1. Introduction

1.1 My Mentoring Services

MMS is a registered consultancy firm providing mentoring services to young people, families and all those who want to strive for excellence. MMS values discipline, determination, courage and commitment, which complement our philosophy of integrity, trust, respect and authenticity.

MMS was created to help develop, validate and nurture positive relationships between mentors, mentees and their associates. This service prepares mentees to achieve excellence in life and provides the guidance to protect their interests and secure their futures. The business focus on mentee’s career aspirations and helps them realise their dreams through the provision of professional advice and guidance.

1.2 The Services

The mentoring program provides a wide range of services. It mentors and supports individuals wanting to participant in sporting activities, aged care/disability services, education and career guidance, counselling services, targeted cultural awareness training to the mainstream community and schools’ stakeholders to new and emerging communities in Australia. The program also helps by referring individuals to appropriate services that they need.

Consistent with the aspiration to excel in life, this policy, procedure and responsibility document defines mentoring and provides a framework for MMS mentors and their mentees.  Mentoring embodies a confidential, unreported affiliation that is a valued element in development methods, which its relationship enhanced positive outcomes. The MMS defines mentoring as: a more experienced person providing guidance and sponsorship to a less experienced person.

MMS believes that mentoring arrangements must reflect good practices and therefore has the potential to serve a variety of functions in the context of the MMS’s strategic objectives. As a result, mentoring is identified as a core aspect of the culture of the MMS services, where mentors are expected to improve their own performance and the achievement of their mentees.

2. The Purpose and Objectives

This policy, procedure and responsibility document provides a standard definition and a consistent approach to MMS mentoring services for juniors and professional mentors in different fields within the MMS consultancy firm.

Through mentoring, the MMS seeks to facilitate excellence and innovation in services delivered to all mentees involved in the MMS programs. This policy provides a common framework based upon best practice principles, to support the design of new and continuing development of existing, mentoring arrangements delivered by MMS consultancy firm.

3. Definitions, Terms, Acronyms

Systematic mentoring – mentoring that occurs within a structured program coordinated by the MMS Consultancy firm or as part of a professional development program.

Flexible mentoring – mentoring that occurs outside a systematized mentoring program, initiated by the mentor or mentee.

4. Policy, Procedure and Responsibility Scope/Coverage

This Policy, procedure, and responsibility cover both systematic mentoring programs and flexible mentoring relationships, in which all mentors and mentees choose to participate.

5. Policy Statement

MMS values support and inspire all aspects of mentoring. Mentoring services focus on developing confidential relationships that advance positive learning to allow people to excel in life. A mentoring relationship is an effective and efficient development that employs the wealth of knowledge for both mentors and mentees. This, in turn, creates a high return for a relatively trivial investment of time and finances.

The specific objectives of the policy are to:

– highlight that mentoring is a relationship that is entered into and developed voluntarily and is not a process to be imposed;

– recognize mentoring as a valuable and valued element of the MMS development framework;

– ensure that mentoring supports the development and career advancement of an individual;

– establish that mentoring relationships in whatever form are governed by existing policies on quality services, equal opportunity, inclusiveness, code of conduct and privacy;

– support and encourage the growth of more strategically managed mentoring activities within the MMS services;

– initiate targeted leadership development programs.

There is no intention to impose arrangements within the MMS service delivery policy whereby the management force mentors/mentees to change existing operational meeting provisions.

6. The Benefits of Mentoring

The benefits of mentoring have been identified and reported in relationship between mentors and mentees.  For the MMS Consultancy Firm the benefits include the possibility of greater mentor’s productivity, improved communication between mentors and mentees, greater knowledge among mentors/mentees, and reduced mentors turnover.  Furthermore, the specific benefits identified for mentors include the following:

The satisfaction of being able to transfer knowledge and skills accumulated through extensive professional practice;

The opportunity to re-examine one’s own practices, attitudes and values;

refining the development of observation, listening and questioning skills;

The opportunity to discuss professional issues; and

Professional interaction in teaching and learning, scholarly and/or research projects.

For the mentee, the identified benefits have been found to include:

Receiving accumulated mentor’s and MMS wisdom;

Access to new skills professional networks;

Advice and support around specific professional situations;

New insights into professional practices and current MMS restrictions;

Socialization into a new professional role;

Guidance and support in meeting criteria set for probation;

Improved promotion opportunities;

Fine-tuning of knowledge, skills and understandings; and

Enhanced opportunity to achieve professional potential in life

7. Defining Mentoring

7.1 The nature of mentoring

The MMS view mentoring services as an essential private and non-reportage relationship that:

Relate to all types of service provision structures and unstructured that support individual in need;

Enables developments in knowledge, work or thinking;

Involves a non-directive dialogue rather than instructing;

Is supplementary development and support to mentors, mentees and MMS ; and

Could assist the MMS objectives provision of equal opportunity for all individual in need.

Systematic mentoring occurs as part of a structured program, and flexible informal mentoring is independently initiated by a mentor and mentee whenever needed.

The MMS Consultancy Firm have responsibility for designing, implementing and evaluating all the local mentoring programs.

