Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative

Get Mentoring

Final Research Report

Prepared for: BIS

By: Leigh Sear, SFEDI Ltd.

Date: March 2013

Version: 6

SFEDI

Enterprise House

18 Parsons Court, Welbury Way

Aycliffe Business Park

Aycliffe, County Durham DL5 6ZE

Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and

Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative

Get Mentoring

Final Research Report

Table of Contents

Executive Summary2

1.Introduction7

2.Aims and Objectives and Project Approach9

3.Review of Current Thinking: Understanding and Supporting Enterprise Mentoring 13

4.Enterprise Mentor Characteristics and Past Experiences –

An Analysis16

5.Enterprise Mentoring – An Analysis22

6.Summary, Implications and Recommendations51

7.References and Resources57

Appendices61

1. Members of the Research Steering Group

2. Mentor Discussion Guide

3. Mentor Diary Template

4. List of Interviewed Enterprise Mentors

Executive Summary

This Summary

In September 2011, SFEDI was commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to develop and deliver a programme to recruit and train volunteer mentors from the micro, small and medium sized business community, namely Get Mentoring.

There are a number of strands of activity to the Get Mentoring project including:

  • Awareness raising of the role and importance of mentoring to learning and skills development in SMEs
  • Recruitment and training of enterprise mentors
  • Building the evidence base around understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring
  • Experience exchange between different groups of stakeholder involved in enterprise mentoring
  • Animating the market for enterprise mentoring with other stakeholders.
  • Assessing implications of mentoring for female entrepreneurs and mentors.

Given the scale and scope of the Get Mentoring project, it has provided an opportunity to research different aspects of understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring and address a number of gaps in the current evidence base, including the implications for female entrepreneurs. This element of the project has been led by SFEDI Solutions, the UK recognised sector skills body for business enterprise and enterprise support.

This executive summary outlines the key headlines and highlights to emerge from research into the experiences of a cohort of small business owner-managers who have been supported to mentor other businesses through Get Mentoring.

The Aims and Objectives

The overall aims of the research strand of the Get Mentoring were three-fold:

  • To explore how the mentoring relationship is managed by the mentor, mentee and other stakeholders involved in the process
  • To unpack how the mentoring relationship can be effectively supported to enhance its impact on enterprise learning and skills development
  • To reflect upon the implications of supporting enterprise mentoring amongst female entrepreneurs.

In so doing, the research project has:

  • Explored definitions of enterprise mentoring
  • Reviewed the knowledge and abilities and skills required to effectively mentor other business owners, particularly in terms of any specific requirements/issues for different groups of entrepreneur and/or mentor
  • Explored the key stages in the enterprise mentoring relationship including the activities undertaken, the barriers and challenges encountered in mentoring others and the associated personal/professional development and support needs
  • Assessed the key outcomes from the mentoring relationship
  • Examined the implications and recommendations for supporting enterprise mentoring in the near-term.

The Research

Given the above objectives, and the limited nature of the existing evidence base on enterprise mentoring, a qualitative research approach was adopted.

As such, the emphasis within the research project has been on understanding experiences, as opposed to the representativeness of the cohort of interviewed enterprise mentors, mentees and partners.

The project used a range of different methods and engaged with different groups of stakeholders involved in understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring including:

  • Review of the existing evidence base and statistics
  • Face-to-face and telephone consultations with a group of 40 enterprise mentors
  • Self-completion diaries with 35 enterprise mentors
  • Consultations and a review workshop with project partners
  • Consultations with other stakeholders.

Key Findings

Key headlines and highlights to emerge from the research included:

