Developing a mentoring scheme. (Checklist 082).

This checklist describes the steps and considerations involved in developing an organisational mentoring scheme, and should be read in conjunction with the checklist entitled Mentoring in Practice.

Management Standards

This checklist has relevance to the MSC National Occupational Standards for Management: Key Role C--Manage People.

Definition

Mentoring is a relationship in which one person (the mentor)--usually someone more experienced, often more senior in an organisation--helps another (the learner) to discover more about themselves, their potential and their capability. Mentoring should not be seen as an additional or supplementary management task, rather as part of a style and approach to management which puts the learner's development at the heart of the business process.

The relationship between mentor and learner can be informal--where the learner leans on the mentor for guidance, support, help and feedback. It can also be a more formal arrangement in organisations between two people who respect and trust each other and who have organisational backing to develop the relationship and positive outcomes from it. This checklist focuses on a more formal, organisational scheme.

Advantages of a formal scheme

Mentoring:

* shows organisational commitment to the individual's development in a non-dictatorial way

* provides an organisation-backed, uninvolved party who can guide, advise and listen in full confidentiality

* complements other forms of learning.

Disadvantages of an informal scheme

* Unstructured mentoring may be seen as patronage and giving unfair advantage.

* Ad hoc relationships may not take account of the way the organisation is developing.

* Informal schemes may well create gaps in organisational development.

Action checklist

1. Check the organisational culture

For a mentoring scheme to be successful, a suitable organisational culture needs to be in place. Check for:

* a clear and accepted vision of where the organisation is going

* encouragement of learning and development activities amongst staff

* levels of cooperation and help between different sections of the organisation

* a pervasive air of trust throughout.

The key to success is trust. It may be that a programme of change is needed before an organisation-wide mentoring scheme can be attempted with any hope of success.

2. Establish the goals of the scheme

Consider why you wish to establish a mentoring scheme. Common reasons include:

* improving and maintaining the skills and morale of staff

* providing an additional source of guidance and support to that offered by line management

* enabling staff to realise career development plans

* improving internal communication.

3. Get senior management commitment

A mentoring scheme which does not enjoy the visible support of senior management is almost certainly doomed to failure. Without this support, employees will feel that the scheme:

* is under-funded or under-resourced

* merely pays lip service to the idea of mentoring, and does not have the authority behind it to progress development activities recommended.

Senior management commitment (or the lack of it) will spill down to mentors and learners and will influence strongly the time and energy that individuals devote to the scheme.

4. Find a champion

The mentoring scheme champion will preferably be a senior member of the organisation, possibly the person selected to manage the scheme. What is more important, though, is that they are seen to be actively supportive on a day-to-day basis. This will be demonstrated through their:

* help in developing the scheme

* willingness to become a mentor themselves

* involvement with others participating in the scheme

* commitment to training for those participating in the scheme.

5. Establish terms of reference

* Clear up "advice and advise" in a legal sense

Ownership of the mentoring process is with the individual learner. By adopting a joint agreement on a course of action, the mentor should not put themselves in a position of offering legal advice or guidance which could make them liable. Establish the difference between coaching, eliciting and agreeing action with pros and cons, and offering advice.

* Confidentiality

All discussions between the mentor and learner should be strictly confidential. The only exception to this is if the learner agrees that their content can be relayed to a third party (for example the line manager).

* Target audience

Establish who the scheme is aimed at.

6. Start small

Begin with a pilot. Nothing is foolproof or perfect; the scheme will need testing. If blunders of novelty are to be made, then it is best to confine them to a controllable sample. Do you have an identifiable cadre of responsible volunteers who are willing to devote their time, experience and energy to supporting and developing learners on a personal basis? Your pilot will need a core of such people to lend reliability, consistency and solidity to the process.

7. Identify and train the mentors

Mentoring should be a voluntary activity--a general invitation should therefore be issued to staff to attract those who wish to become mentors. It is imperative however, that a selection process is established to ensure a level of quality amongst those who mentor others.

Training (which may be offered in-house or by other organisations) is also important to mentors--they must be fully conversant with the mentoring scheme and what is or is not "acceptable", and they must have a clear understanding of:

* the mentoring process

* the difference between mentoring and directing

* the boundaries of mentoring (for example psychological counselling goes beyond the boundaries)

* the skills necessary for effective mentoring.

8. Identify problems in advance

Work out what you are going to do when there is:

* conflict between the aims of the scheme and those of `hidden' agendas

* breakdown between mentor and learner

* disruption to development patterns through new tasks or responsibilities

* obstruction by the line manager.

9. Work out the logistics

Make sure you have arrangements in place for:

* announcements, promotion and awareness

* questions, problems and reassurances

* the process of pairing mentor with learner

* proposing a framework for the first meeting.

10. Establish evaluation procedures

Plan to review the scheme on an annual basis against:

* the goals selected at the introduction of the scheme

* success or failure of mentoring relationships, identifying the reasons behind either.

Make sure you include learner feedback, as it is essential to amending or improving the scheme.

Dos and don'ts for developing a mentoring scheme

Do

* Provide clear guidance on what can, and cannot, be expected from a mentoring relationship.

* Run a pilot scheme first.

Don't

* Make too many assumptions from early success or failure--each learner will have different obstacles to overcome.

* Forget that all participants are volunteers--directiveness is not on the menu.

Useful reading Mentoring manager: strategies for fostering talent and spreading knowledge London: Pitman, 1996 Mentor guide, Jeremy Kourdi Oxford: Pergamon Open Learning, 1997 Managers as mentors: building partnerships for learning, Chip R Bell San Francisco, Calif: Berrett Koehler, 1996 Mentoring (Management Directions), Bob Norton and Jill Tivey Corby: Institute of Management Foundation, 1995

Related checklists

* Mentoring in practice

* Mapping an effective change programme

* Investing in your people

Thought starters

* What management development schemes are in place in your organisation?

* What support is given to personal development planning or continuing professional development?

Further information

Checklists are available in the following formats:

* Individual checklists.

* A complete set of 175 on CD-ROM or in hard copy.

* Checklists with permission to photocopy.

Full details of the range of checklists which are available can be obtained from:

Lavis Marketing, 73 Lime Walk, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7AD Tel: 0845 702 3736 (local rate call) Fax: +44 1865 750079 or from Checkpoint on the Chartered Management Institute's website at www.managers.org.uk