Outcome summary
When Specsavers Northern Europe and Danish optical retail chain Louis Nielsen needed to strengthen the capability of the people responsible for the development of new optometrists and store employees, they turned to Small and Mighty Group. Together, we designed and delivered a tailored mentorship program that could be embedded into day-to-day store operations and adapted across multiple countries.
Designed specifically around the realities of optical retail, the year-long program combined mentoring, leadership development, peer learning and practical reflection without taking participants away from day-to-day store operations.
The program was developed to support an established Graduate Program, and has since expanded across four countries, become an established part of employee development, and created a wider positive ripple effect across stores.
The challenge
Specsavers Northern Europe and Louis Nielsen already had experienced store managers, opticians and retail professionals with deep technical and industry knowledge. The challenge was therefore not to teach them more about optometry or retail, it was to strengthen their ability to develop other people.
Store teams needed practical mentoring capability that would help them support graduates and new employees with greater consistency, confidence and effectiveness. At the same time, any development program needed to acknowledge the operational reality of a busy retail environment.
Traditional training days that removed people from stores for extended periods were both costly due to lost sales and unlikely to create the sustained behaviour change required. The program needed to be accessible, relevant and flexible enough to sit naturally alongside participants’ existing responsibilities.
It also needed to work across different stores, roles, personalities and eventually different countries, while maintaining a consistent approach to mentoring and employee development.
Our role
Small and Mighty Group was engaged to design a mentoring and leadership development initiative that could complement the existing Graduate Program, and build greater capability within the very people responsible for developing and supporting those graduates and new employees.
Executive Director Torben Soelvsteen, a qualified organisational psychologist with extensive global experience in retail, optometry, leadership development, coaching and organisational change, led the development and facilitation of the program.
Rather than applying a generic mentoring framework, Small and Mighty Group designed the transformative program around the organisation itself: its people, the retail operating environment, industry-specific language, and real-world operational challenges.
What we did
1. Designed a year-long mentor development program
Small and Mighty Group created The Mentoring Program, structured as a year-long learning journey rather than a one-off training intervention.
Short online sessions are delivered approximately every two months, allowing learning to develop progressively while fitting around store operations.
The goal was to provide participants sufficient time between sessions to apply what they have discussed, observe what happens in practice, and return with new situations, questions and experiences.
2. Built the program around participants’ existing strengths
The participants were already accomplished retailers, managers and optical professionals. Rather than starting from the assumption that they needed to be “taught”, the program recognised the considerable knowledge already held within the group.
For this reason, we focused on helping participants strengthen the human and developmental skills required to transfer that knowledge effectively to others.
This included areas such as:
- mentoring versus coaching
- active listening
- constructive feedback
- communication
- learning styles
- self-awareness
- neurodiversity
- unconscious bias
- reflection and questioning techniques
3. Connected learning directly to real situations
Before each session, participants receive a small number of reflection questions, encouraging them to reflect on their mentoring practice, consider what is currently happening with their mentees’ learning, and identify situations they would benefit from discussing.
Participants shared challenges, compared approaches, reflected on what worked, and learned from situations occurring across other stores. Facilitated learning topics were also introduced alongside these conversations, connecting relevant theory with immediate practical application.
4. Made learning operationally practical
The program was designed to work with the organisation rather than compete with it. Sessions were deliberately kept short, virtual and scheduled so that participants could join without leaving the workplace for extended periods.
The bi-monthly cadence provided enough continuity to maintain momentum without overwhelming people already managing busy stores and teams. This practical delivery model contributed to making continued participation achievable at scale.
5. Created a peer-learning environment
An important part of the program was that knowledge did not flow in only one direction.
Small and Mighty Group facilitated the learning environment, but participants were also able to learn extensively from each other, as a situation experienced by one mentor can create a valuable discussion for the entire group.
Participants highlighted this peer exchange as one of the most useful aspects of the program and praised the value of being able to listen to other mentors, understand different situations and learn from how others had handled them.
6. Adapted the program as organisational needs evolved
Session topics adapted according to what participants were experiencing, as well as emerging organisational priorities and direct feedback from within the business. This allowed us to maintain a consistent development pathway while ensuring the program remains relevant to the people participating in it.
As the program expanded internationally, this adaptability also helped it remain meaningful across different store environments and markets.
7. Embedded mentoring capability beyond the participants
As participants began applying the approaches they had learned, those practices travelled with them into different teams and locations.
Knowledge began spreading beyond the participants formally enrolled in the program, supporting broader organisational learning and a more consistent approach to developing current staff and future leaders.
Results
The Mentoring Program has developed from an initial solution supporting a graduate initiative into an established leadership and capability development program operating across four countries.
Key outcomes include:
- the program expanding successfully across multiple Northern European markets
- mentoring practices becoming more consistent across participating stores and teams
- some markets requiring all people involved in training and developing new employees to complete the program
- participants voluntarily returning to complete the program again because of the value they place on reflection, peer learning and knowledge sharing
- participants reporting improvements in communication, feedback, empathy, self-awareness and their confidence in developing others
- a sustainable learning model that fits around operational requirements rather than removing participants from them
- better attraction and retention of new staff as well as on-going performance
Participant feedback reinforces the broader personal and leadership impact:
“Participating in the mentoring course has been an enriching experience, as I have been given the opportunity to develop my communication and guidance skills. The course has given me insight into what it means to be a mentor and the importance of active listening, empathy and constructive feedback.”
Another participant reflected:
“It has not only given me knowledge and insight, but also a deeper understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. We have had the opportunity to exchange our experiences and challenges among the course participants.”
Why this approach worked
The success of the program came from designing around how people actually learn and work. Participants were not removed from their operational environment and given generic theory to take back with them. Learning happened alongside their work, using current challenges and real conversations as the basis for development.
The approach also respected the expertise already within the organisation. Small and Mighty Group provided structure, organisational psychology expertise, facilitation and new perspectives, while participants contributed their own knowledge and experiences. This created learning that was collaborative rather than imposed.
Most importantly, the program connected individual development with organisational capability.
Mentoring is not simply about helping employees perform better. When managers and experienced team members become more capable at developing others, the effect can extend into onboarding, retention, leadership development, knowledge transfer, team culture and ultimately organisational performance.
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