Guidelines for a Mentoring Scheme for Professional Staff

Guidelines for the Mentoring Scheme for Professional Staff

These guidelines are intended to provide individuals and managers with information on the benefits of mentoring, the role of a mentor and guidance on establishing, conducting and reviewing mentoring relationships. If individuals or managers require support with mentoring for professional staff please contact sdu@city.ac.uk

Benefits of mentoring

For the mentee:

It aids induction into a new job and culture
It helps in the process of understanding the formal and informal structures of the organisation
It helps with developing skills, both professional and personal, in a structured way based on individual needs
It improves professional and personal networks
It provides an opportunity for a new member of staff to reflect on his/her own progress and resolve his/her own problems in a confidential environment with someone other than their line manager

For the mentor:

It broadens his/her own skills and knowledge
It may provide a different dimension to his/her current job role
It brings new insights into the organisation
It enables him/her to demonstrate additional skills in developing other individuals
It consolidates and extends his/her professional and personal networks

For the area:

It breaks down hierarchical barriers
It improves communication across the area
It helps to develop group identity of the area

For the University:

It facilitates networking
It improves the transfer of learning
It helps develop diverse employees and remove barriers that may hinder their success
It can improve staff retention

Role of the mentor

The mentor’s role involves providing support and resources to a new member of staff through regular one-to-one meetings. They are expected to facilitate a supportive and developmental relationship with the mentee. However they are not expected to be an expert or to be able to solve all problems raised. It is also not the intention for the mentor to work in the same way as a professional counsellor even if he/she is qualified as such. At times the mentor may need to refer their mentee to the University Counselling Service.

A mentor uses different skills and approaches depending on the subject and situation. However some key responsibilities, skills and attributes of mentors are given below.

Mentors’ responsibilities:

1. Participate in a mentoring training session

2. Initiate first mentoring meeting in which the mentor should ensure the mentee understands the purpose of mentoring and that a working contract is created (see mentoring meetings section below)

3. Provide friendly professional support and guidance relating to problems raised by the mentee

4. Help to clarify the mentees’ performance goals and development needs

5. Share formal and informal knowledge of the systems and relationships within the area and University

6. Arrange introductions to useful contacts inside and outside the area to enable the mentee to begin to develop his/her own network

Skills and qualities of a mentor:

1. Interest in being a mentor

2. Supportive of change at the personal, team and institutional level

3. Encourages others

4. Cares about and respect others

5. Trustworthy and trusts others

6. Has appropriate professional knowledge and skills

7. Willingness to commit their time

8. Friendly and approachable

9. Listens actively and effectively– asks open and appropriate questions, maintains good eye contact, acts as a sounding board

10. Reflects back feelings and opinions to show listening/understanding

11. Makes suggestions without being prescriptive

12. Gives constructive and positive feedback – focuses on the behaviour and not the person, explores alternatives and ideas for the future

13. Able to appreciate his/her differing experience and needs

14. Willing and able to consider issues of ethnicity, gender or disability in the context of the workplace.

Guidance on establishing, conducting and reviewing mentoring relationships

Matching criteria guidance

Typically the mentor should be someone who has more experience of working at the University
The mentor should be on either the same or a slightly higher grade than the mentee as too much of a knowledge/status/experience gap can inhibit and impede the process
The mentor should also understand the mentee’s area of work but should not be directly involved in day to day work with him/her
Particular attention should be given to the issues that may be faced by under represented groups and appropriate sensitivity should be exercised in the allocation of a mentor
The mentor should not be the appraiser/manager of the mentee as this could lead to a conflict of interests (e.g. probation)
Wherever possible the mentor should not be matched with a mentee who they may indirectly line manage or supervise (e.g. the manager of the mentee’s line manager). However, in the allocation of a mentor to the mentee, it will not necessarily be the case that the mentor will be working in different departments, that they will be more senior or that they will be of the same gender or ethnicity as the mentee.

In most cases mentors should have only one mentee to reduce time commitments.

Content of mentoring meetings

The content of meetings should be negotiated between the mentor and the mentee, but the following guidelines may act as a useful framework:

The mentor should be given time to prepare for the first meeting, which should include:

Discussion of the mentoring guidelines
Agreement on the future ways of working together – A Working Contract
Location of meetings
Frequency of meetings
Scheduling of meetings
Length of meetings
Structure of the meetings

Ground rules and boundaries including confidentiality on both sides and any limits to the role (e.g. types of issues to be discussed, communication outside of meetings and whether personal issues will be discussed)

Subsequent meetings may include:

Reflection on induction process
Reflection on professional progress
Identification and exploration of problems
Identification and exploration of development needs
Training opportunities and professional qualifications
Evening classes
Identification and information needed and ways of acquiring it
Tour of the University buildings
Guide to local geographical area
Discussion of the University structure
Sharing of informal knowledge e.g. departmental relationships and procedures
‘Silly questions’
Action planning
Duration of the relationship
Nature and location of meetings

It is likely that the nature of the relationship will develop from one that starts off with the provision of basic information in response to specific questions and develops into more in depth discussion of wider issues. However each relationship is specific to the individuals involved. For example for some, meetings may be more like conversations whereas for others a more structured approach using agendas may be preferred. Likewise the location of the meetings will vary with some preferring the informality of a coffee in the staff restaurant whilst others may prefer the privacy of an office. However, meetings are usually facilitated if they occur outside of the direct work environment.

Timing and frequency of mentoring meetings

The first meeting should either be arranged by the mentor or be incorporated by the line manager into the mentee’s induction programme. The timing of the meeting is up to the area although it may be more valuable to arrange the first meeting after the mentee’s first week to give them an opportunity to find their feet. Going forward mentors and mentee’s should decide the timing and frequency of meetings. As the relationship develops the frequency of meetings may change with perhaps frequent contact for short periods of time in the first few weeks (e.g. half an hour, once a week for the first month) and as the relationship progresses meetings may be less frequent but for longer periods (e.g. once a month for an hour). It is therefore hoped, that the time commitment for mentoring is relatively small in relation to overall work hours particularly because any preparation and follow-up required is limited.

As a result of the likely frequency of initial meetings it is crucial that the mentor is available (e.g. not on holiday) during the mentee’s first month.

Supporting mentors and mentees

Prior to meeting for the first time mentors and mentees are welcome to meet with a member of SDU to discuss these guidelines and their role. This may be particularly useful if some time has elapsed between the mentor attending the training and starting a relationship or if a mentee has been unable to attend the training prior to starting the relationship. SDU will also act as an ongoing contact and can be contacted by mentors and mentees at any time.

Changing mentors

If at any stage the mentee wishes to change mentors they should request this without being required to give a reason. Should they require support with this they may contact SDU.

Duration of mentoring relationships

The duration of the mentoring relationship is determined by the mentor and the mentee and it may well be that it comes to a natural conclusion. It is important to note that the duration of the relationship is not necessarily related to the length of the induction or probation period.

If anyone would like to discuss mentoring for professional staff or would like further guidance please contact sdu@city.ac.uk.