ALPHARETTA, Georgia—In celebration of National Career Development Month in November, Atrium Hospitality announced the graduation of the inaugural class of WomenRISE, the company’s female hotel general manager development program. WomenRISE kicked off in February 2024 and wrapped up in October of this year. Work is underway to select the next group of future GMs for career development in 2025.
Atrium Hospitality is committed to its female hospitality leaders through the WomenRISE program. This initiative supports women in navigating the next steps of their career journeys by providing mentorship, resources, and opportunities for growth.
“Atrium’s first year to offer our innovative WomenRISE program has been highly successful. WomenRISE participants, instructors and mentors overwhelmingly agree that the investment in time and resources is hastening the career paths of women in hospitality,” said Anneliesse Cooper, chief human resources officer, Atrium Hospitality.
Cooper said “Through virtual group classes, individual interviews, and 360-degree assessments for identifying strengths and areas for development, Atrium’s WomenRISE 2024 class participants received focused training and mentoring to confidently move forward in their hotel career journeys.”
Over a nine-month period this year, WomenRISE participants:
- Joined in scheduled opportunities to explore their leadership qualities.
- Built their network within Atrium.
- Gained learnings on specific topics related to hotel operations.
- Prepared to take the next steps to pursue a GM role.
Atrium’s WomenRISE inaugural class included nine participants from across Atrium-managed hotels in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Program participants were selected during Atrium’s portfolio-wide talent review in 2023 and come from varying departments, including operations, sales and marketing and finance.