Arranging mentoring for new staff
Offering new colleagues the opportunity to work with a mentor when they are new in post can be a valuable way of helping those individuals settle into their role and into the University.
For Heads of Department and/or managers who want to set up a mentoring partnership for a new colleague, here are some guidelines based on the experience of a number of University staff who have been mentors or mentees.
What do we mean by mentoring?
When can mentoring help?
How should I arrange a mentor?
What do we mean by mentoring?
A mentor is defined as someone who draws on their experience and knowledge to advise and guide a less experienced person in order to enhance their performance or support their development.
During an induction period, a mentor will be someone who uses their experience to help a new colleague to navigate their way in their new environment.
An induction mentor can offer support in a number of ways.
An induction mentor can be someone who works in another department or area and is at the same level or senior to the new colleague. In this kind of mentoring relationship, support is more likely to be offered through a series of agreed meetings where mentor and mentee can discuss longer term issues relating to the role.
An induction mentor can also be designated as the first contact for a new colleague, the person to ask about local working practices and informal rules, who does what and where things are. This kind of mentor is sometimes called a “buddy” or local mentor and their role is to help a new colleague understand how things work in the department. “Buddies” or local mentors are likely to work in the same team or department as the new colleague, be working at the same or similar level and be close at hand or easily available to answer questions.
When can mentoring help?
Not all new staff will want or need a mentor, but for some staff, having a mentor can make a valuable contribution to their ability to settle into a role.
As a manager/leader you may, for example, want to think about suggesting a mentor in these situations:
- The new colleague is new to the UK, the sector or the University and is likely to need support to acclimatise
- The working environment will be very different to the new colleague’s previous environment (open plan office vs own office, informal vs formal structures, team vs solitary working etc)
- The new colleague is returning to work after a period of time away
- The new colleague is coming into a particularly challenging role
- The new colleague will be operating at a higher level of responsibility than previously
How should I arrange a mentor?
A mentoring relationship will only work if:
- both the mentor and the mentee are willing to work together
- you match the mentee with a suitable mentor
- they agree what they will each put into and expect from the mentoring relationship
- their expectations are realistic
- they set boundaries around the mentoring relationship including an agreement on when it will end
Willingness of the mentee and mentor to work together
As a manager or leader, it is important that you discover the mentee’s willingness to work with a mentor. New colleagues may be unused to the idea of a mentor, and so it will help if you are prepared to explain the benefits. New colleagues may also find it helpful to talk with colleagues who know what it is like to work with a mentor so that they can hear some first-hand experience. Mentoring cannot be forced on an individual, and so the decision to go ahead or not is the new colleague’s.
Matching the mentee with a suitable mentor
As a manager/leader, it is your responsibility to find a suitable mentor. An effective mentor will have these abilities:
- can genuinely find the time to support a mentee
- can build rapport with people
- has good listening skills
- can support yet challenge to encourage independence
- can work non-judgmentally
- can share their own experiences in a way that leaves the client free to take what they want to use and leave what they don’t
- always respects confidentiality
- has a positive but realistic outlook
Mentee and mentor must have the chance to see if they can work together. If the relationship doesn’t feel comfortable, then it won’t work for either party.
Making an agreement about the mentoring relationship
As a manager/leader, it’s important for you to recognise that a mentoring relationship does not replace the relationship between a colleague and a Head of Department/manager. Mentoring is a separate and different relationship and you will need to maintain the usual regular contact with the new colleague to agree targets, hear progress and offer your own guidance and support. This will be particularly important when any mentoring relationship ends, and the colleague is independently putting what he/she has learned into practice.
It is vital that you encourage both mentor and mentee to agree the boundaries of their mentoring relationship before they begin. They should agree:
- how long they will work together (“Buddies” or local mentors would not usually work together for longer than a few months. Longer term mentors may choose to work together for up to a year)
- how and where they will meet/talk, and if appropriate, how often
- how much time they can each give in total to their discussions/meetings
- how they want to give each other feedback so that the relationship can change if it needs to
- a “get out” clause that they can use if, for whatever reason, the relationship needs to end before it is agreed
- an agreement that there should be no reverting to the mentoring relationship once it reaches its end
Training for mentors
Some mentors may wish to develop their skills by attending a one-day coaching and mentoring skills workshop which is run by the Learning and Development Centre. More information can be found via the link:
The Centre for Lifelong Learning also offers a Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring and a Diploma in Coaching. More information can be found via the link: