What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a voluntary agreement, in this case, usually between two CIEHF members. There are many skills to mentoring and being mentored so it's a great activity to get involved in. As a mentee, your goal would generally be to advance your knowledge and expertise in human factors, and often to gain professional membership. As a mentor, you offer guidance and support for the mentee, and their success can be a great reward.
Looking for a mentor?
How they help
A mentor can help motivate you, analysing your current strengths and weaknesses and together you can make a plan and set goals. This can be hard to do on your own. A mentor can help you apply for professional membership.
Where to look
Look in your own organisation first. If you don't know anyone that could be approached, get involved in CIEHF activities such as Regional Network meet-ups or conferences to get to know more members, and join our Mentoring Hub - see below.
Who to approach
Mentors would normally need to be a CIEHF Chartered Member, but if you're not based in the UK, for example, they may be a professional member of another ergonomics society. As long as they have significant expertise in human factors then the partnership should work well.
Mentoring guidance & action plan
Discover more about the value and role of a mentor and mentee, what to do at that first important meeting and during follow on sessions. Included in this comprehensive guidance is our 7-point action plan so you can both get the most from the whole experience - having achieved something worthwhile and enjoyed it along the way!
Typical mentoring activities
Setting goals and creating a plan for professional development.
Encouraging the holistic approach that defines human factors.
Exploring and agreeing direction and career progression.
Advising on appropriate methods and techniques.
Coaching in elements of professional practice.
Celebrating small successes and ultimately achieving the goals.
The response to the request for a mentor has been fantastic and is a credit to the Institute.
Want to become a mentor?
Eligibility
You should ideally be a Registered Member or Fellow of the CIEHF. We encourage you to provide mentoring to less experienced colleagues, and to provide your time for free. You don't necessarily need to work in the same sector as your mentee.
Commitment
The time and effort needed will depend on where your mentee is starting from and what their goals are. Your contribution will be very important to them, so make sure you'll be able to fulfil the commitment before agreeing to it.
Reward
Seeing someone else progress and reach their goals with your help can be very rewarding and satisfying. You'll empower someone, who may start out lacking confidence in their own abilities, to progress and see real progress in their development.
Development
Mentoring helps enhance your own transferable skills and strengths in active listening and empathy, and in communicating clearly and helpfully. These are great attributes and can be logged as reflective practice for your own CPD.
How to become a mentor
Click on the video above to watch our free webinar ‘How to become a mentor’. It covers what mentoring is, which qualities a mentor should have and how to mentor someone to Chartered status. It also includes top tips and potential pitfalls.
The Mentoring Hub
Our Mentoring Hub is an online space within our member group forum, Communities, where mentors and members looking for a mentor can connect and access resources. Click the questions below for more details.
How does the Mentoring Hub work?
It’s straightforward: members looking for a mentor will start a new discussion (thread) indicating in the title that they're looking for a mentor. Available mentors can either send a direct email (if an email address has been provided), or be connected via the CIEHF team. Both can then have a first conversation and decide if they want to work together. Should more than one mentor offer their support, the mentee should chose one and notify the others. The thread will be closed once a mentoring partnership is agreed.
What is Communities?
Communities is the CIEHF member group forum. All CIEHF members are also members of the Communities Open Forum. Here everyone can post comments on existing discussions, start a new discussion and access resources in the library. Communities is also where members can also join any number of other groups and join in their activities.
How do I join the Mentoring Hub?
The Mentoring Hub is a private online space that we can give you access to so let us know if you'd like to join. Once you've been added, you will be able to access and post messages there.
How do I know if there's a new post or I've been sent a message?
Any public responses in the Mentoring Hub will be sent to you by email as a summary. You may also receive direct emails fom an available mentor if you provided an email address, or via the CIEHF. In addition, you can log in to Communities and check what’s going on in the Hub at any time.
I’m already mentoring. Can I ask a question in the Hub or access resources?
Yes! We'll monitor the Mentoring Hub and reply to queries. Other mentors may also be able to help and can contribute. You can also post relevant content, links, questions or tips. Simply open a new discussion or reply to an existing one.
I'm looking for a mentor. What do I do in the Hub?
Simply post a brief summary of your qualifications, goals and what you’re looking for in a mentor. Start a new discussion and provide a helpful title such as 'Mentor wanted for MSc Graduate with Aviation background'. Keep your post short and to the point (you can exchange more detailed information later). Please don't post or upload sensitive, personal information and keep it professional at all times. Mentors available to help will get in touch with you.
I'm looking for a mentor in the Hub. Who will respond to me and how?
Potential mentors who have joined the Hub and are available to mentor other members will read your post and, if they feel they can help, will get in contact with you directly via a post in the hub, by email if you provided an email address, or via the CIEHF team. You should allow a couple of weeks for responses. As we are calling on volunteers, we cannot guarantee that a mentor will be found, but we will try to help as much as we can.
What do I do once I’ve found a mentor?
You should discuss with your mentor how to move things on, how they’ll help you and when you’ll meet, etc. Please also let us know and we'll close the discussion thread to indicate to others that you are no longer looking.
Can I have more than one mentor?
You could have more than one but it’s not usual. One person will be able to mentor you and help you progress. If you receive more than one offer, please make your choice and tell the other mentors in a private message that you've found someone.
What if my plans change and I don’t need a mentor anymore?
Please be considerate, inform your mentor of the change and end the mentoring agreement so they can support another member if they wish.
Is there a cost involved in mentoring?
Professional membership mentoring is usually offered free by Chartered Members of the CIEHF on a voluntary basis but if you meet up, travel expenses might be appreciated.
Like what you see?
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