1. Business Mentoring
Supporting
business growth
in the Highlands
& Islands
HISEZ
Networking event
Thursday 8th November

2. BACKGROUND
• 3 year programme, supported by HIE, ESF &
Private business,
• Based on a successful model developed by
Scottish Chambers, supported by a successful
pilot in 2009/2010
• Best mentoring practice, shaped to the needs
of Highland Business

3. Mentoring is the ultimate
win-win-win business tool
The mentored person gets a helping hand
to fast track his or her career, the mentor
gets the satisfaction of helping others
develop and benefits from the reflection
the process requires and the organisation
gets improved performance and
employee retention
Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (2004)

4. Mentoring, When Is it
relevant?
Mentor
Mentor
Year 1 + Mentor
Meet the growth criteria
Growth
Time
START

5. Do I need a Mentor
• New growth objective,
• No experience
• Uncertain
• Need an objective view
• Which way to go
• Isolated
• Need reassurance
• Build new relationships

6. What will a Mentor offer?
• Encouragement,
• Ideas and opinions,
• provide an impartial and
different perspective,
• Build Confidence,
• Confidential environment,
• Explore new opportunities
for the business,
• Networking
• Give feedback,

7. What are the benefits?
• No cost ( Money)
• New markets,
• New networks,
• More effective business
planning,
• Increased leadership &
management capability,
• The learning without the
mistake

8. Social Enterprise View
• In all cases the Social enterprises have been
delighted with the support they receive from
their mentors. The objectives vary with some
enterprise boards becoming involved and
therefore a number of people within the
organisation benefit from the process to just
solely the management function being
mentored.

9. Social Enterprise
Feedback
• Well matched, mentor really had the right
business expertise and relevant experience
• Mentors had interest in the organisations
cultural and social objectives
• Helped to think more commercially but still retain
the core purpose and values
• Opened up new commercial ideas and viewed
our current opportunities in commercial way
• Personal learning and improved capability

10. Social Enterprise
Feedback
• Commercial/business mindset
• Provided extra knowledge beyond mentoring
objective
• New skills learned that will serve organisation
for ever
• Built on original ideas but was able to help in
other ways where no expertise in house

11. Social Enterprise
Testimonials
• “ Without my mentor to help on this issue I
think we would have struggled “
• “were now a cultural organisation who can
now think commercially”
• “ I think we have a competitive edge on our
competition as a result of the learning’s and
achievements gained from our mentor”

12. Mentors View
In all cases mentors have enjoyed working with Social
Enterprises they consider their contribution to include
• Broaden the thinking beyond the existing scope
• Open up ideas of potential markets not previously
considered
• Provided a clearer view of commercialisation
• A more business like focus
• How a commercial view can be held while retaining the
social objectives
• ( almost a mirror of what the business felt they gained)

13. Successes and the way
forward
• Improved capability and a clearer strategy that
will definitely show growth over time
• Consider supporting Social Enterprises for
longer, almost every social Enterprise needs
longer than the year
( BMS can factor this in with the mentors
agreement)

14. Learning’s for Business
Mentoring
• financial or growth gains may take longer to
realise as it will take more time for the
management team & boards to implement
new ideas
• Learning’s & capability gained is life long
example :-
mentor in supporting a business through the tendering
process of which they had no previous experience.

15. In Summary
• Business mentoring is an
invaluable tool that really
works,
• A mentor is vital at certain
times of the business life
cycle,
• Highly skilled mentors
really want to help