As with anything in modern business, your data holds secrets that can be unlocked to reveal the magic of what you need to do to solve your specific organisational issues.

Understanding whether menopause is an issue for your organisation is buried in your data. Most HR departments are super busy and the suggestion that they need to wade through their current and historical data sounds as appealing as being stuck in the south facing, glass sided corner office with no air conditioning in the middle of the heatwave. No thank you. 

I get it. 

Most organisations look at their current employee cohort and gauge by age and gender whether they need to invest. But it’s far more nuanced than that.

Do you have women and non binary people on your senior leadership team or in the managerial roles, one or two steps away from it? If you do, the likelihood is that they will be near to or in their menopause years. The average age people will be when they experience symptoms, and 75% of people do, is between 45 and 55. There are of course those who experience it earlier whether that be due to medical treatment or naturally. If you want those employees to choose to stay with you and continue to contribute to your business success, then focus on menopause is required.

To get this started, some of the key areas to look at are:

Exits

Does your data show that women and non-binary people choose to leave in their late 30s through to their early 50s when they are at their most valuable to the organisation? Does it show that key employees choose to step back or downgrade their career ambitions at this time? If it does there is a high likelihood that menopause is a contributing factor. 

Virtually every organisation does exit interviews and every HR department will say that menopause is rarely if ever mentioned. The reality is if people feel too uncomfortable to talk about menopause and ask for meaningful support due to their symptoms, they are not going to declare it during an exit interview.

Absences

Every organisation tracks absences due to illness. If a person has a substantial or unacceptable number of instances, questions will be asked and various monitoring procedures will be activated. When this affects women and non-binary people who are approaching the menopause age range, all too infrequently neither party takes a step back and simply asks the question. This can lead to the loss of brilliant employees and in the worst instances tribunals.

Talent

Does your organisation have a plethora of brilliant men lining up to take key positions, yet the further up the managerial ladder the fewer women there are? Exec’s like Rome, are not made in a day the training and nurturing required has a long tail. Women and non-binary people are looking ahead of them to see if there is a path to follow. Gender balance heralds an inclusive workplace it also implies whether there is support available for life events such as parenting and menopause. If there are no or a small percentage of women and non-binary people once they reach their mid to late 30s, it’s time to use your data to identify when the drop off point is. Once you have this it’s easier to identify why and what needs to happen to rectify it. 

Customers & Clients

The other aspect which is rarely discussed when talking about menopause is your customers or clients. Who are they? Marketing analytics will know precisely who your targeted demographic is. If they or in turn their customers are within the range of menopause, your customer focussed and product design teams need to understand what it is and it’s impact in order to ensure you empathise and deliver products that are focused and needed.

If your organisation in this highly connected world is looking two steps across into your customers environment. It could be the differentiator.

It is time to capitalise on a valuable resource that is waiting to be utilised. Menopause in Business does what it says, I look at how menopause does and can impact your business and deliver solutions that maximise your investment and set you apart as an employer and/or supplier of choice. 

Get in touch.

Do you use your data to be an employer of choice