PASSPORT to a Great Mentorship HRPA TORONTO CHAPTER MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Transcription

1 PASSPORT to a Great Mentorship HRPA TORONTO CHAPTER MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

2 Contents Before We Set Off Pre-departure Checklist Beginning Your Journey Achieving Cruising Altitude Along the Way Mid-Journey Check-in Journey End Important Contacts

3 Before We Set Off HRPA Toronto s Mentorship Program Many of the characteristics of your particular mentoring relationship will be based on the needs and preferences of you and your mentor or protégé, but there are a few important expectations that we want all our Program s mentorships to be based upon. HRPA Toronto Chapter Mentorship Is an annual professional development program for HR practitioners who are members of the HRPA Toronto Chapter Builds connections between Toronto HR professionals, creating opportunities for learning and growth, and a valuable channel for practitioners to give back to their profession Seeks to match mentors and protégés based on: o Areas of expertise (mentor) and areas for development (protégé) o Years of experience o Location o Industry experience Requires pairs to commit to a minimum of 1 hour per month of mentorship Makes participants eligible for 1.5 CPD points per hour of mentorship activity. For details please visit the Office of the Registrar webpage at Is not a job search program

4 Pre-departure checklist Before Your Mentorship Journey Begins Every great journey begins with some preparation, and mentorship is no different. Before you set out, we suggest you take some simple steps to prepare. Some Pre-Mentorship Questions to Consider: What is my understanding and expectation of mentorship? What do I hope to achieve through mentorship? What are my professional growth and career goals? What steps am I going to take to make this a successful mentoring relationship? Some Pre-Mentorship Steps to Take: Review HRPA Toronto Chapter Mentorship Program orientation and other resources Check out your mentor/protégé s MentorCity profile and LinkedIn page. Know who they are! Protégés: contact your mentor to introduce yourself and schedule a first meeting

5 Beginning Your Journey And we re off! A great year of mentorship has begun. Putting in some extra time and focus at this point will definitely pay off as the year continues. Defining goals, aligning expectations and agreeing upon meeting format and frequency will pave the way for smooth sailing. Your First Meeting What do you each mean by and expect of mentorship? What are your protégé s goals for mentorship? What is the preferred format and frequency of meetings? Is it okay to have and/or phone communications between meetings? Are there any conflicts of interest, real or perceived? Are there any special confidentiality concerns? Do you plan to sign a Mentorship Agreement? Use meeting agendas? Protégé Tips: Be proactive in setting up this and future meetings, and come prepared it s your job to make the most of this time Be open-minded Follow through on any action items Mentor Tips: Be a good listener Ask questions Hold your protégé accountable for commitments

6 Achieving Cruising Altitude So, you ve meet with your mentor or protégé and they seem pretty great but now what? How do you move past any initial lulls in conversation? How do you ensure that you will get the most out of your time together? To get things started, you may wish to engage in one or more of the following exercises. These are suggestions only, so feel free to come up with your own. Suggested Exercises to Get Started Review a case study about a relevant topic together and discuss various approaches and strategies one might take to address it Discuss how a concept from a seminar or article might apply in practice in each of your workplaces Share the most challenging HR situations you have each dealt with explore how you each handled these and what factors contributed to the approach you selected Review a plan, report, presentation, or proposal that your protégé is working on ask her or him to explain their approach and provide feedback Discuss a current or past challenge that your protégé is facing how do they intend to approach it and why? Are there alternate approaches? Review your protégé s resume or practice interview skills If You re Struggling to Connect Together, review your goals and expectations for mentorship. Are you aligned? Clarify expectations related to logistics: meeting time/frequency or format Probe for other causes of dissonance (communication style etc.)

7 Along the Way As the year continues, make sure to check your itinerary once in a while. Are you both still heading in the right direction? Need a few tips to stay on track? Ideas to Keep Your Momentum Protégés: o If you applied something you learned from your mentor then tell them about it! Did it work? Why or why not? o Explore your mentor s career path where did they start and how did they progress? Why did they choose to pursue their current role, and why were they successful? Probe to understand the many factors that contribute to successful career advancement and decision making o Where possible, attend a meeting or event with your mentor and observe how she or he behaves in a professional setting Mentors: o Share an achievement or mistake you ve made, and what someone might learn from it o Ask your protégé to describe possible causes of, and approaches to, a challenge in order to explore and expand their understanding of workplace issues o Share some of the best career management advice you ve received in your career and how it s helped you Tips for Mentors Work to build and maintain trust- be interested in who your protégé is as a person Be open to sharing information about your own background and experience- not just your successes, but also challenges or missteps that your protégé can learn from Identify and diplomatically address work behaviours which may be limiting or counter-productive

8 Mid-year Check in Some Suggested Mid-Year Actions Give and ask for feedback from your mentor or protégé; what s going well? What could be even better in the second half of the year? Revisit your mentorship goals. Do they need to be adjusted? Are you making progress? Do you need additional suggestions about how to reach them? Say thanks. And let your mentor or protégé know what they are doing well. Journey End All journeys must come to end eventually. We hope you ve had a great year. Finish strong with a few key actions. Year End Actions Discuss and agree before your last meeting whether you ll end your formal mentoring relationship with your mentor or protégé, and be re-matched for next year; or if you both wish to remain matched for another year. Remember: this is a professional relationship. If your mentor or protégé decides they want to be rematched, it s nothing personal. Do a final debrief. What was great about your mentor or protégé? What can they do to be even better next year? Say thanks - for the time, the insight, the effort, the engagement! If you had a really great mentor or protégé, please let us know! We d love to hear what made your experience so successful. And don t forget to register for next year s program!

9 Important Contacts HRPA Toronto Chapter Mentorship Program Website: