Mentoring as a way of capacity building of employees

Blogpost No. 7: By Tilak Karunaratne (E201471)

 

Introduction

The word 'mentoring' denotes a partnership between two individuals, to assist one less experienced person by the other who is the more experienced person, in the former's personal and / or professional development.  Called ‘mentee’, the less experienced person is to obtain support of the ‘mentor’ who is the more experienced person.  The main result is the mentee being able to improve his / her skills, attitude or behavior enabling to overcome the challenge faced.

The mentoring period is dependent on several factors including the need of the mentee and may go for days, weeks, months or years.  Mentoring may come in bits and pieces as needed by the mentee; or it may be that a mentor and mentee choose to have a schedule for meetings, depending on what works for both. 

Like some other concepts, the word ‘mentoring’ is also difficult to define, causing many definitions to the word (Ambrosetti & Dekker, 2010).  Henderson (2017) found mentoring as one of the common learning methods. 

According to the researcher Smith (2007), mentoring is ‘a particular mode of learning wherein the mentor not only supports the mentee, but also challenges them productively so that progress is made’.

 “Mentoring is a complex, interactive process occurring between individuals of differing levels of experience and expertise which incorporates interpersonal or psychosocial development, career and / or educational development and socialization functions into the relationship.  This one-to-one relationship is itself developmental and proceeds through a series of stages which help to determine both the conditions affecting and their outcomes of the process.  To the extent that the parameters of mutuality and compatibility exist in the relationship, the potential outcomes of respect, professionalism, collegiality and the role fulfillment will result.  Further the mentoring process occurs in a dynamic relationship within a given milieu (Caldwell and Carter; 1993; p.10)”.

 


Picture courtesy: Internet

 Why mentoring?

There are many ways for educating or skilling a person or assisting a person to overcome an issue.  They include; lecturing, demonstrating, exposing or practicing, to name a few.  Depending on the factors such as the change to be created, the nature of the mentee and the subject concerned, the most effective option – of which one may be ‘mentoring’ - needs to be chosen.  In general, the mentorship is used to create change in a person’s skills, attitudes or behaviors.

By nature of mentoring, the mentor has to be highly experienced and learned person on the subject concerned.  S/he also shall possess willingness to help a person in need, understand the mentor’s situation and the requirements and effective communication skills.

More on mentoring …

According to Lai (2005), there are three elements of mentoring namely: relational, developmental and contextual.  Relational means the relationship which exists between mentor and mentee; development means how the mentor and mentee develop themselves while keeping in mind the goals, professionally and personally; and the word contextual refers to cultural and situational background of mentoring (Ambrosetti & Dekker, 2010).

Mentor’s relationship with mentee is hierarchical as the mentor is a more experienced person than mentee (Ambrosetti & Dekker, 2010). It has been found that mentor can give and develop mentee’s knowledge and skills which a mentee is seeking or wanted to learn (McCormack & West, 2006; Aladejana, Aladejana & Ehindero, 2006; Fowler & O’Gorman, 2005; Hayes, 2001; Billett, 2003; Price & Chen, 2003).

The new technologies evolved such as email, chat groups and internet and video conferencing has brought  the E-Mentoring process. These new methods help to transcend functional, sectoral, and hierarchical barriers of formal mentoring relationships. Also, the non-face-to-face nature of the E-Mentoring relationship overcomes traditional barriers of age, race, gender, and status, which might negatively affect a traditional mentoring relationship.

Picture Courtesy: Internet

Benefits of mentoring

Some people believe mentoring as the same as supervising or teaching which is incorrect.  For example, supervisors and teachers make assessments whereas mentors do not (Walkington, 2006).  Mentors build trust between them and mentees, but the supervisors main purposes are to analysis performances and evaluate the performance against given criteria (Hudson and Millwater, 2008).  Literature described mentoring as supporting someone, providing help and giving feedback to the person who is called mentee without keeping in view any measurement (Ambrosetti & Dekker, 2010).

