HCRG Care Group wins Business Impact Award for menopause support package
HCRG Care Group is celebrating after being announced as the winner of the Business Impact Award in the Wagestream Financial Wellbeing Impact Awards 2023.
The organisation has been recognised for the measurable business results seen following the implementation of a comprehensive support package for colleagues navigating the menopause, reflecting its commitment to enhance productivity and improve retention.
Over half of the HCRG Care Group workforce comprises of females in the age bracket likely to be experiencing menopausal symptoms. During an employee engagement event in 2022, the topic of menopause was raised by colleagues who sought greater internal recognition of this significant issue. Highlighting the issue of cost and acknowledging that some individuals choose not to use HRT due to financial constraints, the project aimed to address this concern and find ways to alleviate the burden of expenses related to menopause management.
Over the past year, HCRG Care Group has invested £10,000 from its Innovation Fund to facilitate free access to Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT) prescriptions for colleagues as part of a successful pilot initiative, which has now become a standard practice.
The results achieved from the project are as follows:
- During the pilot around 70 colleagues were benefiting from the HRT prescription reimbursement scheme.
- HCRG Care Group is one of the first organisations to extend such a scheme to its workforce.
- Over the last 6 months, there has been a total of 181 colleagues claiming the cost of their HRT totalling £2,731.3.
- Three months before the new policy & toolkit, sickness absence cost the organisation £1,365,000. In the last three months, this has reduced to £1,249,415.
- Since August 2022, there has been a reduction in sickness from 5.43% to 3.63%, and a 20.2% reduction in the monthly cost of sickness absence.
- There has also been a reduction in turnover from 13.07% to 11.28%, with the top five reasons for leaving no longer relating to reward packages and financial pressures.
- Colleagues will continue to recover the expenses associated with their HRT prescriptions.
Paul Lundbeck, Director of People Services said: “We are delighted to accept this award in recognition of our efforts in the implementation of a financial initiative that supports our colleagues during their menopause journey and raising awareness within the wider workforce about menopause-related issues. We will continue to strive towards providing innovative solutions that directly benefit our colleagues and promoting our organisation as an inclusive and supportive place to work.”
You can read more about the menopause support package here.
Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Wagestream Financial Wellbeing Impact Awards!
