to support our staffs wellbeing to help motivate and make them feel happy at work!”
Why is raising awareness about menopause important within the workplace, specifically in terms of supporting existing staff?
“It's so important to raise awareness about menopause in the workplace so that managers/ colleagues of those going through the menopause can be understanding and help make adjustments when necessary. It is also important for retention, as figures show that at least 10% of women leave the workforce due to not being supported with menopause, we want to make staff feel that they are being listened to and action taken to support them in continuing work.”
What impact does menopause have on the productivity and well-being of employees, and how can awareness courses help mitigate any potential challenges?
“Menopause symptoms vary between individuals, but some can have an impact of the productivity of employees such as brain fog and fatigue. This can demotivate staff as they feel like they are struggling with their role, awareness can help reduce challenges as reasonable adjustments can be made to support the employee and allow other staff to be understanding towards the situation.”
In what ways do you foresee menopause awareness training benefiting the professional development and retention of staff within the organisation?
“Menopause awareness training will be vital for professional development and staff retention as all staff should have the same awareness, and therefore understanding of need for reasonable adjustments. This will also help staff who are looking to progress into management roles as they will be looking after staff who may be going through the menopause, making them feel heard will help to retain them.”
How do you plan to integrate the insights gained from these courses into existing HR policies and practices to create a more inclusive and supportive work environment for employees experiencing menopause?
“We plan to create a menopause policy, showing our employees that we are committed to supporting those who are experiencing menopause symptoms. We will also look to how we can make any events, days, meetings or working environments more accessible and comfortable for those that are experiencing these. This will help to make our staff feel more supported in the workplace.”
Why do you think other businesses should incorporate Menopause Awareness as a part of necessary training in the workplace from an HR perspective?
“It’s so important to include menopause awareness into mandatory training, as all staff need to be aware that their colleagues may be experiencing menopause and may be struggling with symptoms. This makes the whole workforce more sympathetic towards the need for reasonable adjustments and will help in the long run with retaining and recruiting staff!”
If you are interested in booking onto Coventry and Warwickshire’s Menopause Awareness half-day course then email enquiries@cw-chambertraining.co.uk or call 024 76231122.