WM

What does it involve?

You would work 1 to 1 with an individual to help them think through aspects of their work and help them to find a way forward. Providing individuals with the time to review their current and future work, giving the opportunity to assess their focus, influence, direction, challenges and aspirations.

There is no set frequency for meetings; this will depend on the agenda and the contracting that is established by yourself and the mentee, there may be some initial investment of a number of sessions at the start to support the mentee through a project or recruitment process (e.g. approximately 2-6 sessions lasting between 1-2 hours each), but this contact may then reduce to adhoc sessions later on in the relationship to as and when the mentee needs support. Sessions may be face to face or delivered virtually or via telephone. You may be asked to go to the mentee’s place of work, or you might agree another location for sessions (being away from the office environment can often be beneficial for focussed sessions).

It is recommended you commit to a 'face to face' meeting initially with subsequent meetings being face to face or using another medium. This should be agreed as part of the contract negotiation.

You may need to agree that you can claim travel expenses from your manager if you travel for sessions.

If you are registering as an internal mentor, please refer to your own organisation’s internal mentoring policy.

If you are committing to volunteer as an external mentor on behalf of the West Midlands Coaching and Mentoring Pool (WMCMP) you would be required to:

• Work with at least 2 clients per annum across the Pool (approx. 25 hours per year)
• Receive mentoring development to enhance your skills
• Maintain your online profile to manage your mentoring relationships and provide valuable information to WME and the Service Advisory Group to evidence service use and support sustainability of this shared service

Who can apply to register as a mentor?

Employees who are working for WMCMP Subscribing Organisations and have received relevant qualification/training.

To continue your development and be at your best to effectively support mentees it is expected that you will:

• Practice within the WMCMP Code of Conduct (adapted from Global Code of Ethics)
• Role model public sector Principles and Values
• Demonstrate regular and relevant CPD
• Maintain accurate information and record all mentoring interventions on Matching Hub system
• Facilitate appropriate contracting, which may include the line manager/sponsor, as well as the mentee to agree individual and organisational objectives as part of the mentoring relationship
• Ensure that you have the explicit consent of your employing organisation to volunteer as a mentor

Contracting

An environment that allows for openness and honesty to build a trusting relationship and explore issues is created from people feeling they are in a safe space. Contracting provides the basis for this through establishing the conversation and expectations. 

It is through covering all aspects of the contract that sets the foundation of how the mentor and mentee will work together and provides permission to review things if anything goes awry during the relationship. 

You will be able to access the WMCMP Template contract which provides a best practice approach to contracting and reminder of valuable points to be raised at the beginning of a relationship to create an effective environment for mentoring. (Available via the 'Resources' tab once you have been approved).

Confidentiality 

Confidentiality will be reinforced to support openness, honesty and the building of trust and will always be maintained between mentor and mentee. Any notes or documents related to the mentoring entered by the mentor or mentee on the Matching Hub are not visible to a third party.

Any actions from the mentoring which the mentor believes to be important for the client to share outside of the process will be highlighted within the session and agreement made on how to proceed.

The mentor will share information from the sessions if there is a disclosure within the relationship which is against the law or which could place the organisation, the mentee or another individual at risk or harm, including contravening organisational policy. This will always be discussed with the mentee before disclosure takes place.

Data Protection

Mentors must observe the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations when accessing and using data from the WMCMP.

WME (who manage the pool) recommends that you retain electronic copies of confidential notes or other documents on the Matching Hub to ensure they remain secure. If it is necessary to store documents electronically outside the matching hub for ease of service delivery, your laptop should be encrypted, your documents password protected and deleted when no longer required to be stored outside of the matching hub.

Where paper copies of notes exist to support the mentoring relationship, you must store these in a secure manner (i.e. locked drawer) and securely destroy them at the end of your relationship.  Ideally you should limit the amount of personal data noted in such documents to reduce the risk of linking information to an individual.

Information submitted to the matching Hub will be used to report and evaluate the levels and range of mentoring activity undertaken across the region. Some of these details will be visible via secure access by West Midlands Employers (managing the services of WMCMP) and your organisation administrators. The use of this information is outlined in the WMCMP Privacy Notice and will not breach confidentiality arrangements as outlined above.

By accepting these terms and conditions you also confirm that you have read, understand and accept the WMCMP Privacy Notice and give consent to how WME store and use your personal information as defined in the WME General Privacy Notice.