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Successful
Mentoring - Partnerships that improve performance
What
is mentoring and how can it help your staff to increase
their skills, knowledge and expertise?
Mentoring
is a key process that improves your business performance
by expanding the skill and knowledge base of staff and
managers. It's about effectively sharing the wealth
of personal and corporate expertise that exists within
the company.
Mentoring is a partnership which gives people the opportunity
to share their professional and personal knowledge,
skills and experiences and by doing so, to grow and
develop themselves.
In most cases, mentoring is a one-on-one relationship
between an experienced and a less experienced employee.
It's a relationship that must be based on openness,
trust, respect and a willingness to learn and share.
What
benefits can mentoring deliver?
Mentoring
can deliver a number of potential benefits. These include:
-
fast track the ongoing learning and development of
staff
-
retain high performing staff and reduce recruitment
and selection costs
-
capture business expertise and build the company's
skill base
-
develop future leaders
-
assist in building a coaching / mentoring culture
within a company
-
strengthen links across the company and build informal
and formal networks
How
do you build a process for successful mentoring?
Mentoring
is already happening in your company through the everyday
relationships of managers and staff. Creating a process
for mentoring will help to develop and grow the exchange
of skills, knowledge and ideas that is already occurring.
What is the best way to a build a successful mentoring
process?
Your company should develop a method based on the people
involved and the priorities of your business. Consider
your company's work style, the backgrounds of your staff
and the culture that already exists. Your mentoring
process should be seen as a way of facilitating the
sharing of knowledge and not another policy or procedure
to follow.
There is no one model for mentoring. In most cases,
the process that suits your company will be a mixture
of mentoring style:
-
One on one - the classic model where an experienced
person assists a less experienced person to learn
and develop
-
One on many - when one mentor, often a specialist,
works with a number of people who all share a mentoring
goal he/she can assist with. This often takes the
form of a group learning project.
-
Many on one - when a number of mentors are accessed
by a staff member who believes he/she needs to gain
expertise from a range of mentors with specialist
knowledge.
-
Team mentoring - where team members actively share
skills and knowledge with each other to build the
performance of the group.
-
Peer mentoring - when people at a similar level in
the company coach and guide each other.
-
External mentors - when mentors outside the company
are consulted to help with skills or knowledge that
is not available inside the company.
How
to support the mentoring process
Some
framework is necessary when you introduce a mentoring
program. Your company's work style and the number of
people involved will determine the elements of this
framework.
Some items you should consider are listed below.
-
An agreement - this sets out the terms of the relationship.
Include time and duration and also 'golden rules'
- things which will guide the way the mentor and staff
member conduct their relationship. Use it to put forward
a framework which participants can use to support
their activities.
-
Learning Journal (Mentor) - where the mentor can note
ideas and observations about their learning and determine
how these can be applied to further develop the relationship.
-
Learning Log (Staff Member) - where the staff member
can note ideas and observations about their learning
and list skills and knowledge they need to acquire.
These can then be discussed with the mentor.
-
Review period - every month, both parties should evaluate
how they are benefiting from the relationship and
discuss any areas they would like to improve.
The
path ahead...
Time
and effort is certainly required to establish a mentoring
program. The investment is a key to giving people the
opportunity to share their professional and personal
knowledge, and to grow and develop in the process. With
increased personal effectiveness comes increased organisational
effectiveness and the ability for a company to quickly
adapt to the challenges and opportunities.
Ten
Steps for planning an Effective Mentoring Program
Mentoring
is a key process that improves your business performance
by expanding the skill and knowledge base of staff and
managers. The goal is to effectively share the wealth
of personal and corporate expertise that exists within
the company.
Here are ten steps to consider when planning an effective
mentoring program.
1.
State the business goal and outcomes that you want the
mentoring program to deliver.
2.
List the objectives of the mentoring program.
3.
List the benefits of the program for the company, the
mentor and the staff member.
4.
Select the most appropriate mentoring method (eg one-on-one,
group mentoring, team mentoring, virtual mentoring,
etc)
5.
Determine the structure and format for the program.
-
How will mentors be selected? What criteria will you
use?
-
How will you select staff members to participate in
the program? What criteria will you use?
-
What role will the managers of the selected staff
members play in supporting the program?
-
How will you match mentors with staff members?
6.
Map out the range of staff members who are likely to
be in the program. Is there a good cross section? Are
the 'right people' from the 'right places' in the program?
7.
How will you monitor and review the program to ensure
all participants are getting maximum benefit from it?
8.
Determine the support frameworks and materials that
are needed to make the program work in your company.
(eg program guidelines, meeting planners, reference
items).
9.
Determine your evaluation criteria, methods and procedures.
List the activities and tools you will use to measure
effectiveness and the benefits delivered to the business.
10.
Develop the communication process and channels to present
and launch the program.
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