Creating a caring culture is something that many healthcare providers would say that they do. We spoke to the team at Monash IVF Group and were surprised to find this instilled from the ground up. It was through these practices & policies that they created a rapidly expanding business that now spans Australia and South East Asia.
Monash IVF Group provides a service to support people to have children through IVF at a time that is incredibly emotional and challenging for both partners & families involved. It starts with their core principles of care, “caring for their patients and caring for each other”. Embedded from the time someone joins the team, all are coached on the process and the emotional rollercoaster of IVF to enable them to recognise empathy and understanding. It translates into language and behaviours where the team show genuine empathy as they care for the patients and each other.
Monash IVF Group wanted to take it one step further to support their team and became one of the first organisations to offer IVF leave. Giving their team members access to the amazing services they provide. Through a fee adjustment employees and immediate family can also access their best-in-class treatments including associated services available from Monash IVF Group and subsidiaries.
This works to further build the understanding of what IVF involves and to remove any biases or stigma associated, contributing to a societal change in talking about reproductive services. Imagine what great service would be provided by team members who truly understand the experiences of IVF and can empathise with the patient experience.
In addition, they offer generous parental leave to support birth and adoptive parents as well as partners. This includes parental leave for a birth parent or an adoptive parent who is entitled to either paternity or adoption leave for a continuous period of paid and/or unpaid leave for 52 weeks this includes a paid leave of up to 10 weeks for the primary carer (SGC is paid on any primary carer payment).
This culture of care is further expressed through their Learning culture with the aim to enable their team to achieve the career they dream of. This can take a number of paths – for some it can be to become the best technical expert, accessing secondments, special projects or completing a PhD through the scholarship program, for others it can be to rise into leadership.
We spoke to The Learning and Development Manager, Sarah Johnstone who experienced her own career journey with Monash IVF Group. Sarah said: “I love looking back to where I started at Monash IVF. Joining the company as a passionate embryologist, I was given the personal and professional development I needed to move into a leadership role at our Hawthorn Embryology Lab. It is with this knowledge and experience, along with the support of the organisation, that I was able to change tack and try something completely new. I now lead our Learning and Development department and am passionate about creating and delivering meaningful L+D activities for our people”.
Rebecca Redden, Regional Manager of SA & NT reflects on her journey by saying “My career at Monash IVF started Clinically when I joined as a Sonographer. After leading the Ultrasound Department at Repromed I transitioned into the Leadership Team where I was fully supported and provided guidance to expand my skill set and knowledge base which enabled me to successfully step into the role of Operations Manager. The mentorship I received in this role prepared me for my current role as Regional Manager of South Australia and the Northern Territory”.
Flexibility for each person as an individual is something Monash IVF Group strives to accommodate. Given that they need to support patients in their clinics they work to accommodate the needs of their team. Flexibility is something that may look different for everyone depending upon the nature of the role they love to perform, part-time and hybrid working is just some of the norms. There are no barriers to travel, with many employees be supported in their options to move between clinics in the various states either for short-term or long-term opportunities.
Monash IVF Group as you can imagine attracts passionate people who love providing great service & empathy for patients. It is no surprise that with this culture of care, they became finalists in the Gender Equity Awards.
Photo Left to right: Peggy North – Chief People & Culture Officer, Michael Knaap – CEO, Tedd Fuell – Chief Governance & Risk Officer, Fiona Allen – Chief Marketing Officer.
If you would like to learn more about the other finalists then click this link.