News: Performance Management
'Mentoring helps staff develop'
02 April 2008
Mentoring is becoming an increasingly important means to develop new leaders in big business, it has been claimed.
The Sunday Times reports that numerous large companies in both the public and private sectors are using mentoring schemes to help boost staff diversity, support new graduates and nurture future leaders.
The newspaper cites a survey of more than 100 academic studies commissioned by the East Mentors Forum.
In 75 per cent of studies people who had been mentored said the experience had been positive while 45 per cent it had improved their career prospects.
"Mentoring is a highly customised way to grow talent by understanding the needs of an individual and matching them to someone who can add value in that specific area," Terry Kramer, group strategy and human resources director at Vodafone told the publication.
Mr Kramer estimates that half of the company's 4,500 management team have mentors.
The news follows a recent study published by Investors in People which found that organisations with a comprehensive approach to people management perform better than those without, experiencing higher profit margins and increased productivity.
