Roles and Responsibilities

• Supports, facilitates and encourages the development of human resources and mentoring;
• Recognises the role of mentors;
• Creates conditions favourable to the development of mentoring relationships;
• Publicises its program to all employees concerned; and
• Ensures that the mentoring program is maintained and developed.

Characteristics

• Dynamic, open and learning; and
• Prepared to devote itself to developing its human resources.

Benefits

• Sharing of organisational culture and values;
• Managers with enhanced people management skills;
• Building of a pool of potential mentors and better managers;
• Establishment of support networks for employees in times of organisational change;
• Progress towards diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace;
• Increase in employee motivation and work satisfaction;
• Reduced employee turnover rate;
• Improved communications within organisation; and
• Improvement in human resources planning and management.

Potential problems

• Investment of time and energy beyond day-to-day tasks;
• Risk of creating unrealistic expectations among employees;
• Risk of jealousy in or discrimination against employees not taking part in program; and
• Risk of creating two classes of managers: those who are mentors and those who are not.