Chapter 4: Making the Case for Mentoring

Overview

Like all developmental interventions, making the case for investment in mentoring is not necessarily straightforward. The chain of cause and effect may be distorted, especially if the mentoring programme is just one part of a larger initiative or package of initiatives - for example, as one of a number of support measures for promoting diversity, or as part of a graduate induction programme.

Nonetheless, there are sufficient cases of very specific benefit from mentoring programmes and relationships to produce a very strong case to all four of the key internal audiences:

• top management

• prospective mentees

• prospective mentors, and

• key third parties such as line managers.

For all of these, the two basic questions are: How do I know the investment (of time, energy and/or money) is worthwhile? Why do I need to invest in a formal support structure or relationship, rather than let mentoring happen naturally and informally?