Part of UM Group
Female colleagues from across the UM Group gathered for a two-day event to mark International Women’s Day.
A total of 27 women from the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain converged on the picturesque Stoke Place Hotel in Slough on February 26th and 27th. This year’s IWD takes place this Sunday (March 8th).
While UM Group has always celebrated IWD, this was the first time the Group had organised its own dedicated event and the intention now is to meet up every two years and have other online get-togethers in between the in-person gatherings.
Taking the lead in organising the successful two-day event was Rebecca Broughton-Lee, UM Group EHS Manager, supported by Geraldine Carroll, Group HR Training & Office Manager.
After a meet and greet lunch on day one, colleagues took part in a team-building event facilitated by EML Events with four groups each given a quiz and a creative challenge about a particular country. The challenges included one group having to devise their own Oompa Loompa song (Germany), while another had to perform their own salsa dance (Brazil).
This was followed by a women themed quiz, hosted by Rebecca, again with colleagues split into teams. There was then time for exploring the lovely grounds at Stoke Hall before a three-course dinner and a set by comedian Kerry Leigh.
The focus for day 2 was around people’s different personalities. The session was led by coach Rebekah Whitaker and followed each delegate being asked to complete the so-called 16 Personalities Test ahead of the event.
On the day, colleagues formed a group with people with similar personalities and then everyone was split into groups with different personalities.
Rebecca said: “It was a challenging and hugely informative session, helping to understand the personality characteristics that different colleagues have in different functions of our business. The session highlighted strengths and weaknesses and how, through greater understanding, we can thrive as a team.”
There was also a fundraising element to the event, in line with IWD’s theme this year of ‘Give to Gain’ with £350 being collected from a raffle which, it is hoped, will be doubled thanks to match-funding by UM Group’s holding company, WR Barnett. The money will go towards the work of the Wish Centre (https://www.thewishcentre.org/), which supports women and children affected by domestic violence.
Geraldine said: “It was wonderful to get colleagues together in-person from the various parts of our Group. For some colleagues it was the first time they had met in person even though they talk regularly on Teams calls.
“The nature of some people’s jobs means that they are office-based and therefore don’t usually have the opportunity to travel. It was really nice to get together and celebrate women.”
Rebecca said: “The feedback we have received has been really positive and it is definitely something we want to do every two years, but with other activities online between the main get-togethers to ensure we maintain momentum.”
For more information about this year’s IWD visit https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
UM colleagues who attended the event at Stoke Place were:
Andean Life - Laurianne Wilson, Sanya Ivanova and Baukje Vogel
UM Terminals – Sarah Harwood, Linda Murray, Joanne Winning and Rebecca Liptrot
Molasses GB – Jess Robson and Felicity White
UM Group – Agnieska S-Reksa, Marcela Lopez, Edyta Szafranska, Vicki Brough, Louisa Brown, Geraldine Carroll and Rebecca Broughton-Lee
UM Trading – Sarah Cripps and Isabel Conde
Tameco – Zinnia de Wilde and Bethlehem Tielens
France Molasses – Sophie Riche
Hansa NFC – Bitten Iversen and Annette Meine
UM Italia – Cristina Coluccia, Sara Mingiardi and Elisa Zini
Premier Molasses – Anne Fitzsimons
