Benefits of Mentoring

Effective mentoring benefits everyone involved – the mentee and mentor, the organisation and the mentee’s line manager, in the employment context. Much the same is true in a community context; where there are major benefits for society from helping people overcome disadvantage and disaffection.

For the mentee, mentoring provides a safe haven to explore personal, work and career issues. The mentor provides a sounding board for difficult decisions, an independent view to put things into perspective, someone to encourage you when things aren’t going well and sometimes a role model for some of the personal goals you want to achieve.

For the mentor, mentoring is a great opportunity to develop the skill of developing others, away from the confines of his or her own team. It is also one of the few opportunities for the mentor to take reflective time out during the working day. Working with the mentee’s issues often leads the mentor to valuable insights about relationships with their own team. When asked for what they have gained from the relationship, mentors most commonly talk of intellectual challenge, of learning, and of the simple satisfaction at seeing someone else progress.

For the organisation, mentoring contributes significantly to the attraction and retention of talent. People, who have mentors, are less likely to leave the organisation, or at least likely to stay much longer. Various studies indicate, for example, that salespeople with mentors sell on average 20% more in their first year with an organisation. Having a mentoring program also contributes to the organisation’s reputation as a caring, people-centred employer.