What is Mentoring

Mentoring refers to giving guidance and advice to others. It is a relationship where one person professionally assists the career development of another, outside the normal manager/subordinate relationship.

Mentors are trusted guides who provide insight, perspective and wise counsel. They tutor, coach, encourage and nurture the protégé, who in turn strives to grow and excel by learning from the shared accumulation of knowledge, skills and wisdom of the mentor.

Mentoring is a two-way relationship that is supportive, constructive and focused on the development needs of the mentee. It is based on mutual respect, shared values and benefits both parties through the act of sharing.

Benefits for Mentees

Mentees are the drivers of the mentoring relationship. Benefits can include:
• advice from an experienced health services researcher
• opportunity for informal discussion of professional matters
• opportunity to meet other health services researchers
• establishing informal networks
• increased knowledge and skills
• professional development
• experience of another workplace and a different perspective.

Even if you already have supportive advisers and mentors, we encourage you to register and take advantage of this program. Another point of view, the opportunity to network, and exposure to additional leaders in the field are just a few of the benefits.

Benefits for Mentors

While mentoring is focused on the professional needs of the mentee it can also provide significant benefits to mentors including:
• satisfaction from offering support to early career researchers, contributing to the development of the profession and contributing to another person's development
• the opportunity to receive feedback from another professional when offering training advice, to develop your own knowledge and contribute to your own development
• increased informal networks
• the opportunity for mutual exchange of ideas and information and an opportunity for reflection and discussion with a fellow professional
• improved ability to share experience and knowledge
• intellectually and personally rewarding.

HSRAANZ Mentoring Program

The aim of the HSRAANZ Mentoring Program is to encourage health services researchers to be active professionals, to nurture HSR talent, retain excellent researchers, develop future leaders, improve networking and communication opportunities and overcome professional and geographical isolation. The program offers a partnership where both parties can benefit.

The HSRAANZ runs the mentoring program annually.

Mentees must be individual members of the Association or staff/students of an Organisation Member.

Roles and Responsibilities

Subject to the availability of mentors, the HSRAANZ will match participants based on areas of interest, work environment and experience and geographic location. There will be consultation with the mentee and mentor regarding matching. The critical success factor is a shared belief in the value of mentoring, and shared expectations of the particular mentoring relationship.

Once matched the ongoing arrangements for mentorship activities are negotiated directly between the mentee and mentor. Mentees are responsible for making arrangements to meet their mentors.

Following matching, mentees should complete a Development Plan, and provide a copy, with their CV, to their mentor to review.

Both parties should discuss expectations of the mentoring relationship and agree on the objectives of the relationship and structure of the mentoring sessions. This may include session duration, content, venue and agenda, the time-frame for the relationship, work plan, areas for discussion and a timetable for meetings. Discussion may also cover expectations of the mentor and mentee, how to give feedback and agreed principles underlying the mentoring relationship.

The frequency, venue and format of the mentoring sessions should be agreed between the mentor and the mentee. Whilst face-to-face meetings would be the ideal, less frequent face to face meetings with internet, telephone or email contact in between can also work well, particularly where geography makes face to face meetings difficult.

The focus of the relationship is the mentee’s goals but both parties need to follow through on actions or commitments and both need to respect each other’s time.

Confidentiality by all parties is essential for the mentoring relationship to be successful. Neither party should convey information about personal or professional issues, covered during mentoring sessions, to anyone else without prior and explicit permission.

The mentor and mentee must provide appropriate acknowledgement and credit for any joint work or projects. This includes publications, where we recommend that any authorship arrangements be agreed at the outset.

It is recommended that following these initial discussions a Mentoring Partnership Agreement is signed by both parties and lodged with the Program Co-ordinator.

Program Length

Participants are expected to maintain the mentoring relationship and regular meetings until the agreed mentoring goals and objectives have been achieved (subject to exceptional circumstances from either side for discontinuing the relationship). After 10 months (April-January) the formal program will conclude but mentors and mentees may agree to continue on an ad-hoc/informal basis beyond the 10-month program. The time limit on the formal mentoring relationship aims to provide "turnover" and opportunities for more participants.

Support

The Program Co-ordinator can provide support and advice at the commencement of the Program or if the mentoring relationship runs into difficulty. While the Program Co-ordinator will do all they can to assist with the relationship, responsibility rests with each mentoring partner. Any decision to terminate must be made by the mentoring partners.

If the mentoring relationship does not work out for whatever reason, the Program Co-ordinator should be advised and a new match may be able to be made.

Evaluation

At the end of 10 months, mentors and mentees will be asked to report on the mentoring experience, how they benefited from the relationship and any suggestions for proposal for the Association to consider to improve the program.

Mentoring Resources

• Slides - Mentoring Orientation 2022
• Lessons from the 2018/19 Program
• HSRAANZ Webinar - Mentee Experience and Tips
• HSRAANZ Mentoring Guide
• Here a past mentee and their mentor talk about their experience of the HSRAANZ mentoring program
• Academy Health Webinar - Best Practices in a new age of mentorship Learning Objective - Understand the underlying principles of mentoring, including culturally competent practice; learn about different mentoring arrangements and expectations; hear about “real world” mentor/mentee experiences
• Academy Health Webinar - Learning from the Best: Fostering and Sustaining Mentorship Learning Objectives - how find a mentor and sustain the relationship throughout your career; different mentoring arrangements and expectations 
• PHCRIS Getting Started Guide: Mentoring
• Centre for Mentoring Excellence
• Art of Mentoring
• David Clutterbuck Partnership
• The Mentoring Manual - An accessible book By Julie Starr (2014)
• Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring - By Natalie Lancer, David Clutterbuck and David Megginson
• Mentoring Works
• Mind Tools
• Ten ways to be a good mentor
• Ten benefits to having a good mentor
• Mentoring skills
• Learning from mentoring
• First meeting checklist for mentee
• First meeting checklist for mentor
• Forbes - 10 killer questions to make the most of your mentor meeting