A major global technology organisation has a proud and proactive history of diversity, and within this context it invests heavily in skills development for its consultants, including paying considerable attention to women's development and encouraging them to put themselves forward.

The organisation's Consulting Services Leader was becoming increasingly aware, however, that skilled and talented women were not applying for senior executive positions. With insufficient numbers both reaching and wanting leadership positions, it was clear that individuals were not optimising their potential, and at an organisational level, the company was losing out on the considerable benefits of diverse contribution. Determined to rectify this imbalance, she decided to initiate a programme of targeted workshops that would address this fundamental gap.

We had been working with the company for about 15 years, including with high potential senior women, and we were asked to partner the organisation on the programme's design and delivery. Comprising groups of 15 highly skilled women, the resulting three-day 'Building Relationships and Influencing' workshops have a four-way focus for participants: an understanding of themselves and their behaviours, and what they bring to relationships; how they present themselves to others; career management; and coaching through personal challenges.

Jointly delivered by a Sheppard Moscow consultant, a senior executive and a learning and knowledge professional from the organisation, the workshops provide a safe framework for individuals to talk openly and honestly about what choices they want to make for themselves. They also help them think about how they manage relationships and networks in their professional and personal lives and career development; provide coaching on building strategies; and explore what, if anything, is holding them back in their career. Overall, they offer an important opportunity for the women to share experiences and hear stories from other people about how they have moved forward with a senior career, reflect on their own career journey and return to the workplace with new networks and insights that have practical application.

Outcomes

Working in partnership with the company, we have held some 20 workshops in Europe and are currently training people within the organisation to deliver them. Feedback from both the company and participants has been extremely positive and enthusiastic, and the workshops are now being rolled out globally, with the Consulting Services Leader as executive sponsor and global senior business leaders providing active sponsorship and mentoring.

Since the start of the programme in Europe, the workshops have enhanced the pipeline of female promotees - all of them programme graduates. It has also impacted positively on retention, with the women now feeling more connected to networks of supportive colleagues, fully appreciating that their talent will be nurtured and knowing that the company places a premium on investing in them. The organisation is hoping that the programme will have the same impact in the rest of the world.

Commenting on its success, the Consulting Services Leader said: "The programme enables our highly talented women to make informed and insightful choices knowing that the organisation will be responsive to these choices and provide the scope and support for making them."

If you would like to find out about this programme, please contact anneowen@sheppardmoscow.com

Back to News