​Among the many practical workplace measures employers can offer to support employees going through menopause, a dedicated menopause policy will provide a foundation for fair treatment and a point of reference for employees in need of advice or guidance. A willingness to listen to those who are facing this sometimes-challenging life stage amplifies a company’s culture, demonstrates a commitment to learn and act, ultimately leading to greater employee happiness and retention, and new talent attraction.

To help you decide on the type of support you might offer your employees, we have created a menopause template outlining what menopause is, who it affects, common symptoms and some practical steps that might be considered to help people manage their symptoms at work – from flexible working to desk fans and access to quiet wellbeing spaces.

In June 2023, Reed conducted a snap survey of 1,000 employed women in the UK aged 45-54 who are experiencing the menopause. When questioned whether they felt their symptoms affect them at work physically, 74% agreed – while a shocking 77% said they felt their symptoms impact them mentally.

And while 44% state they are comfortable talking to their employer about menopause, an almost equal number – 42% – are not, suggesting more needs to be done to support workers.

According to the survey, 46% of people said their employer does not have a menopause policy in place, while 28% didn’t know. Using our template can remove the doubt and uncertainty among staff and instil confidence in receiving support when needed.

Our editable workplace menopause policy template includes:

• What is menopause?

• Understanding the terminology

• Some common menopause symptoms and the support available

• Key responsibilities and who to contact

• Additional support

Menopause can no longer be swept under the carpet – our policy template can be used as a guide to update your current policy, or will allow you to create a policy if you don’t already have one.

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​​Annual appraisals are supposedly dead – but this is only true because once a year is not enough to effectively evaluate your employees. We explore how to optimise your performance reviews to grow your team.

Employers are not required by law to conduct appraisals and reviews, but they do benefit all parties. If all the feedback you give your team members is through one annual appraisal, you’re doing your team a disservice and aren’t unlocking their full potential. Feedback should be far more regular to match the fast-paced environments we now work in.

The value of appraisals

Recently, appraisals have been considered a dying practice by many employers who deem it a tick-box exercise with little value. However, when done well, and more frequently, these reviews are crucial for the development of your employees and have multiple benefits for both parties:

-Ensuring employees understand their role and your expectations for them

-Determining to what extent employees are meeting those expectations

-Providing support and having an honest two-way discussion

-Acknowledging and rewarding good performance

-Nurturing your employees’ career progression

-Increasing engagement and longevity

A manager’s responsibility is to empower their people to do their work to the best of their ability and nurture their successes. Performance reviews are a chance to engage team members with regular, one-to-one, honest discussions. It’s not only a chance for the professional to receive feedback from you, but an opportunity for them to raise any concerns they have and to tell you what support they might need.

Without appraisals, employees will still be evaluated, but without the same transparency and objectivity. It will simply exclude employees from the process. This could make them feel out of control of their own futures and unaware of what they can do to improve. Providing honest feedback, even if it is a hard conversation to have, allows them the opportunity to upskill themselves and for you to show you want to help them improve.

Conducting a successful performance review

Firstly, all parties involved need to understand the process and why it’s being conducted in the first place. What do you want to achieve from this meeting? Appraisals need to be structured to be effective. Performance template examples, like the template we have designed, can help you with this.

Every appraisal should:

Be as regular as your team needs it to be– The regularity of your performance reviews will depend entirely on your company, team and management style. With most companies changing much more rapidly, and employees learning in more fast-paced environments, annual appraisals will not be as useful as a more regular performance review. When it comes to feedback, little and often is the way to go.

You might decide that once a month is best for your team members. However, it’s best to be flexible, and if monthly reviews aren’t working for individuals, try checking in with them more regularly than others. It’s all about the employee and your own judgement.

Provide effective feedback– Fundamentally, all feedback must be honest and constructive. Without honesty, it will have no value to the person receiving it – positive or negative. Whether their performance has been excellent or less than satisfactory, you need to advise them on the next steps they should take to improve or grow further. All feedback must focus on the future and how your employee can move forward, rather than dwelling on past failures or becoming complacent following their successes.

