Mentoring

Mentoring is, when performed well, a selfless act by definition. The ultimate aim is the transfer of wisdom from an older and (hopefully) wiser individual to someone who is travelling the same, or a similar, path.

At a time when attracting and retaining talented staff is a challenge for many organisations, mentoring is an important tool in creating a nurturing working environment where people will want to stay. Mentoring comes in many forms: many large organisations routinely allocate a slightly senior employee to new recruits to teach them the basic orientation skills they need and support them through the tricky early weeks within a new organisation. Others use a mentoring system to provide support for particular groups of employees. BT, for example, runs a number of mentoring programmes through a variety of delivery channels, including the Ethnic Minority Network, an employee-run self-help group that was set up to encourage greater diversity throughout the organisation, and the BT Women’s Network, which allows women in the organisation to discuss career options and other issues with a mentor who has gone through similar experiences.

Most organisations use mentoring networks to guide talented youngsters along the right path (meaning, with luck, higher up the same company). In the best cases, such mentor relationships can last for years and have a profound effect on both parties.

On a practical level, a mentor can help improve staff retention rates by providing a solid source of support when the inevitable career jitters strike. The process is an invaluable tool in transferring experience, skills and knowledge through an organisation. Evidence suggests that mentoring and coaching can improve the overall performance of individuals. An Industrial Society survey of 300 organisations using mentoring programmes showed that 80% agreed that performance had improved as a result.

More recently, modern communication techniques have introduced an entirely new form of mentoring which gives workers on secondment overseas, or working at home, ready access to support in the company. Mentoring by e-mail may seem incongruous as it lacks the face-to-face support that humans often need, but the technique has been used successfully in specific situations, particularly when disparate groups are spread around the country or across the globe. Female workers on maternity leave, for instance, who are able to stay in touch with work and have this constant source of support and reassurance in their company, are thought more likely to return to their jobs.

Programme

Deloitte runs a comprehensive mentoring programme for its graduate intake of accountancy students. Each student is initially allocated an older student or newly qualified accountant to help them with orientation and the inevitable cultural learning curve involved in joining a new company. The firm continues its mentoring programme at a higher level after qualification.

Helen George, a senior audit manager with the firm, has had experience of the mentoring programme from both ends of the spectrum. “The idea of mentors for new recruits is simply to help them learn how the firm works – something as simple as where the stationery cupboard is,” she says. “Later on, in audit for example, everyone has the opportunity to have a mentor outside their normal appraisal process.” Each employee is allowed to choose their mentor which, she adds, is generally “someone they can see as a good example of how they would want their career to progress”.

“It’s a very important process, particularly for a sector like our industry,” she says. “Newly qualified accountants are constantly being bombarded with calls from recruitment agents, and whether to stay or leave can be a real dilemma. It’s really useful to have someone you can discuss your options with, off the record. It’s good for the firm, too, to give the people the opportunity to have a constructive, open discussion about their options rather than make the decision in isolation.”

Having been assigned a mentor early in her career with the firm, Helen now acts as mentor to three junior members of staff. The process generally involves “catching up on an informal basis” at regular intervals. “I usually take them to Starbucks or somewhere for a coffee. It’s important to get away from the working environment,” she says. Other mentors in the firm organise social dinners for their mentees, which allow a further level of networking and the opportunity to swap notes on career paths.

It undoubtedly takes a special set of skills to be a mentor and it is often said that those who are most keen to be mentors are least suited to the role, as they often want to create mirror images of themselves rather than encourage individuality. It is a demanding role that requires honesty and a sense of detachment, as well as outstanding interpersonal skills. It is a difficult skill to learn. Occasionally a mentor is described as having “big ears and a small mouth”; the process is not about spouting forth with advice about your experiences, but listening to each individual case and supporting them through the decisions that have to be made.

Most importantly, the mentor should be prepared to devote the time required and to be challenged by his or her protégé as the relationship develops over time. More often than not, mentors may put in more to the relationship than they get back.

“You have to switch off your professional role to some extent, and the feeling that it is your responsibility to keep people at the firm,” says Helen. “If people don’t trust you to do that, the relationship won’t work. What they need is a rational appraisal of their career, a dispassionate but empathetic ear. The most important thing is to remember what it was like for you at the same stage.”

It is clear what mentees have to gain, but what about the mentors? Helen believes that the answer lies in the ability to see a different perspective. “It’s easy as you get promoted through the firm to only see up and out,” she says. “You can forget that people at all levels work very hard for the firm. It’s not a conveyor belt – people need to be nurtured.”

Liz Fisher is a freelance journalist specialising in business and accounting issues.