An effective mentor can make a significant change in the mentee’s life.  The process of mentoring will benefit both mentee and the mentor, of which a few are listed below.

  •  Positive change in skills, attitudes and / or behavior  
  •  Self satisfaction on the change enabled,
  •  Improvement in self confidence, leadership and management qualities, and
  •  Increase in performance

As a 'mentor' now and a 'mentee' decades ago, the writer found mentoring as enriching because it improved his knowledge and skills and insights faster and to a greater extent.   

Conclusion

Mentoring is a process and technique that could effectively be used to bring in change in many scenarios.  In Human Resource Management, this can be used to build skills, attitudes and behavior of the employees in a company, contributing to employees’ as well as company’s capacity.  The critical factors for success are the context, nature of the prospective mentee and the mentor and the techniques to be used by the mentor.

References

Basharat, T. Applying ISPAR Model of Service Dominant Logic on Mentoring a Part of Training and Development Function of HRM Functions; International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology Volume 11 • Issue 1 • January-March 2020

Caldwell, B.J. and Carter, E.M.A (1993):The Return of the Mentor: Strategies for Workplace Learning

Starks, L. C.; E-Mentoring 2.0: Changing the Workplace Through Technology; Advances in the Technology of Managing People: Contemporary Issues in Business (2019 June)

The University of Texas at Austin; https://hr.utexas.edu/manager/tools/mentoring



Comments

  1. Fawaaz JishtyAugust 21, 2023 at 9:12 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fawaaz JishtyAugust 21, 2023 at 9:13 PM

    Agreed Tilak.
    Mentoring is a way to develop your capacity building skills.Also mentors can provide guidance, feedback and support to improve performance and overcome obstacles. Mentors can help to set SMART goals.
    Mentors may play a number of roles such as coach ,friend and counsellor.According to Alred & Garvey(2017:146):
    "A mentor is sensitive to the emotional and intellectual aspects of the mentees' world."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Divvigaa KajendranAugust 22, 2023 at 6:38 AM

    Agreed, Mentoring is a versatile process applicable to various scenarios. In Human Resource Management, it can be employed to enhance employee skills, attitudes, and behaviors, contributing to both individual and organizational growth. Context, mentee and mentor attributes, and mentoring techniques are vital for success (Fenton,2016). This dynamic approach can foster positive transformations in individuals and organizations alike.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nalin Thushara FernandoAugust 23, 2023 at 8:54 AM

    I agree with you.Mentoring is a valuable process for driving positive change, particularly in Human Resource Management.

    It involves structured steps and strategies to foster growth and development.

    According to Vianne(2018) Mentoring supports employees' personal and professional growth, boosts confidence, and aligns with company objectives.
    The success of mentoring depends on context, participant characteristics, and mentorship techniques. Investing in structured programs can lead to substantial benefits.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sachini FernandoAugust 26, 2023 at 8:35 AM

    Very impressive article. Mentoring is a powerful way to build the capacity of employees. It is a relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced mentee, in which the mentor provides guidance, support, and advice. Mentoring can help mentees to develop their skills and knowledge, grow in their careers, and achieve their goals.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Samith JanakaAugust 27, 2023 at 12:37 AM

    Mentoring is a powerful and effective way of building the capacity of employees within an organization. Agreed with your article and indeed if you can elaborate some techniques how you could mentoring employee to get more benefits to your organization also help to enhance our knowledge.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hisshanthi WanasingheAugust 28, 2023 at 5:13 AM

    This article is truly remarkable. Mentoring stands out as a potent avenue for enhancing employees' capabilities. It entails a dynamic between a seasoned mentor and a less experienced mentee, where the mentor offers direction, encouragement, and counsel. Mentoring serves as a mechanism for nurturing mentees' competencies and understanding, fostering their professional advancement, and facilitating their goal attainment.

    ReplyDelete

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