Mentoring in the Community
The IDF Mentoring programme connects experienced older people and young leaders with future leaders and provides a platform to share knowledge, skills and experience.
Our Mentoring Scheme is a developmental approach which produces excellent results for the mentor, the mentee and the organisation (s) both parties are affiliated with. Its popularity can perhaps be accounted for by virtue of it being a low-cost and highly personalised approach to development.
Mentoring demonstrates organisational commitment to the individual’s development, but is not as directive as other developmental approaches such as training courses. The mentor is effectively a person who is not directly involved with the mentee’s job role but is backed by the organisation to listen to, guide and advise the mentee, in full confidentiality.
Our mentoring scheme is complemented by other forms of learning and development, and not a ‘quick fix’ to training and development needs in an organisation. It can also be a more formal arrangement between two people who respect and trust each other, with organisational backing to develop the relationship and seek positive outcomes from it.
Types of schemes to consider
Mentoring Circles
Mentoring circles aim to provide a forum in which staff or volunteers can talk about common issues such as their career development, share experiences and discuss challenges they are facing with both a supportive peer group, as well as a more experienced member of staff.
Peer Mentoring
Peer mentoring take place between individuals at a similar stage in their career but where one person has more experience in a specific area (the peer mentor) and someone who is new to that experience (peer mentee). This can be known as buddying schemes and is particularly useful for new staff or volunteers as part of induction.
This type of scheme aims to support the development of others by encouraging self-reflection, increasing networking opportunities through peer circles and providing access to senior staff members outside of the individual’s home.
Induction Mentor Scheme
The Induction Mentor Scheme is an encouraged aspect of the induction process. This provides informal support as part of the structured induction of a new staff or volunteers or manager. Usually, it is recommended by the organisational lead and can significantly aid integration into the new role and accelerate the time taken to be effective in the role.
For further information, please contact the Director of Programmes on 0115 978 0848 or email us at info@interdevfoundation.org