Menopause matters,
at Home Instead

When I founded Home Instead Exeter & East Devon with my husband in 2011, it was a wish we dreamed of becoming both the care provider of choice and the care employer of choice locally…

Eleven years on, we are extremely proud to say that with determination, dedication, and support from our fantastic team, we feel we are achieving our goal…

For us, being successful and fulfilling our initial goal, means meeting the needs and wishes not only of our clients, but those of our employees too. We work hard to provide fantastic opportunities for career progression but also to focus on wellbeing for team members.

Our inspirational team comprises of staff of all ages, backgrounds, experiences, and circumstances; however, they all share one common intrinsic characteristic – kindness. Taking a close look at our team it’s evident that many are women aged 36-55, which means that at Home Instead, menopause matters.

The launch of our Menopause initiative in 2021 coincided with wider awareness for the cause being built by Davina McCall and others in the media. This presented an ideal opportunity to raise the profile of menopause in our business.

Our goal was never to provide medical advice. Our wish was to ‘support’ and open the conversation around what is for many, a taboo topic. One thing is for sure though, menopause doesn’t just affect the person experiencing it – the effects are far reaching.

At first there was reluctance, perhaps a little discomfort and a good dose of disinterest in some cases! But, we persevered, and soon there was interaction. We would cautiously touch on menopause in our weekly team newsletter and prompt discussion on our private Care Professional Facebook group, and the conversation grew.

We hosted our first ‘Menopause Meetup’ event in July 2021. It was styled as an informal meeting for all staff, to provide support, guidance, and most of all a listening ear – And they came! That first meeting was everything we had hoped, and more: stories of stress, lightbulb moments, comfort in knowing that there was a place to share and positivity in knowing that there could be an answer to the distress that many were feeling. So, whilst tea and cake lured staff in, support and a real feeling of trust kept them coming.

In the background Sharon Coombes (our Marketing Manager) and myself were busy creating our tailor-made, Home Instead Menopause Guidance booklet. This outlined our dedication to supporting staff while acting as a useful source of trustworthy information. To date, we know that the Guide has been widely referred to and circulated amongst team members, their families and beyond, and we are only too pleased to know we have helped other women that have accessed this resource.

Two years on, our Menopause Meetups take place regularly – every month or so – alternating between in-person gatherings and online meetings and compliment the local support provided by groups such as Womenkind Collective, who lead local Menopause Cafés.

The future looks bright for our current and future team members, menopausal ages and stages included, and we are thrilled to be able to support every one of them in their ongoing careers with us. If you’d like to be part of it, call us on 01395 200600, take a look at joining the Exeter & East Devon team online HERE or follow us on Facebook to find out more, HERE.