What is group mentoring?
Mentoring brings together the mentees who want to learn specific skills with personal and professional development goals in mind and the mentors that have the knowledge, experience and specific area of expertise to share with them. It can take many forms and it is the one which is quite popular. It can be defined as the mentoring type where one mentor works with multiple mentees at once in a group. This type of mentoring offers great benefits for both mentees and mentors making it more appealing. In this article, we will learn what it is and its benefits.
Benefits of group mentoring
It maximizes the number of mentees that can benefit from the mentoring program
It is often seen that the number of mentors is limited compared to the total number of mentees in the mentoring programs. At this point, implementing group mentoring in the organizations can be a good solution since it provides a greater number of mentees with benefiting from the mentoring program as opposed to the limitations of a one-to-one mentoring program. Group mentoring sessions allow the mentors to share their knowledge and experience with a group of mentees at once. This promotes a collaborative learning environment where peers learn from each other, gain knowledge and start making a difference.
It can be more engaging
Group mentoring programs can engage more participants with fewer efforts as compared to one-on-one traditional mentoring. The group mentoring situation provides a supportive environment in which all peers in the group share their experiences and knowledge. Mentees usually feel more comfortable collaborating in a group environment. Also, group mentoring sessions are an effective way to induct new employees into the company culture and help them build relationships with their co-workers from the get-go. Moreover, this type of mentoring is also an effective way for businesses to engage their busy leaders and managers since it gives them a chance to manage their time effectively for mentorship programs. They can help more than one mentee develop both personally and professionally at once via group sessions.
It can bring new perspectives to participants
Group mentoring in the workplaces provides exposure to knowledge and expertise as each mentee brings their own knowledge and perspective to the group. When every participant joins the program with the purpose of seeking to understand and hone their skills, they learn from diverse viewpoints. Diversity within the group also brings greater understanding.
It helps groups increase their network
Another benefit of group mentoring is expanding the professional network of all involved, as it brings together employees who have different connections. They not only learn together but also help each other to be able to access key people who can support them to achieve their career goals.