Menopause awareness and recruitment go hand in hand at Bootle Financial Services branch

Telecoms & Financial Services, Health & Safety June 2 2023

A month-long menopause awareness initiative has just drawn to a close at Santander’s Alaska House offices in Bootle – with local CWU reps dual-purposing the important health education drive to bring membership density back to pre-pandemic levels.

By Wednesday’s (May 31) conclusion of the appropriately-named ‘May Be Menopause’ month not only were those permanently based at Santander’s replacement for the massive former Girobank site – plus a steady stream of visitors attending team meetings and induction events ­– clearer about the symptoms of menopause, but 21 new members had joined the CWU to boot!

Bootle Financial Services branch secretary Tracey Griffiths explains: “Originally Alaska House had 85 permanent desks for those for whom switching to a predominantly homeworking model simply wasn’t viable – but now there are normally just over 100 people on site on any given day for a variety of reasons, including training.

“That meant we had plenty of visitors to our pop-up stall in the break area during the month of May. As ever, cake proved a big draw – but we were also giving out CWU goody bags containing information leaflets about the menopause and a little hand-held fan, amongst other things, and encouraging people to take part in a menopause awareness quiz with three great prizes!

“We always use these events to check people’s membership details are up to date, and also to make contact with anyone who has not yet joined the union – normally because we missed them in all of the upheavals resulting from the pandemic, the switch to homeworking and the closure of the old Bootle office.

“I’m glad to say, however, that the 21 new members we picked up – 18 for Bootle Financial Services and three for the ALGUS National Branch in Carlton Park –  brings our local membership density up back up to the 94% level we had before the pandemic.”

Tracey stresses that, despite initial concerns that access to new recruits would be harder outside a conventional office environment, the local branch has found new ways to reach out and explain the union’s continuing relevance to a predominantly homeworking workforce.

“Picking up the stragglers who’d slipped through the net has been a real effort – but we’re getting there!” she concludes.