Zoom in on the experience of Prune Benoit, Talent Development Manager at Bel, a fascinating exchange based on our "Women leaders" program, at a time when 65% of women managers want to become leaders of their company, but don't feel legitimate to do so according to Ifop (2021). And where "using the collective to accompany women to key positions" is one of the key skills to be developed by 2024. 

Hello Prune. First of all, could you describe NUMA's mission in a few words?

We approached NUMA in early 2023 to train 24 of our female middle managers. 12 of them have already completed their training. The others are still in training. 

We chose the "Women Leaders" program, which includes a number of workshops, including "Capitalizing on your strengths", "Adopting the posture of a woman leader", "Developing your network" and "Saying no and developing your assertiveness". 

In what context did you deploy this training? And what specific challenges did it address? 

When we launched our first "Diversity and Inclusion" policy in 2017, we rolled out a leadership training course 100% aimed at women. The aim was to develop gender diversity at Bel's highest hierarchical levels. NUMA training has reinforced and boosted this initiative. To support, accelerate and encourage women to develop their leadership skills.

Indeed, research on the subject has shown that they can face very specific obstacles due to their upbringing, limiting beliefs, or their environment. Our ambition: to give them concrete tools to overcome these limitations. 

Another finding, even if parity at Bel is respected at middle management level, is that women's access to senior management positions remains a challenge. This training, open to our female employees with over 5 years' experience, was therefore all the more important in helping them to feel legitimate. 

What criteria made the difference in choosing NUMA? 

Your approach, which is to say that there is no such thing as female leadership. Women are confronted with their own specific issues, and therefore with specific obstacles that the majority of men will not encounter (or will only encounter to a limited extent) in the course of their careers.

I'd also like to mention other assets, such as the very pragmatic aspect of the use cases and tools proposed (close to real-life, directly activable), and the distance format (flexibility in terms of diaries and geography). Above all, we were able to easily add coaching to our already extensive training library.

And then having attended your "Women leaders" webinar, with perfectly adapted content and case studies, finally convinced me.

What were the highlights of your experience with NUMA?

As the person responsible for deploying this training internally, your teams' agility and responsiveness,their ability to adapt a course that can be deployed very quickly .

As a participant, I'd have no hesitation in underlining the quality of the coach, who was unanimously praised, and who went beyond the training to address specific themes, provide additional tools and bring people together. With precise case studies, inspired by real-life situations experienced by the participants, she was able to answer many grey areas, and encourage collective intelligence.

The participation rate was high (89%). What steps have you taken to involve your female employees beforehand? 

Training at Bel is traditionally offered to our employees by catalog. We therefore actively promoted the training through our internal networks. We also approached our network of HRMs, to identify female employees for whom this training would make sense. The participants, for their part, were spontaneously "hooked" by the NUMA content on offer.

And what did they enjoy most about the various workshops?

There's no denying the "promo" spirit experienced over two months. They were particularly impressed by the "safe place" atmosphere conveyed by the coach, and were quick to share their problems. They felt confident. The coach was able to create a unique listening space for them. 

In the end, was your objective achieved through this training program? 

Yes, the participants gained in confidence. They realized that they were not alone, and that they had concrete solutions to their problems. They now feel more legitimate. 

Now it's time to take things a step further, by capitalizing on what we've learned from this training course, making what we've learned a reality over time, and encouraging change through regular milestones. Real transformations only take place if they are permanently anchored.

Our three main objectives in 2024: to strengthen the link between participants, to accelerate the implementation of new practices acquired during training courses. Ensure ongoing follow-up through milestones. And to transform this "promo" spirit into a genuine network of mutual support and sharing. Ultimately, the challenge will be to involve managers in the development of their teams, particularly around this theme.