Raleigh, North Carolina, Dec. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Select Group (TSG), a dedicated leader in North American technical service offerings, today announced its 2018 graduating class of the Women in Business leadership program. The Select Group is committed to developing its employees with methods that expand both professional and personal growth for all avenues of life. Headed by Chief Services Officer, Jill Harlamert, the program spanned seven months, focusing on enabling and equipping women at The Select Group to envision and implement a path to long-term personal and professional success, whatever that means to each individual.
“Our Women in Business program is designed with the purpose of increasing engagement and empowering The Select Group's women employees to grow both personally and professionally. We have seen leadership development in each individual that has come out of the program and we are very excited about the level of participation,” explained Harlamert. Providing the skills and resources for female employees to exceed in their professional lives has been an immense goal for Harlamert and The Select Group’s executive team.
The Select Group’s Women in Business program was launched in January 2018 by Missy McCormick, Director of Talent Acquisition, and Leigh Wallace Dodd, Corporate Trainer at TSG. Open to female employees of all levels across the company's North American footprint with a tenure of at least one year, the program provided participants access to small group coaching, webinars lead by Fortune 100 female business leaders, and action-learning projects supported by TSG's executive leadership team.
The 20 program graduates were coached on specific traits essential to professional success, enabling them to be a top performer in whichever role they choose. These traits included being assertive, disrupting the norm, developing management skills, gaining confidence to empower themselves, and advancing strong business acumen.
“I’ve always struggled with not just accepting but owning who I am as a person in the office. I worried that I was coming off as unapproachable or aggressive for the last 3 years. Through the Women in Business program, I’ve learned that the assertive, passionate and direct person that I am is a strength, and not a weakness, and this is what makes me uniquely successful in this industry,” says Shelby Bickel, Delivery Executive at The Select Group and one of this year's Women in Business graduates.
During the action learning segment of the program, each small group focused on one topic given by members of the executive team. These included real world business challenges and innovative research ideas for which each group developed creative and flexible strategies around. The solutions were presented to each group’s executive sponsor and the outcome resulted in company-wide process improvement and transformation.
Women in Business is just one of the progressive programs The Select Group provides its employees. Other intensive programs include IDEAL leadership – a development program for future leaders, and High-Performance Experience weekend – an event organized by CEO & founder Sheldon Wolitski teaching participants how successful leaders take care of their mind, body, and soul. As well as a robust new hire training course where TSG spares no expense with flying every new employee to its headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., for a week of extensive role training. Because of their constant focus on learning and development, training leaders provide continuous weekly support for new employees throughout the first three months in their role.
“The Select Group's commitment to the long-term success of its high-performing women leaders is clear through the investment in the Women in Business program. Missy McCormick and Leigh Wallace Dodd, with the support of executive leadership, have designed an incredible approach to building community, increasing retention, and improving performance of these talented leaders. They are setting an industry standard for leadership development, and I'm proud to be a part of the program,” says Lydia Schimmelpfenig, Executive Coach and Organizational Effectiveness Advisor.
Not only is The Select Group enlightening its employees, they are involved in advancing the community through programs like Back to Business – a program designed to coach women who are re-launching their career, and award recognition like the Catalyst for Change award from Connected Women of Influence – whose vision is to see women lead the way in business.
This is the vision Wolitski had for the company when starting it in 1999. While working for an industry competitor, he noticed a lack of focus on people and the experience being provided. “I want to be known as someone who has built a company and helped every single person in that company be their best selves and achieve their dreams and aspirations. If my gift is to help The Select Group elevate people, then I’ve done my job.”
Almost 20 years later, TSG is consistently ranked one of the fastest-growing and largest firms in the industry, continuing to devote an enormous amount of its resources towards people and experiences – making them a competitive force in the technical services provider market.
The Select Group is set to launch its second year of the Women in Business program, opening to new participants, in early 2019. Alumni of the 2018 program will serve as mentors, providing guidance for personal and professional development to employees across the organization. The Select Group looks forward to a continuation in innovative ideas and opportunities brought forward by its female employees.
About The Select Group
Founded in 1999 by CEO Sheldon Wolitski, The Select Group is headquartered in Raleigh, NC, with branches throughout North America. With a company purpose of impacting lives, one positive experience at a time, TSG offers managed services and staff augmentation to businesses of all sizes, as well as a dedicated government services division for meeting federal, state, and local government needs. TSG’s technically-trained staff of recruiters and account managers are focused on building relationships to add value to the hiring and talent management processes. To keep up with news, follow The Select Group on LinkedIn.
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