Benefits to Mentors

• Creates opportunities for experienced professionals to strengthen their knowledge base and improve communication skills.
• Enhances the leadership, teaching, and coaching skills of mentors and encourages them to become more reflective practitioners.
• Creates new support networks with other professionals in the field and promotes greater collegiality among professionals within and across institutions.
• Provides intrinsic satisfaction (makes you feel good) by helping an emerging professional develop to his/her potential.
• Demonstrates professionalism and a commitment to personal and professional development of self and colleagues.
• Promotes the professional recognition of mentors for their commitment to developing the talents of new professionals.

Benefits to Mentees

• Promotes a professional relationship that fosters guidance and support during the mentee's development.

• May increase the self-confidence of a new professional as he/she becomes familiar with a new role, increased responsibilities, or a new organizational culture.

• Challenges mentees to go further, take risks, set new goals, and achieve at higher personal and/or professional standards.

• Provides a forum to dialogue on professional issues and to seek and receive advice on how to balance new responsibilities.

• Matches a new professional with an experienced professional in the field and promotes networking and visibility.

• Provides role modeling for professional leadership and facilitates the development of increased competencies and stronger interpersonal skills.

• Reflects the mentee's commitment to personal and professional growth.

Benefits to Organizations

• Contributes to a positive organizational climate and promotes a more clear understanding of professional responsibilities and expectations.

• May increase employee satisfaction and retention by reducing a new employee's sense of isolation.

• May result in improved employee job performance, contribute to faster learning curves, and result in a better trained staff.

• Reflects an investment in employee development and may increase employee commitment and loyalty.

• Promotes a positive image of the organization and reflects employee-centered values.

• Contributes to the development of partnerships or allies that may be useful to the organization in the future.

• Effective mentoring can be one of the best tools for building diversity.