What is mentoring?

Mentoring focuses on helping employees’ long-term development and emphasises an individual’s career progression. Mentoring involves an experienced, knowledgeable person (the mentor) assisting a lesser experienced person (the mentee) with development in any or all of the following areas:

• Technical skills associated with the practical application of the mentee’s proficient expertise in accounting and finance
• Personal effectiveness skills which develop the communication, interpersonal and self-management skills required in the workplace
• Business skills expected of an accounting and financial professional in the business environment
• Leadership skills which develop the ethical, governance, planning and decision making skills required to realise potential as a leader.

A mentor is an experienced person who provides assistance, guidance, advice, encouragement and support to a lesser experienced person (the mentee) as a means of fostering the mentee’s professional development.
Mentoring relationships can be conducted with the mentee’s direct manager, outside the mentee’s direct reporting line, or with an experienced professional who is external to the organisation.

The role of the mentor is to:

• act as a sounding board and provide information
• share knowledge and experiences
• challenge the mentee where appropriate
• provide the mentee with guidance in relation to their career development

Mentee

A mentee can be any person – ranging from a graduate recruit to a senior manager – with an identified career development need.