8. Differentiating Mentoring from Supervising

The director and supervisors of MMS have a responsibility to establish tasks and work processes, define roles and priorities, provide appraisals, a development plan, a research plan (as appropriate), and address performance related issues in order to meet the general MMS’s objectives. In addition, both the director and supervisors of MMS Consultancy firm are responsible for developing the mentors reporting to them. It is appropriate that this includes engaging in activities such as mentoring, coaching, training, guiding and other relevant services.

Key characteristics distinguishing the role of a mentor from that of a supervisor are that:

the mentor has no supervisory responsibility or authority over the mentee;

the mentoring relationship provides a confidential, non-judgmental and non-directive environment;

the parties to the relationship are equal within and share responsibility for the relationship; and

the overall developmental and achievement needs of the mentee are the focus within the relationship.

The role and responsibility of MMS Director and supervisors with respect to mentor’s/mentees development and performance management is in no way diminished by application of this policy.

9. The Role of the Mentor

Mentoring usually involves a more experienced person guiding and sponsoring a less experienced person to achieve goals in an area in which the mentor has experience. This can involve:

sharing expertise and experiences;

suggesting solutions to problems;

acting as a sounding board and providing alternative perspectives;

exchanging feedback; and

introducing the mentee to people and networks which assist them in their career development and achievement.

The mentor and mentee share the duty to observe the confidential nature of the relationship and the dialogue arising within it.

10. The Role of the Mentee

The role of the mentee can vary depending on the context and purpose of the mentoring relationship but will, in principle, include:

taking responsibility for identifying and achieving their own development goals;

initiating meetings with the mentor, managing meeting dates and times and negotiating the agenda for discussions within the relationship;

listening, clarifying, reflecting and discussing ideas;

sharing expertise and experience; and

sharing feedback with the mentor about how the relationship is progressing in order to improve the outcomes they are achieving from mentoring meetings.

11. The Role of MMS Director/Supervisor

It is expected that the director of the MMS will review the mentoring needs of their mentors as part of their annual strategic planning process.

The director and supervisors are encouraged to recognise the value of mentoring skills by:

planning for mentors who are ready to participate in appropriate training and receive adequate support as and when required;

taking account of the workload implications when planning the contributions of individuals as mentors or as mentoring program coordinators; and

acknowledging significant individual contributions and good practice as a mentor as a component of service in performance reviews.

It is therefore an expectation of all staff that those with greater experience, as a normal part of their duties and responsibilities, freely provide appropriate support and guidance to less experienced colleagues on request and, particularly, in regard to the institutional knowledge required for the latter to perform their duties effectively.

12. Principles of Best Practice in the Mentoring Relationship

New and existing mentoring programs, whether formal or informal, should review their design against the following principles:

Ensuring that the same information about the MMS program is equally available to all mentors/mentees;

Providing a clear statement of objectives for the MMS program based on identified mentors, mentees and MMS needs;

Recruiting a program coordinator who can deliver adequate resources and influence internal arrangements and strategies to ensure that the objectives are achievable;

Making clear statements on the roles of and expectations for all parties;

Encouraging voluntary participation by both mentors and mentees. This does not preclude prior identification of potential participants;

Basing mentor selection on a list of skills that are consistent with the program’s objectives;

Giving mentees clear instructions on their responsibilities in the relationship and requiring them to prepare a statement of their development objectives;

Providing the opportunity for any participant to request a change in the mentoring partnership or to withdraw from the program without allegation unless the participant did not fulfil their required MMS obligations;

Making adequate training and other support available for all participants, including the coordinator of the mentoring program and the supervisors of mentees, where appropriate;

Designing ongoing evaluation of the program prior to implementation.

13. Process of Mentoring

The following provides a non-prescriptive framework to assist the mentor and mentee map out a process suitable to the unique circumstances of each mentoring relationship and to guide its development and successful conclusion:

13.1 Exploring the Possibility of Working Together

Establishing other commitments and how this relationship could enhance or hinder them

Ascertaining whether the potential relationship links with the mentee’s personal vision and core values

Expectations of both the mentor and mentee

Time commitments and constraints

13.2 Building the Relationship

Parameters of the relationship

Building it in mutuality, trust and productivity

13.3 Negotiating the Arrangement/Agreement

Goals and objectives

Logistics

Confidentiality

Measurement strategies for the process and outcomes

Process for reflection

13.4 Mentee/Mentor Development

Monitoring the learning process and outcomes

Sharing resources and networks

Determining levels of planning

13.5 Ending the formal relationship

Measurement of outcomes

Appreciative feedback

Future pathways and options

14.  Revisions made to this Policy

The MMS Consultancy Firm may make changes to this policy, procedure and responsibility from time to time to improve the effectiveness of its operation. In this regard, any mentor/mentee who wishes to make any comments about this document may forward their suggestions in writing address to

The Director,

My Mentoring Services

24 Park Terrace

SALISBURY SA 5108

E: Info@mms.com.au

W: www.mms.com.au

15. Supplementary Support

Any mentor/mentee who requires assistance in understanding this document should consult the director or supervisor who is responsible for the implementation and operation of mentoring arrangements in their work area. Should further information or advice be required staff should make an appointment to visit the nominated personnel in person.