Stonegate Group’s Female Mentoring Scheme kicked off its second year this week, welcoming 30 women onto the programme, joining a further 16 who are continuing from the previous year.
In its first year, the scheme saw 31 high performing women paired with senior executives and resulted in one mentee promoted to the Leadership Team and three General Managers promoted to Area Manager Designate after successfully completing Stonegate’s Aspirations course, part of the multi-award-winning Albert’s Theory of Progression.
The scheme was originally introduced in 2019 after the company identified a lower representation of women in senior roles. As a result, Stonegate commissioned an external consultant to carry out research across the business in an effort to understand the cause.
The study concluded that self-belief, confidence and leadership skills were the three main areas that women within the business felt they could improve on to achieve their goals. This ongoing initiative aims to address these areas through the mentor/mentee relationships built within the scheme.
The Female Mentoring Scheme reinforces Stonegate Group’s commitment to its ‘Bar to Boardroom’ ethos, ensuring all employees have the potential to progress within the business. It sits alongside the front and back of house training pathways, Albert’s Theory of Progression (ATOP)and Albert’s Evolution, respectively, as well as the recently announced pathway for support staff, Albert’s Interesting Map to Success, each designed to equip colleagues with the tools required excel at Stonegate.
Lee Woolley, Director of Learning & Organisation Development, said, “We’re delighted to welcome our next group of mentees onto the Female Mentoring Programme and equally delighted to welcome back so many from last year’s cycle.
'It is testament to the success of the programme, that not only can we boast four outstanding promotions as a result of the scheme, but that so many have taken such value from the last 12-months that they have chosen to continue.
“Due to its success, we hope to expand the programme over the coming months to offer its benefits to more women within the business and welcoming new mentees every six months. It’s a pleasure to work in a business where we can actively seek out ways to improve our employees’ professional experience and action them so positively.”