  • There is diversity amongst the mentors supported through Get Mentoring, with no one type of enterprise mentor. There are different age, gender and ethnicity profiles, different spatial patterns of mentoring, different business experiences and different experiences of mentoring other businesses.
  • The level of previous mentoring experience and experience of running your own business are the primary influences on subsequent approaches and experiences in mentoring others. A number of studies have identified the importance of previous business experience as a critical success factor in a mentor being able to establish an effective relationship with a mentee (see, for example, Parvin, 2001; Barrett, 2006). This was reinforced by the interviewed enterprise mentors that had undertaken some form of mentoring with other businesses. It emerged from these interactions that previous business experience provided a ‘hook’ upon which to assist the mentee to reflect on their experiences that seemed more important than their age or gender. In addition, previous business experience provides a source of ‘stories’ which can be used to assist in engaging with the mentee and demonstrating credibility and empathy.
  • In comparison to previous mentoring and business experience, there is less evidence around the influence of age of the owner-manager, gender and ethnicity on the management of the mentoring process and its impact.
  • There are different types of mentoring being undertaken, ranging from the highly naturalistic and informal to more formal mentoring sessions undertaken via a formal business support organisation. To date, there is evidence of more informal mentoring being undertaken by the mentors supported through Get Mentoring than more formal mentoring sessions. However, it is likely that the extent of formal mentoring may increase in the near future, with more volunteers from Get Mentoring raising awareness of the benefits of mentoring amongst business networks and with initiatives such as the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme and Start-up Loans providing an opportunity for volunteers to move from the training to mentoring other businesses.
  • There are two key groupings of motivations to mentoring others – strategic/proactive (e.g. desire to ‘put back’ into the local business community, develop a set of new skills which could be used to benefit their own personal development or other businesses in the area) and tactical/reactive (e.g. ‘top-up’ professional development activity which was associated with previous employment and continuing professional development, without which they may struggle to win and/or deliver work). These motivations lead to different experiences of managing mentoring sessions with owner-managers, the challenges and opportunities faced in mentoring others and professional development needs and requirements.
  • There are a number of discrete activities undertaken in mentoring others - as outlined in Figure 1 below. Each activity is a flexible and evolving aspect of the mentoring process and incorporates both formal and informal approaches. The research identified different levels of focus on each of the key parts and associated activities outlined in Figure 1. Certain activities, for example, were passed over quickly and with minimal concern, whereas others were the focus of most of the mentor’s activities. There is, in other words, no pre-determined allocation of effort amongst the key stages of the process. Instead, concentration of concern and activity varies from mentor to mentor, typically dependent upon:
  • Previous experience or knowledge of mentoring and/or supporting the development of owner-managers
  • Attitude and perception of the mentor (e.g. ‘cautious-sensing’ versus ‘learning-as-you-go’)
  • Extent or degree of networks with other businesses
  • Extent of other mentoring provision in the locality.
  • Motivation and confidence is the key building block to the mentoring process. This leads to awareness raising, opportunity recognition and selection, matching and review, management of mentoring others and reflection and review. The interviews highlighted that Get Mentoring has not only stimulated the motivation for owner-managers to engage with enterprise mentoring but also has built the confidence to mentor other businesses. Therefore, there is evidence to demonstrate that Get Mentoring has been an important intervention in mobilising the enthusiasm amongst smaller businesses to share experience and expertise with each other.

Figure 1: Enterprise Mentoring – A Process Framework

  • Mentors are encountering a number of challenges in moving from the training to action, particularly in terms of “how to’s” related to managing different enterprise support roles (e.g. between advising, coaching and mentoring), managing the relationship with mentoring organisations (e.g. following up initial expressions of interest) and generating opportunities to mentor others. Developments such as the ‘Meet the Mentor’ events are emerging to assist mentors in working through such challenges.
  • There is a need for some sort of structure to support the professional development of enterprise mentors supported through the Get Mentoring project, who are not being picked up by mentoring organisations. This structure could be developed through extending a couple of existing learning platforms such as the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE).
  • There is qualitative evidence of the impact and value of Get Mentoring and subsequent mentoring activity on the personal and business development of both the mentor and mentee. In terms of the former, mentoring others has provided an opportunity to review the development of their own business and implement practices to support key business activities (e.g. staff management and employee engagement). With mentees, for example, there is evidence of the impact of mentoring in developing the resilience, confidence and self-efficacy of the mentee and the development of new business opportunities.

Implications and Recommendations

There are a number of implications and recommendations associated with the key insights that have emerged from the research into understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring.

These can be grouped into a number of bundles including:

  • Developing further understanding of the key aspects of the enterprise mentoring process  e.g. understanding of the dynamics of the demand-side; understanding the impact of enterprise mentoring. To this end, BIS has recently commissioned further research on the demand for enterprise mentoring amongst the SME business population
  • Reviewing ways to encourage and support a range of different types of mentoring activity  e.g. develop materials to assist mentors in generating opportunities; illustrate different forms of mentoring activity in marketing and communication activity
  • Managing the dynamics between the demand and supply of enterprise mentoring  e.g. develop a national mentoring strategy; create a national mentoring forum
  • Reviewing the structure and materials required to support ongoing professional development of mentors  e.g. review different options for a professional development structure for enterprise mentoring; research the need for different professional development materials amongst enterprise mentors.

By working through these implications and recommendations, there will be opportunities to build upon and sustain the impact and value of the investment in Get Mentoring.

Further Information

For further information on the research undertaken as part of the Get Mentoring project please contact Leigh Sear (). For further information on Get Mentoring, please visit

1.Introduction

Get Mentoring

1.1In September 2011, SFEDI was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to develop and deliver a programme to recruit and training volunteer mentors from the micro, small and medium sized business community, namely Get Mentoring.

1.2Get Mentoring is a project initiative which recruited and trained 15,000 enterprise mentors in the United Kingdom from the micro, small and medium business community. In so doing, the project has played a key role in animating the market for enterprise mentoring through identifying routes to providing enterprise mentoring to other owner-managers and raising awareness of the impact of mentoring on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development.

