IMPACT OF MENTOR AND MENTEE RELATIONSHIP

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Mentor and mentee relationship is a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person (mentor) helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The receiver of mentorship was traditionally referred to as a protégé or apprentice. Today, the term “mentee” has gained acceptance and is widely used. The whole process is called mentoring.
Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé or mentee). (Clawson et al, 1984))
This research study is aimed at investigating the impact of mentor and mentee relationship on commitment in an organization using Deltaafrik Engineering Limited as a case study. Deltaafrik Engineering Limited was incorporated in 1993 and 100% owned by Nigerians. The company was set up to provide Engineering Solutions and Services to the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry because organizations in Nigeria and beyond including Deltaafrik Engineering Limited have started to see the value of mentoring for enhancing work life, performance, commitment and job satisfaction. When mentoring is implemented successfully, there are measurable improvements in employee performance, retention, employee commitment to the organization, knowledge sharing, leadership growth and succession planning (Elrich et al, 2008).
A mentor is a person who gives another person the benefit of his or her years of experience and/or education. This experience is shared in such a way that the mentor helps to develop a mentee’s skills and abilities, benefiting the mentee and the organization.
A good mentoring relationship is identified by the willingness and capability of both parties to ask questions, challenge assumptions and disagree. It’s important to note that there’s no one way to mentor. Every mentoring relationship is as unique as the individuals involved (Daloz, 2012).
The mentor is far less likely to have a direct-line relationship with the mentee, and in a mentoring relationship this distance is desirable. Mentoring is rarely a critical part of an individual’s job role, but rather an extra element that rewards the mentor with fresh thinking as well as the opportunity to transfer knowledge and experience to a less experienced colleague, peer or employee.
Over the last 40 years, mentor and mentee relationship in an organisation has been hailed as an important workplace learning activity, and applied in a variety of contexts such as government departments, hospitals, schools and community settings. It has been used to support the learning and development of new employees and leaders, as well as for the purposes of talent management and retention. Not surprisingly, its meaning often depends on the purpose for which it has been used and the particular context in which it has been applied (Daloz, 1986).