A comparative study of formal coaching and mentoring programmes in higher education

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate two coaching and mentoring programmes focused on the ever-increasingly important aim of enhancing the chances of professional level employment for undergraduate students, at two UK universities. In addition, to offer recommendations to enhance coaching and mentoring success within higher education (HE).Design/methodology/approachTwo similar programmes are compared; the first study is a coaching programme delivered in two phases involving over 1,500 students within the business school. The second study is a mentoring programme involving over 250 students over a ten-year period within the business school at a different institution.FindingsThe two programmes have been compared against the key success criteria from the literature, endorsed by coaching and mentoring experts. The results highlight the importance of integrating with other initiatives, senior management commitment, budget, an application process, clear matching process, trained coaches and mentors, induction for both parties, supportive material, ongoing supervision and robust evaluation and record keeping.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses on two similar institutions, with comparable student demographics. It would have been useful to dig deeper into the effect of the diverse characteristics of coach/mentor and coachee/mentee on the effectiveness of their relationships. In addition, to test the assumptions and recommendations beyond these two institutions, and to validate the reach and application of these best practice recommendations further afield.Practical implicationsThe results identify a number of best practice recommendations to guide HE institutions when offering coaching and mentoring interventions to support career progression of their students.Originality/valueThere are limited comparison studies between universities with undergraduate career-related coaching and mentoring programmes and limited research offering best practice recommendations for coaching and mentoring programmes in HE. The top ten factors offered here to take away will add value to those thinking of running similar programmes within HE.

Mapping mentee outcomes in mentoring programs for managers

“…Moreover, Allen et al (2006) established in their research on mentoring outcomes that mentors are essential for organizational learning and assuring knowledge transfer to mentees. Besides, knowledge acquisition by mentees seems to be one of the outcomes most referred to in recent works (Gisbert-Trejo et al, 2020;Jones, 2012;Turban et al, 2017).…”

“…Mentees generally have potential and high expectations; through mentoring, they aim to learn and acquire knowledge, skills and competencies that allow them to be more effective and efficient in their managerial tasks. They expect their organizations to facilitate their learning (Jones, 2012) and reward it with recognition and professional and economic opportunities (Ensher et al , 2001; Ozgen and Baron, 2007), probably combined with a greater predisposition to help further mentees' professional lives (Bozionelos and Bozionelos, 2010; Gisbert-Trejo et al , 2019). In return, companies expect commitment, performance and loyalty (Allen et al , 2017; Ostroff and Kozlowski, 1993).…”

Työminän rakentamisesta yhteisöjen kehittämiseen: Kirjallisuuskatsaus yliopisto-opiskelijoille suunnattujen mentorointiohjelmien merkityksistä

“…Termin mentorointi rinnalla tai ajoittain myös samaa tarkoittavana ohjausmenetelmänä käytetään käsitettä coaching. Tämä lähikäsite rajattiin kuitenkin pois, sillä vaikka molemmissa on kyse oppimisesta ja kehitty misestä, coachingin määritellään keskittyvän suoritukseen ja selkeisiin tavoitteisiin, kun taas mentoroinnilla on nähty vahvempi yhteys uraan ja yleisesti itsensä kehit tämiseen (Jones & Smith 2022). Lisäksi coaching on yleensä lyhytkestoisempaa ja formaalimpaa organisaatioon ja sen tarpeisiin sidoksissa olevaa toimintaa kuin mentorointi (Hastings & Kane 2018).…”

Exploring learning outcomes for managers who coach

“…Several developmental interventions to build management and leadership capacity have been identified over the years, and among these, mentoring and coaching are considered prevalent management development interventions (Banerjee-Batist et al, 2019;Cummings and Worley, 2018;Ellinger and Ellinger, 2020;Ellinger and Kim, 2014;Jones, 2012; The authors would like to thank the editorial team and anonymous reviewers for their generous feedback during the review process. This article presents research from the first author's doctoral dissertation conducted at The University of Texas at Tyler under the direction of Dr Andrea D. Ellinger and her co-authors.…”

“…Several developmental interventions to build management and leadership capacity have been identified over the years, and among these, mentoring and coaching are considered prevalent management development interventions (Banerjee-Batist et al , 2019; Cummings and Worley, 2018; Ellinger and Ellinger, 2020; Ellinger and Kim, 2014; Jones, 2012; Lawrence, 2017; Lin and Kim, 2020; Rock and Garavan, 2011). In particular, the concept of managerial coaching has emerged as a popular approach for developing employees.…”