Set SMART goals– One of the most common mistakes employers make is setting vague goals. Employers must provide their employees with SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound) goals, that they can focus on achieving ahead of their next review. For example, you may want one of your employees to ‘make more sales’ but this doesn’t give them guidance or direction on how to achieve what you want them to.

To turn this into a smart goal, it might become something like: ‘make eight sales a month, for six months, until you reach 48 sales by the end of this year’. Outlining the main goal, and the smaller steps they need to take to achieve their goals by a set deadline is much better for motivation and productivity. It’s also easier to measure and help them to stay on track to achieve their overall goal.

Be a rewarding experience for employees– Appraisals should be an experience employees look forward to. They should leave feeling that their hard work and progress since the last review has been acknowledged and rewarded by their employer. If the response hasn’t been so positive, they should leave with an awareness of how to improve, through honest and constructive feedback and SMART goals.

Be personalised to individuals– Each member of your team will have a different way of working and different needs. This should be accounted for in your performance reviews. Ideally, you would have a standardised performance review template that can be adapted to each person in your team. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work.

If any of your team members have health issues which are affecting their work, take that into consideration and do your best to support them. It is illegal to discriminate against someone for their protected characteristics such as disabilities or neurodivergence. Likewise, be mindful of any personal issues your employee may be struggling with that may have a short-term impact on their performance. You must provide reasonable adjustments where possible to help them improve their performance.

Download our free performance review template to help you ensure your next review has a positive impact on your employees.

​​Supporting employees experiencing menopause symptoms at work is critical for any employer wanting to attract and retain talented people into their company. It is also the right thing to do, and for many women, action and attention when it comes to this potentially debilitating life stage, is welcomed with open arms.

For those either in or approaching menopause, this natural life stage signals the closing of their fertility window, with ovulation and periods ending usually between the ages of 45 and 55 years old.

The average age to reach menopause is 51, and while some sail through the experience with barely a hot flush, others are troubled by symptoms that impact their professional lives.

Research suggests those with serious symptoms take an average of 32 weeks of leave from work.

Menopause survey results

In June 2023, Reed conducted a snap survey of 1,000 employed women in the UK, aged 45-54, who are experiencing the menopause. We looked to discover what their employers currently offered in terms of menopause support and what they felt would help them feel more comfortable when experiencing symptoms of menopause in the workplace.

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When questioned whether they felt their symptoms affect them at work physically, 74% agreed – while a shocking 77% felt their symptoms impact them mentally.

And while 44% state they are comfortable talking to their employer about menopause, an almost equal number – 42% – are not, suggesting more needs to be done to support workers. According to the survey, 46% of people said their employer does not have a menopause policy in place, while 28% didn’t know.

These statistics show the scale of doubt and uncertainty among workers and indicate how much employers need to do to instil confidence.

Improving support and understanding

With women making up nearly half the UK workforce, improved education and awareness of menopause at work is essential. Our eBook will help you understand the potential biological and psychological pressures women face at this stage of life as they try to undertake their work to the best of their ability. It promotes open discussion for all employees to break taboos, shape policy and change perceptions, and encourages use of clear signposting to internal and external resources and support.

Above all, empathy and understanding are key to creating an inclusive workplace that is respectful of women’s health needs and dedicated to supporting this invaluable workforce demographic.

Our eBook, ‘Menopause: how to support your employees’, provides insight from top experts in the field including:

• Janet Lindsay, CEO, Wellbeing of Women

• Jenny Haskey, CEO, The Menopause Charity

• Dr Louise Newson, GP and menopause specialist and Founder of the balance website and app, The Menopause Charity, and Newson Health Menopause Society

By downloading this eBook, you will discover:

• What is menopause?

• Who is affected by menopause and when?

• What are the symptoms?

• What are the current treatments?

• How should we discuss menopause in the workplace?

• Impact of menopause in the workplace

• How to support menopausal employees

• What should menopause work policies include?

• Showing you care: organisational commitment

• How else can employers offer menopause support in the workplace?