How mentoring works
Mentoring pairs are encouraged to discuss how they want their partnership to work and record this in a mentoring agreement during their first meeting.
Download the mentoring agreement template
While a mentoring agreement is an informal, non-binding personal commitment rather than a legal document, completing it together helps establish a strong foundation for the partnership. It sets out agreed objectives, ground rules and ways of working, helping both parties get the most from the relationship and providing a useful reference point if the partnership needs to be reviewed or reset.
Roles and responsibilities
Mentees should:
- Take responsibility for managing learning and career development, including setting clear, realistic objectives
- Schedule and rearrange meetings as needed, and set agendas for each session
- Be open to feedback and receptive to new ideas, showing consideration for the mentor’s time
- Adhere to the confidentiality of the mentoring partnership
- Maintain commitment to the agreed frequency and structure – typically one to two hours per month for six months, with learning activities between meetings
Mentors should:
- Motivate and encourage the mentee to take responsibility of their learning and career development
- Help identify learning and networking opportunities
- Provide constructive feedback and act as a sounding board for ideas
- Challenge the mentee to take a broad perspective and build self-awareness of strengths and areas for development
- Maintain confidentiality and commitment to the mentoring partnership – typically one to two hours per month for a period of six months, with learning and development activities between meetings
Mentoring earns Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points, as do any learning or development activities the mentee undertakes during the partnership. One hour of mentoring is equivalent to one CPD point – any CPD points earnt should be recorded in the mentee’s Personal Development Plan.
The first meeting
The first meeting is a good opportunity to discuss what you are hoping to get from the mentoring partnership. Keep it relaxed and don’t try to cover a lot of ground – spend some time getting to know each other and setting objectives together.
Ideally, the first meeting should cover:
- Introductions and mentor and mentee background
- Expectations of the mentoring partnership, and roles and responsibilities
- Mentee’s learning objectives
- Frequency, structure, length and logistics of the meetings
- Completing the mentoring contract and discussing how CPD points will be recorded
- Action points and agenda for the next meeting
In preparation for the first meeting, it may be helpful to think about:
- What are your expectations of mentoring? What outcomes are you aiming for?
- How do you see your role and responsibilities?
- How often would you like to meet? And for how long?
- Where and how will meetings take place?
- Are you happy to have direct contact with each other between meetings?
- What limits will you put in place in terms of confidentiality?
- Are there any areas or topics that are outside the scope of your mentoring partnership?
- How will you review how things are going, and how often?
- What will you do if you think the partnership isn’t working?
- What will success look like at the end of the mentoring partnership?
Establishing ground rules and setting boundaries
Mentoring pairs should discuss and agree ground rules and boundaries during their first meeting and record these in their mentoring agreement.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important element of the mentoring relationship and central to a successful partnership.
Anything said during a mentoring meeting remains confidential to both parties and should not be repeated without their express consent.
This applies both during and after the formal mentoring relationship ends, and the mentor should have no direct contact with the mentee’s line manager about mentoring discussions.
In exceptional circumstances where the mentor has concerns (for example involving the Civil Service Code, health and safety or bullying, harassment and discrimination issues), the mentor will advise the mentee of the need for disclosure.
Bullying, harassment and discrimination (BHD)
The Civil Service is committed to ensuring positive and supportive working environments. A key element of this is tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Both the mentor and the mentee have a responsibility to read and follow the BHD guidance for their department.
For further guidance read the Civil Service Bullying, Harassment and Misconduct Review and look for support in your own department.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Mentoring partnerships work best when both parties feel comfortable and included. At the start of each meeting, both parties should check in with one another to ensure the environment feels right for open conversation.
You might want to consider:
- Asking each other what you can do to make the meeting feel more comfortable
- Disclosing any disabilities or needs that may affect how they communicate or engage
- Discussing and agreeing any reasonable adjustments – including video calls with subtitles or captions, speaking by phone or email with text formatted in a certain size
Sharing professional networks
Mentors may choose to share their professional network as part of the mentoring relationship. This could include introducing the mentee to relevant contacts, recommending communities or events to attend, or suggesting people whose experience may be useful for the mentee’s development.
The mentee should only contact members of the mentor’s network with the mentor’s prior consent, and should approach any introductions professionally and respectfully.
Keeping in touch
The mentor and mentee should agree how they will keep in touch between meetings and how much time each will commit to the partnership. Some mentors may be available for calls or emails between sessions, while others may not – it is worth discussing this early to manage expectations.
Managing the partnership
Mentoring meetings
After the first meeting, good mentoring meetings should:
- Have a clear agenda
- Review actions from last meeting and assess progress
- Be related to agreed learning objectives
- Discuss any issues
- Identify clear actions and next steps, including any learning activities the mentee will undertake between sessions
- Agree a date for the next meeting
Keeping the mentoring partnership on track
Try to build in time at specific points during your mentoring partnership to reflect on how things are going and what progress is being made towards achieving overall learning objectives.
Taking stock of what has or hasn’t worked along the way will help keep the relationship on track and ensure you get the most out of the mentoring experience. Addressing issues early helps keep the partnership on track and ensures both parties get the most from the experience.
If the mentoring partnership isn’t progressing as hoped, consider scheduling some time to discuss this with your mentee or mentor, ensuring you have a clear agenda for the conversation. Revisiting the mentoring agreement to review the ground rules and objectives can help identify where things may have gone off track.
Closing the partnership
The mentoring partnership should last for the amount of time agreed during the first meeting, with an option to continue if the mentoring relationship is proving productive and successful.
Occasionally, mentoring partnerships may need to close early due to unforeseen circumstances (for example, change of role) or simply because the relationship is not achieving the aims of either party. Where this is the case, close down the partnership without fault or blame attached to either party.
Links and resources
- The Coaching and Mentoring Network is a free and independent portal for news, information and developments in the coaching and mentoring field. The site provides information on different types of mentoring, as well as recent articles and reports.
- The European Mentoring and Coaching Council exists to promote good practice in mentoring and coaching across Europe. The information and resources available via this site are aimed primarily at professional mentors, coaches and supervisors.
- Civil Service Learning provides resources on being a mentor and how to get the most from mentoring, including a quick guide and handbook.