In a previous private sector role, I had explored the impact of coaching and mentoring on people development and staff engagement, and was keen to introduce something along these lines because it appeared to be adaptable for each person’s benefit, and could be included into many different roles and situations. The research I explored, such as that by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), highlighted that coaching, in particular, was popular and many organizations were using it (CIPD, 2012, 2015). What seemed to be missing were the impact evaluations; most commentaries only detailed that Human Resources (HR) workers believed coaching to be impactful, but lacked the evidence to back this up. Formal coach development programs required significant input of time and financial backing. I had a small amount of money available to design and deliver an in-work Mentoring pilot, having identified 2 areas where mentoring could be implemented quickly and effectively. This offered an opportunity to understand the impact of this tool, whilst developing some coaching skills for the mentor-in-training, and therefore gaining a small insight into the impact of coaching too.
In this first phase, a short program of training for mentors was established with a local training company who offered 3 half days of training, covering items such as understanding of what a mentor does and the skills they need, and some 1:1 coaching support for participants. Within the organization, I had identified and offered the development to 2 small cohorts of people who had experience of either a) postgraduate study or b) clinical team leadership. These people then worked in a mentor capacity with those new to either area. Ability to match mentor with mentee was limited by the small number of mentors available, and those willing to come forward to be mentored. Their experience was evaluated for impact through an independent third party, a contact from a local university (Jones, 2012). Those involved had very differing journeys, with the clinical mentors seeming to have the most challenge in finding the time for the mentor role. However the evaluation did reveal that there were positive impacts for the learners and the mentors as a result of the mentoring relationship, in respect of managing the workload and improving engagement.