Definition

A mentor is an experienced person who wishes to share his or her experience through a mentoring activity. Mentoring is based on an interpersonal relationship of support, exchange and learning between mentor and mentee.

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🎯 Mentor Engagement

• Commitment: Mentors are committed to dedicating time and energy to guide and support their mentees in their professional development.
• Experience and expertise: Mentors bring their professional experience and expertise in their field to provide relevant and informed advice.
• Active listening: Mentors are committed to actively listening to the concerns, challenges, and aspirations of their mentees, offering them a sympathetic ear.
• Knowledge sharing: Mentors are encouraged to share their knowledge, skills, and tips to help their mentees grow and advance in their careers.
• Constructive feedback: Mentors provide constructive and honest feedback to their mentees, helping them identify their strengths and areas for improvement.
• Participation in relevant training and meetings.

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🎯 Mentee Engagement

• Open-mindedness: Mentees commit to being open to the advice and ideas of mentors, being receptive to their suggestions for their professional development.
• Active engagement: Mentees are encouraged to take initiative for their own growth by identifying development goals and actively working towards them.
• Accountability: Mentees are responsible for their own learning and progress. They must actively participate in mentoring sessions and put the received advice into practice.
• Feedback and reflection: Mentees are invited to provide constructive feedback to their mentors, sharing their impressions and expressing their specific needs. They are also encouraged to reflect on their experiences and engage in self-assessment.

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🙌 HR commitment

The roles of HR Department, Mentoring Programme Advisory Committee, mentors and mentees are essential to establishing a successful mentoring programme.

The main responsibility of the HR Department is to plan the entire process, match pairs, train mentors, monitor the process and summarize the results :

• Setting mentoring programme objectives.
• Developing mentoring guidelines that fit the company’s needs.
• Recruiting mentors and mentees.
• Planning and implementing mentor training, as relevant.
• Matching mentors and mentees.
• Monitoring and evaluating the mentoring process.
• Closing the mentoring phases.

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👀 Mentoring Programme Advisory Committee Role

The role of the advisory committee is to ensure there is a fair process.

The advisory committee comprises line manager of the mentee, a senior manager, mento, mentee and HR Dept. The committee provides feedback and gives advice to ensure the smooth running of the mentoring programme.

The principal focus of the committee is to provide strategic advice and support for the activities of the mentoring programme. Members are asked to join the committee by HR Dept.

The committee meets regularly to review and discuss the:

1. Mentoring programme execution.
2. Monitoring and evaluating progress.
3. Give guidance to support skills acquisition.

The committee is expected to:

• Give any feedback or reviews within the time frame requested by HR Dept
• Respect confidentiality in order to promote open discussion.

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The roles and responsibilities of mentors and mentees

Roles and responsibilities of a mentor

• Prepare for mentoring sessions.
• Identify and monitor tasks assigned to the mentee.
• Plan and participate in meetings.
• Focus on goals and results.
• Identify relevant literature and other resources, including contacts.
• Share knowledge and skills.
• Attend relevant training and meetings.
• Be open and give constructive feedback to the mentee.

Roles and responsibilities of a mentee

• Determine the goals of the process.
• Communicate the objectives of each meeting to the mentor (focusing on desired outcomes).
• Schedule meetings and propose agendas based on objectives
• Perform the tasks assigned by the mentor.
• Attend relevant trainings, meetings and activities.
• Be open and give constructive feedback to the mentor.
• Seek advice, opinions, feedback and direction from the mentor.
• Respect the mentor’s time and agreed schedule.

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⚠️ Mentors: Traps to avoid

“I can help”

Avoid stepping in to fix problems for the mentee.

“I can help you get ahead”

Do not be tempted to do favours for the mentee that you would not do for others.

“I know best”

Share your experience, but do not tell the mentee what to do.

“You need me”

The goal is independence, not dependence. The goal is for the mentee to get stronger, not to feel better about his/her weaknesses.

1. Setting up a mentoring programme

• Steps in implementing a mentoring programme

When designing a mentoring programme, it is important to consider the process below in order to lay the foundation for a comprehensive programme and valuable experience for all participants.

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🚀 The Pathline platform

The Pathline platform is used by participants of the program. It enables:

• Sessions: Mentors and mentees participating in the program benefit from tools to enhance their guidance through the creation of session summaries, action plans, and resource sharing.
• Mentor pool: Each mentor customizes their profile, specifying the skills they wish to share, the languages in which they can mentor, as well as their academic and professional background, and other useful links such as their LinkedIn profile or video interviews.
• Customization of the mentoring process: The platform is personalized to adapt to user needs. Administrators can customize:
  • The program theme (e.g., Onboarding, Women Leadership, Talent Development, etc.)
  • Program objectives
  • Participants as mentors and mentees
  • The mentoring format (number and frequency of sessions)
  • The platform language
• Confidentiality: The mentoring process is treated with utmost confidentiality for participants. Platform administrators will never have access to notes or documents shared during mentoring sessions.
• Data protection: The platform is designed in accordance with GDPR standards, ensuring data privacy through strict security protocols. Data is hosted and processed in France to prevent any foreign jurisdiction from having access.
• Dashboard: Administrators have the ability to track the progress of the mentoring program, including session dates, completion of sessions, attendance, defined objectives, achieved objectives, and program completion.

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