Uplifting ROI on a Management Development Programme through impactful Group Coaching to support formal learning
MANAGEMENT COACHING
Background
Founded in 1976, The Body Shop became a certified B Corp™ in 2019. The Body Shop seeks to make positive change in the world by offering high-quality, naturally-inspired products produced ethically and sustainably, and by campaigning globally for social and environmental justice. Having pioneered the philosophy that business can be a force for good, this ethos is still the brand’s driving force.
The Body Shop leadership team recognises that the achievement of their ambitions rests heavily on the teams of people who make up their business. They make significant investment in the development of their people and use a combination of both internal and external expertise.
Motion Learning was privileged to act as a coaching partner on one of their recent initiatives, showing clearly the value of internal and external expert partnerships. Our audience? The national and international leaders running those critical front line store teams.
Our task
Internal learning experts at The Body Shop developed and rolled out a module-based leadership programme in 2022 for teams of regional retail leaders across the United Kingdom and North America.
To maximise the transfer of learning from the modules, and increase return on investment, they commissioned Motion Learning to run group coaching sessions in between each module. The aim was to bring leaders together to explore aspects of their formal learning in greater depth, in a shared, safe environment.
Motion Learning was also asked to provide coachees with the experience of coaching, so the leaders could feel the power of coaching and transfer aspects of the approach to their interactions with their own teams.
Provide meaningful support
Through a series of half day group coaching sessions, with a maximum of six leaders in each session, the Motion Learning coach worked with each leader in turn, delving deeper into their needs and raising maximum levels of insight.
Observed by their peers, in a carefully contracted and “psychologically safe” environment, each individual was coached towards clarity on practical action and the next steps to further their impact.
The coach ensured that each session also provided the opportunity for shared experiences to be discussed that had been highlighted though observing and listening to their peers. In addition, the sessions concluded by asking “what have you learned about coaching today, either from your experience or from watching a professional coach?”
The coach worked with the groups over a five-month period, and provided tools, reading materials, and individual follow up support to individuals as needs emerged across this period.
Results
After each round of group sessions ran, Motion Learning gathered common themes and as previously contracted, shared these themes firstly with the coachees and then with internal stakeholders, meeting to discuss how this independent data could be used internally, and what impact this could have on the subsequent module’s content.
Upon completion of the entire coaching activity, Motion also shared this feedback with the relevant senior and executive leaders, providing them with the highest level of insight gained from the coaching sessions. This handover ensured that the transition from external to internal ownership was complete.
An additional and significant outcome stemming directly from the group coaching approach proved to be the impact on the team as a whole. Their shared experiences increased understanding, building relationships, empathy and strengthening trust.
“Rachel is a proactive, focused and highly engaged coach. She manages to get to the bottom of underlying issues very quickly, creates a framework to work within and then pushes for achieving agreed objectives in a fun and engaging way.
Rachel is a highly motivating coach to work with. She balances a lovely friendly manner, with a steely delivery. She’s not a ‘keep quiet’ coach, and I really respect her skills and approach. Rachel has huge empathy and EQ. She has a great balance of personal interest and professional rigour. She was great fun to work with.”
