Last year, Marie Broad, our Head of CSR at SThree, was asked if she would be interested in becoming a mentor through Drive Forward. We spoke with her to find out more about her experience.
Corporate Social Responsibility is a core part of our identity as an organisation. Everyone at SThree embraces our theme of ‘transforming lives through skills and work’, something that comes to life thanks to initiatives such as our apprenticeship and mentoring programmes.
To further expand our CSR programme, we’ve been partnering with Drive Forward, a charity who provides employment support for young adults from a care background, since 2015.
Last year, Drive Forward approached Marie Broad, our Head of CSR at SThree, to see if she would be interested in mentoring Sally who wanted to pursue a career in CSR. Here’s how Marie experienced being a mentor.
How did Drive Forward prepare you to be a mentor?
"Before starting my mentoring experience, Drive Forward provided two evenings of excellent training conducted by their Consultant Psychologist. I learned a great deal about the purpose of mentoring and the opportunities it brings to both the mentor and mentee as well as how to manage some of psychological behaviours that can arise from growing up in care."
How did the mentoring begin?
"Sally and I agreed we wanted to make it as enjoyable as possible whilst keeping up our commitment to each other. Sally had just started a contract role to help run a small grants scheme for charities so we met up twice a month, one face to face meeting and one call which was manageable for our busy schedules."
How did the relationship develop?
"It took a while for our relationship to develop and get to the point where we talked about our challenges and strategies openly. Since then, Sally and I have had many discussions about our work and home life experiences. We have visited each other’s workplaces and I’ve taken Sally to lots of events opening up my CSR network as wide as I can."
What happened next?
"When Sally’s current contract was coming to an end and she wanted to look for a CSR role, I helped her with her CV and provided support with the interview process. I’m absolutely delighted that she was successful with her first job application. She is now in a CSR role at a firm in the City. She has passed her probationary period and is already talking about her next career step with her current employer."
What have you gained out of the experience?
"It has been so rewarding. I have been able to share my knowledge and network with Sally who inspires me with her boldness and the way she pushes down barriers. To play a part in a young person flourishing and pursuing their career aspirations is so fulfilling and working at SThree has given me the platform to do this."
Are there any other mentoring programmes?
For the last three years, SThree has run an internal global mentoring programme. This has been very successful with both mentees and mentors who have benefitted from the experience. In addition, SThree has seen increased promotion and retention rates with dozens of mutually beneficial relationships being built across our global business.
If you want to join an organisation that supports its people to reach their full potential, browse our most recent job opportunities at SThree.