Mentoring: what it is, what it is for and benefits

Employee care is currently a big trend in company objectives. Having experienced and trained workers and knowing how to increase their performance is one of the main competitive advantages of any company. This training and training are the concepts from which the term of mentoring.

What is mentoring?

El mentoring, or mentoring in Spanish, is defined as a practice aimed at developing a person's knowledge through learning with a tutor or mentor, who advises, guides and accompanies in the development of personal or professional knowledge, abilities and abilities to increase the chances of successful work in the future. It is a methodology based on learning through experience of the mentor, who is responsible for transferring their knowledge to the student in an effective, precise and organized manner, all within a strict framework of confidentiality, compliance and professional ethics. The basis of this work philosophy is based on the fact of believing in the professional potential of all people, which in most cases is undeveloped or untapped. That is to say, everyone can Reach your full potential if knowledge and experiences are transmitted to him in the appropriate way, and this is how the figure of the mentor emerges, with the objective of channel the learner's knowledge and enhance it based on their own. Mentoring sessions are based on exploration, questioning, reflection and the exchange of knowledge, that is, analyzing what barriers exist and must be overcome, what opportunities can be taken advantage of and, finally, making sure that the apprentice is able to take action. To do this, at the beginning of each session there must be a conversation structured by the mentor that defines the initial context, that establishes keys to paying attention to the meeting, abandoning daily concerns and that sets objectives to be met before the mentoring ends.

Mentoring vs. Coaching

To understand what mentoring consists of, it is important to clarify that goes beyond coaching. Unlike coaching, mentoring also addresses issues that are outside the mentee's professional life. Coaching consists of offering a specific knowledge about a skill or process that the employee wants to master. In addition, the coach often comes from outside the company and his guidance never extends beyond helping the worker to develop this skill. Instead, the mentoring not only focuses on knowledge, but also in the personal sphere. Coaching, on the other hand, is more aimed at developing and learning tasks without going any further, and mentoring advances to the application, testing, obtaining and measuring results.

Types of mentoring

Formal or informal mentoring

El formal mentoring involves a relationship between the participants pre-established by the institution with a structured program, defined objectives and a policy for evaluating or validating the service. Los business training programs are an example of this type of mentoring. informal mentoring, on the contrary, does not have a predefined model, but is established by the participants without lines to follow or evaluation. They are the ones who choose each other, establish the rules, processes, nature and duration of their relationship internally. A good example is the relationship established between leader and collaborator, where the former tacitly instructs the latter during their daily activities to develop new skills and competencies.

One-to-one mentoring

This is mentoring focused on professionals who work on a specific subject in private sessions adapted ad hoc to their needs. It is usually launched between people who have common experiences and knowledge, although professionals may come from different generations.

Peer-to-peer or peer-to-peer mentoring

This practice occurs between couples of apprentices of the same rank and with similar knowledge or skills in order to share and promote exchange of perspectives horizontally, that is, without formalizing the roles of mentor and apprentice. This relationship is established in such a way that each one acts as a mentor for the other in what each one can contribute.

Group mentoring

In group mentoring, the relationship is established between mentor and a group of people who participate in a common project, with procedures aimed at the same objective. In this process, individual relationships are not established, but rather their action is oriented to the benefit of the group, to its shared objective or purpose. In addition to the mentor's guidance, the synergies between the group They multiply learning outcomes. This is the ideal mentoring for professionals who want to validate their projects before launching them to the market or accelerate the results of their fledgling businesses, which is why group mentoring is the one used in the Santalucía Impulsa, so much for startups like for employees.

Reverse mentoring

In reverse mentoring, mentoring occurs in a reciprocal way, It is the mentor who learns and acquires knowledge as a result of working with the student. The purpose of this learning is to obtain a generational perspective, so the apprentice contributes with knowledge to mentor.It differs from peer mentoring in that in this type, learning takes place between people at the same level, and the reverse mentoring model encourages interaction between individuals of different statuses and roles, people with very different functions. However, in both cases the learning dynamic is equally flexible and reciprocal.

Cross mentoring

This practice consists of extensive, flexible and lasting exchanges between mentors and mentees. In the organizational sphere, it can occur between the departments of the same company so that workers learn about the practices and processes of other departments that influence their work, or when exchanging professionals between two offices in different countries or regions. There can also be an exchange between companies that do not belong to the same group or are related, so that each of the organizations provides tutors and students to the others. Participants can learn about different professional practices, be nourished by different mentalities, recognize their own areas of opportunity, create alliances or any other valuable exchange. The goal here is to give the opportunity to grow in other professional practices and generate potential alliances.

What is mentoring for? Main benefits

This technique has become very widespread in recent years in the business environment because of the advantages it provides both for the organization and for the mentor and mentee. For a consolidated businessman to dedicate learning sessions to another person means achieving new ones for him knowledge, experience and contacts, but the mentored one is not the only beneficiary. The mentor, on the other hand, obtains the fresh ideas and new perspectives What the student can provide, in addition to the fact that performing this task will help them to achieve greater notoriety in the business world and will allow them to share experiences with other mentors, who are generally prestigious businessmen. For companies and organizations, the main benefit is in increase trust between employees and bosses. Once this work methodology has been applied, there is usually an increase in the exchange of experiences between employees of different ranks or between seniors and juniors. In addition, the experience will be very enriching for organizational culture of the company, since it is formed, in part, thanks to the transmission of knowledge and experience from the old to the new. But, in addition to what has already been mentioned, there are many advantages that mentoring provides.

Expansion of the contact network

As we mentioned before, mentoring can increase the network of contacts exponentially. And not only for the mentor, but group mentoring also connects workers from different areas, facilitating access and communication with experts, suppliers, partners and even potential clients. In short, the Networking is one of the keys during mentoring sessions that can take professionals to a higher level.

Increased productivity

Practicing mentoring in the company helps to motivate the employee, whether they are an apprentice or mentor. In addition, by accelerating people's personal and professional development and transforming their talent and potential into action, improves performance and increases performance, which translates into increased productivity.

More knowledge and skills

The most obvious benefit is the managing new knowledge, skills and abilities in a controlled manner, something that for the company may be relevant considering that mentoring can enhance in employees those qualities that fit them and that bring more value to the organization. This learning ranges from knowledge in different areas to using tools or new trends to be more efficient in the workplace.

Save time and money

All projects, whether in their early stages or in more advanced stages, encounter difficulties along the way. The positive side of having a mentor is that they will be a person who is a few steps ahead of the experienced student, and it is very likely that they have already faced a similar situation. In these cases, the tutor can advise on methods, tactics and strategies to achieve the objectives. avoiding common and costly mistakes. Also reduces training and learning costs, facilitating the adaptation and integration of people in the company.

Leadership Development

Mentoring is not a practice that favors only apprentices, but also tutors or mentors, who have the opportunity to develop a sense of leadership, which can later help them to climb positions within the company itself and assume greater responsibilities. Do you know the characteristics that every good leader should have? Now that you know what mentoring is, use it to boost your professional development by obtaining new knowledge and developing the necessary skills.