Andrea Morales (Mentoring Specialist) and Taymer Pugh (Key Account Manager)

Every top business knows the importance of mentoring, that's why 74% of FTSE 100 companies are part of a cross-company mentoring programme.

Just within the UK alone, research found that 60% of business leaders have had a mentor, and a whopping 97% of them said they benefitted from the advice they received! 

So why does mentoring still feel like an optional investment for so many of us? 

This International Mentoring Day, we’re excited to share how GM Business Growth Hub is taking mentoring to the next level during Mentoring Month. 

Although we champion mentoring 365 days of the year, this occasion gives us the chance to really shout about the power of mentorship and showcase the impact of collaborative efforts in building a strong, connected network.

Using Insights to Shape the Future of Mentoring

At GM Business Growth Hub, we continuously monitor and analyse our mentoring programme so that it is always aligned with the needs of both mentees and mentors. Through our data, we identified key areas for growth and improvement, including gender representation, industry sectors, and skills alignment. This helped us spot specific gaps and  take targeted action to address these needs.

Our analysis revealed several important insights, including:

• Gender Representation: We are proud to have a diverse group of mentors and mentees. Currently, 30% of our mentors are women, which is a strong representation, although we continue to strive for even greater gender balance.
• Health & Social Care: We have identified a growing interest in the Health & Social Care sector among our mentees, with 10.39% of them working in this field. To support this, we are actively recruiting mentors with expertise in Health & Social Care to meet the increasing demand.

Collaboration Across Teams

Collaboration between the Mentoring team and the Key Account Managers (KAM) team has been instrumental in enhancing our mentoring programme.  Our Key Account Management team, responsible for build long-term, strategic relationships with large employers (200+) across Greater Manchester, utilised the analysis, and identified the need for more mentors in Social Care with financial management skills,

They reached out to clients who were already benefiting from our fully-funded support to explore potential opportunities for recruiting new mentors with the skills needed. 

And it worked. The KAM team found two businesses individuals within their organization who had financial expertise and were willing to become mentors. Thanks to the successful recruitment of several new mentors, we were able to provide vital support to our mentees in Social Care businesses. As a growing sector with over 1.8 million roles* across the UK, knowledge sharing and mentoring is vital to its success. 

Client Spotlight

Jo Campos, Head of EMEA Service Centres at Robert Walters UK, shared her positive experience as a mentor:

"It was very easy to sign up to be a mentor and I really like the fact that you can select topics/sectors you feel you have strengths in. I found it quick to be matched with my mentee. The chemistry session to match mentors and mentees is a great idea and I really liked the chance to get to know my mentee before we both agreed it was a match. That way we knew we’d be able to work well together. My mentee had a specific goal, and we met once a month in a coffee shop to discuss how she was going to get there and the smaller bite size chunks to achieve it. We looked at options together and celebrated her success when she achieved her goal."

Celebrating Success 

This International Mentoring Day, we celebrate the success of our data-driven approach and team collaboration, which have strengthened connections and created more opportunities for mentees. 

Mentorship is core to GM Business Growth Hub, and as we mark this day, we renew our commitment to empowering individuals and organizations through the power of mentoring.

Ready to unlock your potential? Whether as a mentor or mentee, visit iMentor to explore how you can join our impactful program.

*Skills for Care - Social care and Development - Economic Value of the Adult Social Care Sector