Mentoring & Coaching
Coaching basically is delivering training or development to a person or team to help them reach their goals. The aim is to help an individual or team to understand what motivates them but also what hinders them from achieving their targets, such as attitudes and preconceptions. We have many years experience coaching individuals and large teams. Helping to create confidence through support and encouragement, understanding strengths and weaknesses and helping with methods of transfer of knowledge. In line with some of our other services we can provide coaching support for example with;
Communicating with and engaging workforces during the implementation of change, workplace organisation, visual management, team briefings, operational decision making, performance and development discussions.
How to carry out SMED and time and motion events and extract the critical learnings to form improvement plans.
How to onboard new employees, providing inspiring and purposeful introductions to ensure the hit the ground running and enthused.
Mentoring is slightly different. Being the ‘role model’ Offer guidance, along with knowledge and expertise, to help the mentee succeed in their aims.
Whilst they sound very similar, they’re not the same. A mentor takes an ‘advisory’ position, whereas a coach is one of helping and encouraging. Mentors offer specific advice and opinions, whereas coaches help an individual to come up with a solution. Again another role in which we embrace with huge experience, in particular leading management teams for example where advising is particularly important! We can provide mentoring services advising for example;
Operational structural change
Management sounding board
Dealing with workplace change
New plant start ups
New team recruitment and integration
Both coaching and mentoring are important in the workplace. Coaching can be particularly beneficial for developing employees. For example, you may have hired someone with a suitable educational background, but they lack real-life experience. Or, it may be that they have worked within a few companies, but none quite like yours. Coaching will help them fit in and succeed. We do this by understanding what is important in your business and aligning ourselves to that.
On top of this, coaching can also reduce staff turnover and the likelihood of negative employee morale. Workplace coaching also helps managers to identify high potential employees and can help a company to achieve its organisational goals.
For the employee, they can develop skills in leadership and self-management. It’s likely to give them a confidence boost and make them more resilient and empathetic as well as self-aware.
Workplace mentoring can be beneficial because it can also prevent problems from occurring. Not only can it improve the quality of work and increase productivity, but it has also been proven to boost retention and create a positive work environment. Mentored employees will also possess a stronger skill set and are typically able to bring more creativity to the table.
Employees will also feel more effectively prepared for tasks in the future. It could be particularly helpful to those team members who are quieter or new to the workplace environment. It will help them to feel supported and ensure they’re not isolated. And with the right mentoring, it will improve their confidence too.
Like coaching, with mentoring, staff are more likely to be loyal because they will feel more valued. In fact, you might find it easier to attract new talent to your company. Mentoring may be the benefit that draws them in.
Mentoring and coaching both have their benefits and importance in business, but which is better? Ultimately it will depend on the needs of your business.
The relationship between a mentor and mentee is long-term, whereas with a coach it’s usually a set, short period of time. Coaching is generally quite structured and will have specifically arranged meetings – mentoring takes place whenever it’s necessary.
Typically, coaching is set in the present with a focus to achieve immediate goals that are often related to personal development. It’s much more task-oriented and performance-driven. Mentoring works towards the future.