How will mentoring benefit me?
There is the potential to connect with experts in your profession, role models, political groups, and even spiritual leaders. If you are considering enriching an area of your life, starting a new job or initiating a special project, you may want to find a mentor who can guide you through the process.
What are the benefits of being in a mentoring relationship?
- embraces individual and organizational learning
- values and promotes individual and organizational growth and development
- strengthens relationships within a group of employees
- enriches learning that takes place
- helps to focus and maximize time and effort
- leverages energy
- can maximize the utilization of time, effort and resources
- shortens the time it takes to get new hires established in their jobs
- facilitates the establishment of a working culture that connects and cares about the next generation
- increases productivity of the mentoring pair or groups
- encourages the professional skill development of both mentors and mentees
- creates an environment and promotes networking
- assists in the development of professional confidence and identity
- often increases work satisfaction
- provides an avenue for dealing with work-related stress and role conflict
- assists in personal growth and development
Mentee benefits:
- have a professional relationship that fosters guidance and offers support
- benefit from increased confidence and sense of security
- be challenged to go further, take risks, set new goals, and achieve higher personal and/or professional standards
- experience decreased stress
- have a mentor or mentors that promote insight in times of uncertainty
- participate in groups to dialogue on professional issues and to seek and receive advice on how to balance new responsibilities
- have increased job satisfaction
- expand your networks and participate in leadership development
- benefit from significant career and psychosocial gains including higher compensation and faster salary growth
- assist with the creation of survival skills as you transition to a new job
- develop skills for career advancement
- get support with psychological challenges of adjusting to a new role or work climate
- feel greater career and organizational commitment
- assist in personal growth and development
- demonstrate professionalism and a commitment to your personal and professional development
- increase your learning, personal growth and leadership skills
- enhance your self-fulfillment and job satisfaction
- boost your potential for career advancement
- strengthen your personal knowledge base and become motivated to try new ideas
- improve your communication skills
- become a more reflective practitioner
- create new support networks within your work environment
- participate in organizational citizenship behavior
- invest into favorable work attitudes
- experience career revitalization
- benefit from enhanced career success
- have an increased ability to recruit and experience decreased attrition
- promote a clearer understanding of professional responsibilities and expectations
- see increased employee commitment to the organization
- benefit from improved employee job performance
- develop partnerships and grow leaders from within
- contribute to a positive organizational climate
- enhance organization attraction and recruitment
- reduce employee turnover
- increase organizational learning and employee socialization
- promote greater collegiality among professionals within and across institutions
- it is supported by administration
- can provide you with access to mentoring resources within you own department
- can provide you with a structured way to maximize your access to resources within
the organization including:
- Learning Technologies
- Instructional Leadership Development Center
- Library Services
- Applied Research Department
- provides an opportunity to give back to the organization by mentoring someone else
- can facilitate the retention and recruitment initiatives for employees
- assists with the orientation process of new hires
- re-energize established employees
Allen, D.T., Fickelstien, L.M., & Poteet, M.L. (2009). Designing workplace mentoring
programs: An evidence-based approach. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Canadian Nurses’ Association (2004) Achieving excellence in professional practice: A
guide to preceptorship and mentoring (pp.19). Retrieved from Frequently Asked Questions_April 26_2010-2.rtf/CNA/nursing/education/mentorship/default_e.aspx
Eby, L.T., Durley, J.R., Evans, S.C. & Ragins, B.R. (2006). The relationship between
short term mentoring benefits and long-term mentor outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(3), 424-444,
Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education (n.d). Who benefits from mentoring? Everyone!!! Retrieved from http://www.coe.uga.edu/chds/ mentoring/benefits.htm
Mullen, C.A. (2008). Bringing formal mentoring to the fore in the academy. In C.A. Mullen (Ed.)The handbook of formal mentoring in higher education (pp. 1-19).Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers Inc.
How are mentors and mentees matched up?
Informal method
- One method is informal paring where an inexperienced person approaches an experienced person that he or she respects and admires for the purpose of learning about a special talent for which the experienced person is an expert. Once the inexperienced person has met his or her learning goal, the scheduled interaction between the two individuals stops. This type of relationship may already be established in your workplace but is not currently identified as mentoring.
- The other method involves a third-party (Program head, supervisor or mentorship coordinator) that matches up new employees with experienced employees that have volunteered to assist the mentee to adjust to his or her new work role. The third party can take into consideration factors such as personal requests, common work assignments, shared interests in professional development and personality when making the matches.
- Other approaches can include group or team mentoring where one experienced individual will assume responsibility for a small group of mentees. These groups work together to assist new employees through their adjustment period.
How long will the relationship last?
What happens if a mentor and mentee experience conflict?
- Determine what the mentee needs and wants out of the relationship.
- Outline what the mentor is able to offer in relation to time and skills.
- Establish how often and where to meet.
- Establish preferred methods of communication outside of meeting times (e.g., telephone, Skype and email).
- Develop an agreement that other mentors may need to enter the relationship in order to meet the mentee’s learning needs.
It is good to have a third party that mentors and mentees can to go to for assistance in mediating difficulties. If all else fails the relationship may need to be dissolved and new pairings be made.
Can mentoring activities be used toward maintaining professional competencies, professional development or continuing credits?
Contact us
Contact mentorship.nursing@saskpolytech.ca if you are interested in learning more about the mentorship team.