You can see the questions borne out of curiosity, one of Tigers key values, from Gerry Hamill, our Group Commercial Director and subsequent responses from Laura Devennie our Group Director of People and Culture below.

Gerry: When did we introduce our Menopause Policy here at Tigers?
Laura: The policy was officially put in place in March 2022 after a long period of background work and research.

Gerry: As a business perhaps you can share what prompted tigers to think about putting a menopause policy in place?
Laura: Initially we came to recognise that a large proportion of our colleagues were women and not only that but women of all ages. At Tigers we talk about brain development and the science of connection, including attachment theory, and we had become increasingly aware through conversation of the range of symptoms attached to menopause. For many this often appears a taboo subject but we immediately felt we had to address the subject internally for our colleagues.
Often people feel they are alone in dealing with symptoms, or may not recognise that feelings, physical and emotional, they are experiencing are not unique to them but that their colleagues are also on that journey through the menopause.

Gerry: Who was involved in researching the policy internally and what processes did you follow to assist with drafting the policy?
Laura: Our first action was to reach out to our team, our entire team across the business, there was no gender disqualification in our request to join us in our early conversations.
We were delighted by the enthusiasm the invitation inspired from across the group. Colleagues representative of all age groups came forward to engage in our conversation including team members at varying stages of the menopause all of whom were curious to learn more about the subject.
Coming together to talk was the next step on the policy journey when people through storytelling shared their own life experiences of menopause or simply being a woman with colleagues. After which we created an action plan where a raft of people accepted individual tasks and responsibilities allocated and designed to give us all a greater understanding of the menopause and its symptoms.
We sought to find external resources too which would add to our knowledge and allow to attach some of the science to the learning. This helped each of us understand where we where individually in life.

Gerry: What key or additional learning, if any, did yourself and colleagues achieve along the way to assist putting the policy in place?
Laura: The biggest thing for me and I’m sure I speak for many of the team when I say that I learned there are different stages of menopause. For example, perimenopause which actually comes in two stages (early and late) and identified the symptoms attached to each. On a personal level this led me to understand that I was experiencing early perimenopause symptoms something which I had previously thought of as being years ahead of me.
Up to that point I was probably guilty of being quite flippant about symptoms jokingly referring to them as me just being hormonal or it being that time of the month but I learned that my brain and body were changing through hormonal imbalances. I found that fascinating when looking it at from a brain development perspective as we do through our internal Daring Ventures programme. I could then name the changes and the feelings around them.
Symptoms such as cognitive disturbances (concentration, brain fog) all of which I had aligned to stress previously I learned it was related to the changes that were taking place in my body.
Along with that came the realisation that this experience is years in the making and not something which appears and leaves you in a short space of time.
It did in actual fact lead us to think of our male colleagues and what process they go through and we have now formed a working group to consider those changes which society also flippantly refers to as mid-life crisis, etc.

Gerry: Do you feel, from a people and culture perspective, this has brought daily benefits to the workplace for Tigers?
Laura: I think the first thing is it brings a willing to engage in conversation and it removes shame from the discussion. It has created a shared language, a sense of belonging with others, and also creates a support network simply through awareness.
We accept that we still have more to do in terms of education and awareness across all genders of the group because each of them will have people in their lives who may be experiencing menopause. Arming people with that knowledge can only be a positive.

Gerry: Having reached the point of having the policy in place what would you offer as advice to others thinking of doing the same for the first time?
Laura: To go for it, to implement and not be fearful. To seek external support if needed, work collaboratively with people within your business in developing your policy.
It would have been much easier for us simply to present a policy as a finished article but there is a feeling, an experience shared, behind the policy when people realise they were part of the team that created the policy.
There is no downside to gaining the knowledge, sharing it and implementing practices borne out of that same learning.

Tigers, in collaboration with the VRU and The Hope Collective, are delighted to be hosting this year’s Glasgow Hackathon on Friday 11th November in our new premises at CityPark.

What is the Hackathon?

The Hope Hacks aim to provide young people with the opportunity to come together for a day of exploring and developing new and innovative solutions to the challenges we currently face in our society today.  The Hope Hacks provide an excellent platform for young people to raise their voices and share not only their concerns about the societal challenges we face, but also to offer hope in the ways in which we tackle poverty and inequality as a nation.

The origins of the Hope Hack start with the tragic story of Damilola Taylor who was murdered, aged 10, in London. Damilola dreamed of being a doctor and of being able to save the world. In his memory, the Damilola Taylor Trust was formed, and in 2020 the Day of Hope was launched, marking 20 years since Damilola’s death.

The Day of Hope was developed and supported by a ‘Hope Collective’, a joint enterprise which brought together leading organisations with shared values from across the United Kingdom, all with a vision to create a powerful voice for change on behalf of young people.

The Glasgow Hackathon aims to gather young people’s views on poverty and inequality within their communities with the intention of providing young people with a platform to share their solutions to these challenges and present these to their peers and the wider group.

The ideas and solutions from the hacks will be incorporated as part of a report along with the survey data to create the biggest needs assessment into what young people think a fairer society looks like. The Youth Management Group (YMG) are a group of 15-20 young people aged between 16-25 years, who steer the overall activity of the Hope Collective.

The findings of the Glasgow Hack will be included within the Reimagined Report which will be circulated in advance of the 2024 Westminster Election.

Tigers firmly believes in the vision of The Hope Collective and in helping to provide a platform where our young people have the opportunity to come together as part of this collective and offer their insights, solutions and hope for their futures.

If you are aged 16-24 and are interested in participating in our event or would like to find our further information please contact us at events@tigersltd.co.uk