1.3There have been two key stages to the Get Mentoring project. The first phase started in September 2011 and focused on recruiting and training 10,000 mentors by March 2012. The second phase started in April 2012 and focused on the recruitment and training of an additional 5,000 mentors by September 2012. Throughout the project there has been a focus on ensuring that learning materials, research and evaluation of Get Mentoring addressed implications for different groups of entrepreneurs and mentors(including women, black and ethnic minorities (BME), older people and people with disabilities). The project finished in March 2013.

1.4There are a number of strands of activity to the Get Mentoring project including:

  • Awareness raising of the role and importance of mentoring to learning and skills development in SMEs
  • Recruitment and training of enterprise mentors
  • Building the evidence base around understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring
  • Experience exchange between different groups of stakeholder involved in enterprise mentoring
  • Animating the market for enterprise mentoring with other stakeholders
  • Assessing implications of mentoring for female entrepreneurs and mentors.

Building the Evidence Base – Researching Enterprise Mentoring

1.5A review of current thinking on enterprise mentoring highlights a limited but growing evidence base (SQW and NESTA, 2009; Mowgli, 2011; Henry et al., 2012). There are a number of overviews of the evidence base, ‘how to’ guides and reviews and evaluations of specific mentoring programmes. However, there are fewer accounts that unpack the experiences of owner-managers as mentors and their mentees of the mentoring process and the impact of mentoring on the development of learning and skills needed to start, survive and grow a business.

1.6Given the scale and scope of the Get Mentoring project, it has provided an opportunity to research different aspects of understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring and address a number of gaps in the current evidence base, including the implications for female entrepreneurs. This element of the project has been led by SFEDI Solutions, the UK recognised sector skills body for business enterprise and enterprise support.

Structure of this Report

1.7The structure of this final report is as follows:

  • Section 2 – Project Aims, Objectives and Approach: Outlines the overall aim and key objectives of the project as well as the research approach and methods used in exploring experiences of enterprise mentoring
  • Section 3 – Review of Current Thinking: Unpacks the key themes within the current evidence base on enterprise mentoring
  • Section 4 - Enterprise Mentor Characteristics and Past Experiences – An Analysis: Explores the key characteristics of the interviewed enterprise mentors and previous experiences in business and mentoring others
  • Section 5 – Enterprise Mentoring – An Analysis: Explores the experiences of the interviewed enterprise mentors in mentoring other owner-managers and the associated benefits, impact and value added
  • Section 6 – Summary, Implications and Recommendations: Summarises the key issues to emerge from the research and outlines a set of implications and recommendations related to the policy, process and practice of enterprise mentoring in the near-term.

1.8Reflecting a focus within the project (see 1.3 above), there is a consideration of the implications for supporting enterprise mentoring amongst female entrepreneurs throughout Sections 4, 5 and 6.

Definitions of enterprise mentoring

1.9This report focuses on the experiences of a group of owner-managers supporting the development of other business owner-managers through enterprise mentoring. For the purposes of this report, enterprise mentoring is defined as:

An experienced business person acting as a sounding board and critical friend to help someone develop their abilities to start or run a business (SFEDI, 2011).

1.10In places, this final report draws upon work within other areas, such as organisational development, in order to identity elements of effective practice and to address areas where the literature on enterprise mentoring is limited (e.g. models of the enterprise mentoring journey).

Get Mentoring – Final Research Report, SFEDI, 2013Page 1of 75

2.Project Aims, Objectives and Approach

Overall Aim and Objectives

2.1The overall aims of the research strand of the Get Mentoring were three-fold:

  • To explore how the mentoring relationship is managed by the mentor, mentee and other stakeholders involved in the process
  • To unpack how the mentoring relationship can be effectively supported to enhance its impact on enterprise learning and skills development
  • To reflect upon the implications of supporting enterprise mentoring amongst female entrepreneurs.

2.2In so doing, the research project has:

  • Explored definitions of enterprise mentoring
  • Reviewed the knowledge and abilities and skills required to effectively mentor other business owners, particularly in terms of any specific requirements/issues for different groups of entrepreneur and/or mentor (e.g. women, BME, older people)
  • Explored the key stages in the enterprise mentoring relationship, in particular the activities undertaken, the barriers and challenges encountered in mentoring others and the associated personal/professional development and support needs
  • Assessed the key outcomes from the mentoring relationship
  • Examined the implications and recommendations for supporting enterprise mentoring in the near-term.

Research Approach and Methods

2.3Given the above objectives and the limited nature of the evidence base on enterprise mentoring, a qualitative research approach was adopted.

2.4The key advantages of using a qualitative methodology are two-fold (Silverman, 1999; Curran and Blackburn, 2001). First, it allows the collection of ‘rich’, or intensive, data around key areas of need to know related to understanding and supporting enterprise mentoring, particularly ‘how’ (e.g. how learning from Get Mentoring was used to identify mentoring opportunities) and ‘why’ (e.g. why businesses owner-managers are mentoring other businesses and got involved with Get Mentoring) questions. This is important within the context of exploring how the mentor-mentee relationship is managed in practice and associated development needs and requirements.