Mentoring for GA success

Introduction to the Effective Practice Toolkit

Mentoring and GA

Managing the Mentoring Relationship

What are the benefits to mentors?

What are the benefits to the organisation?

Essential Skills for Mentors

A Mentoring Summary and Checklist

How to get started

Recommendation

Contents

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Introduction to the Effective Practice Toolkit

The Effective Practice Toolkit is designed to support employers and other partners engaged in the development and delivery of Graduate Apprenticeships in Scotland. This document is intended for use by learning providers, and staff involved in the delivery of work-based learning. The themes included are designed to inform the development of staff in partner employer organisations, or in colleges, universities or other partner organisations.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is a relationship between two people – the “mentor” and the “mentee (the learner).” Appointed mentors can pass on valuable skills, knowledge and insights to their mentee to help them develop personally and in their career.

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One of the fundamental elements of the successful delivery of the Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) in the workplace will be the underpinning support that is put in place for the GA. A first step is to identify who that mentor might be, and whether (if you have more than one GA) the mentor will manage and support the progress of more than one person, or whether you will identify a different mentor for each GA. This is an employer decision and very much will rely on the size and structure of your organisation.

If identifying a workplace mentor for your GA(s) you should consider that a one to one relationship might be necessary, however a mentor may assume a case-load greater than one. (consideration needs to be made to the allocation of time for mentoring support).

Where a mentor does not have a specific expertise in a short-term project or specialism, a coach can be appointed in order to provide short term support. It will be the mentor’s responsibility to assimilate the coaches feedback into the longer term mentoring dialogue.

Mentoring and GA

The mentoring relationship needs to be treated with respect. It should focus on the mentee’s needs, and use the skills of smart questioning, active listening and feedback to achieve the best outcome.

Ground rules

Establish some rules for the mentoring arrangement, with desired outcomes. This could be a set agenda for points to cover, or some performance goals for the mentee to pursue outside of their regular appraisal structure.

Set regular mentoring meetings

Mentoring is based on mutual trust and respect. You will need to set regular meetings to ensure you have opportunities to work together on planned activities and reviewing progress against actions set.

Lead by example

The mentoring conversation may be informal, but the overall arrangement is important and should be professional. This needs to be modelled by the mentor if the mentee is to understand the importance and treat the relationship appropriately.

Be honest and open

Discuss current issues or concerns in an honest conversation. You will need to be approachable and show respect for your mentee.

Build sustainable improvements, not quick fixes

Use the mentoring session to exchange views and give the mentee guidance. It is important not to just give the mentee immediate answers to a problem. A simple answer to a problem is rarely as valuable as understanding how to approach such problems in the future.

Managing the Mentoring Relationship

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Mentoring of less experience generally provides an excellent CPD experience for the mentor, and specifically in the case of the GA, it allows the mentor to introduce new employees into the organisation from Day One and to embrace them into the culture of the organisation. Some of the benefits to mentors are:

Mentoring can develop leadership skills

Can expand knowledge and skill in communication, reflection and review

Seeing the organisation through the eyes of the new and developing employee

Sharing of skills and experience

Satisfaction of supporting and assisting the talent management of a new employee

What are the benefits to mentors?

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What are the benefits to the organisation?

Mentoring is also a very positive experience for the organisation if done well and can support the promotion of a learning organisation in which new entrants experience a structured and supportive learning journey. However, for this approach of supporting talent management to be effective:

The mentoring programme should be carefully designed and structured to meet it’s objectives, and to fit with the culture of the organisation

Mentors should be carefully selected (against the criteria above) and matched appropriately to the mentee.

Mentors should be appropriately trained or inducted in the role and clear on the expectations of them.

Mentees also need to be provided with an induction to:

the purpose of mentoring

it’s objectives and

expectations of them

A structured and committed approach, with time allocated and delivered upon, despite other business demands

A clear commitment to confidentiality

Employers should also consider how they can learn from the mentoring process. How can it be evaluated? By whom? How can the learning be used positively for all concerned and for future talen development.

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a.

b.

c.

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If appointed as a mentor to a Graduate Apprentice, you should ideally have experience of the work-role of the mentee, and professional expertise to support the mentee. As the GA will develop work-based skills, knowledge and attributes, the mentor will be expected to demonstrate and discuss many of the same competences and capabilities. Mentoring is about transferring information, competence and experience to mentees, so that they can use it to build their confidence. As a mentor, you are there to encourage, nurture and provide support because you have already travelled the same road.Therefore to be an effective mentor, you need to:

Have confidence

Have confidence with the ability to offer feedback and challenge your GA in a way that is non-threatening and helps them to look at situations from different perspectives, and to developer a wider perspective on issues.

Observe progress

You will need to be able to objectively observe skills and abilities being implemented and provide feedback on these.

Ask the right questions

It is useful as a mentor to ask the questions that enable your mentee to do the thinking. If you have observed practice you want to discuss, then it is often useful to prepare some discussion points or questions.

Motivating and encouraging

Although you may find yourself being constructively critical, you should ensure that through your

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Essential Skills for Mentors

support, the mentee is motivated towards their learning and feels supported even when things are not going to plan as they may hope.Listen actively – this involves attentively listening, not only to what is said but also the way it is said in terms of tone, body language and perhaps what is not said. This requires patience, practice and time.

Provide feedback

Feedback is critical to ensure that the mentee understands the progress they are making and areas for further development. They may well need ideas and even advice at this stage. This feedback will contribute to the apprentice’s overall assessment by their learning provider.

Noticing

A key to good mentoring may be merely noticing how the apprentice is. Sometimes this may be more about what is not said than what is said. There may be subtle

indicators that the apprentice has an issue with work or interpersonal relationships that, with support, they can overcome.

Agree future goals and targets

In order to understand how to progress to the next stage the mentee may need help setting SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound goals and recording these in their personal training plan.

A Mentoring Summary and Checklist

Professional knowledge and understanding:

To understand the concept of learning styles and be able to facilitate effective learning

How to create environments to support learning

Positive mentoring relationships and their impact, including maintaining professional boundaries

Mentor commitment to:

Create diary space for meetings

To follow-up on actions agreed at meetings

To liaise with internal and external partners as necessary

To manage conflicting roles carefully

To be accessible for urgent situations should these arise.

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Mentoring skills:

Good listener

Reflective

Maintain rapport

Relationship management

Communication skills

Goal-setting

Organised

Questioning skills

Giving feedback

Mentoring Attributes

Empathy Patience

Self-confidence

Praise and encouragement non-judgemental

Supportive

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How to get started

Mentoring is about supporting structured development. The mentor should not feel pressured to have to tell the mentee everything you know about a subject, at every opportunity. What is more important is helping the mentee to identify suitable opportunities to gain skills, knowledge and experience at work, preferably within everyday tasks. Opportunities might include, but not be limited to the following ideas:

reading appropriate manuals, procedures

attending internal training

work observation or shadowinglearning a new job, procedure or practice

researching options to an issue or question

attending relevant meetings

solving work based problems

managing tasks or systems

writing reports to update others on an event, task or job

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In many cases employers and learning providers will choose to participate in Continuous Professional Development of their staff in order to deliver effective and high quality WBL.

For more information on support available

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Back page, what info should we have here?