VI module. Mentor's role in mentoring process

How to structure the mentoring process (under construction)

The blended mentoring on employment related issues process will last for 12 months. During the period mentor will have to meet with the mentees according to the scheduler they will agree on in advance.

The first mentoring session

For the group mentoring during the 1st meeting of mentors and mentees the formed groups meet each other as the groups for the first time and get acquainted with their mentors. The main purpose of this meeting is to get acquainted with each other as individuals and to clear up if ”we are well matched”. The meeting could be organised in manager’s/organiser´s office, cafe, restaurant, etc.

During the meeting mentees learn about the other members who consist their group, give the name for their group and formulates a motto of their group. After the mentors are introduced to the groups, the mentees present themselves to the mentor, tell about the background, family, hobbies, values, education, profession, etc. The mentor listens and makes questions – and presents her-/himself.

For the individual mentoring during the 1st meeting of mentors and mentees they meet each other for the first time and get acquainted. The main purpose of this meeting is to clear up if ”we are well matched”.

During the meeting mentee present him-/herself to the mentor, tell about the background, family, hobbies, values, education, profession, etc. The mentor listens and makes questions – and presents her-/himself.

After the introductory/warm-up phase end the group or the individual signs the mentoring contract and agrees on the communication schedule.

If the e-mentoring or blended mentoring is used, the communication schedule is placed in the special platform and is available for all the mentees during the mentoring process.

Setting the goals

During the first mentoring meetings the mentees should set their goals. For the group mentoring the mentees first set their individual goals for the mentoring process and fill into the special form in the platform or in their folders (depending on the form of the mentoring chosen). Also the mentees formulate the objectives – small steps needed to be done in order to reach the aim. Then the common goal for the whole group and the objectives are set up and filled into the special form in the platform or in their folders.

For the individual mentoring mentee only sets the goals for him-/herself and fills into the special form in the platform or in his/her folder.

Communication types, rules and ethics

In the e-mentoring platform the communication between mentor and mentees could be synchronous and asynchronous. The synchronous communication is used during the regular meetings of the mentor and mentee/-s agreed in advance. During such meetings the common chat is used for the communication of the mentor and mentee/-s. Between the regular meetings the mentee/-s and mentor could use the tools of asynchronous communication – forums, e-mail etc.

It is very important for the mentor to agree with his/her group of mentees on the communication rules within the group in order to help the group to work smoothly together in seeking for the individual and group goals. If the individual mentoring is chosen the mentor should also agree on communication rules with his/her mentee. The rules of communication are the rules of ethics which should be agreed on during the first mentoring meetings and should be followed during the whole mentoring process.

In these rules such main issues should be included: respect the time of the mentor, do not contact the mentor by phone late in the evening or during the weekends, the personal information which is said in the group or individual meetings is confidential, respect other opinions, think before saying/writing something, tell only true things, be open, be responsible for reaching your goals etc.

Confidentiality in e-Mentoring process

Under construction

Effective e-team work

Under construction

How to solve conflicts, challenges in remote mentoring

Under construction

Mentoring tools

During the mentoring process three different tools should be used in order to make the process run smoothly and successful reach the goals set.

In order to succeed in Mentoring, there must be a clear understanding between a mentor and a mentee of how to establish and build their mentoring relationship.  The mentor and his/her mentee(s) must develop and agree on a mentoring contract. The contract specifies the rules of their mentoring relationship and how they will continue to communicate. It is developed during the first mentoring session which should be a face-to-face meeting or video conferencing.

A mentor and his/her mentee(s) should discuss and agreed upon various items for the mentoring contract which could be found here.

The example of already prepared mentoring contract could be found here  (group mentoring) (download) and here (individual mentoring) (download).

The group or individual meetings should be organised according the agenda, suggested by the manager:

1. How is everyone?/ How are you?
2. Current issues;
3. Dealing with the target;
4. Agreeing upon the topic (the point of view) for the next meeting;
5. Homework for the mentee/-s for the next meeting.

The example of the more detailed agenda for the mentoring meeting could be found here.

During every mentoring group/individual meeting the meeting diary should be filled in. The mentoring diary should be filled in according to the meeting agenda and placed into the platform or mentee‘s/mentees‘ folder/-s according to the form of the mentoring chosen. In the group mentoring at the beginning of the meeting the group decides who and how will be filling in the diary. The suggested method for filling in the diary is that one of the mentee fills in the diary by the rotation. In the individual mentoring the mentee always fills in the diary by him-/herself. At the end of each meeting the mentor writes some comments at the end of the diary.

The final mentoring session – ending the relationship

When the meetings of the mentoring groups or individuals comes to the end the manager should organise the final meeting/discussion of the mentors and mentees. During the final meeting the mentor with the mentees should evaluate their achievements during the whole mentoring process, have they reached their goals and what has changed in their lives into the bright side. Every group or individual should prepare the conclusions of the mentoring process and should evaluate such points – where they started, how they worked together to achieve the goals, what they succeeded in, what they got from the process, what problems they had, what they would change in the process, where they stand now – what next?

During the final meeting/discussion the set of questions should be discussed. It could be found here.