| Abstract: | Mentoring is seen as a potentially powerful technique for enhancing the development of individuals and organisations, but the right conditions need to be in place if this potential is to be realised. In this article, the career-related and psychosocial benefits of mentoring reported by 129 graduate protégés in early career in two organisations are examined. Results indicate moderate to low benefits of mentoring for the protégés. Benefits did not increase with duration of the relationship, nor were they substantially linked with gender. Having a mentor who was perceived to be influential and having high contact – relative to sample norms – with the mentor were, however, positively associated with benefits reported by protégés. So, to a lesser extent, was seniority of mentor. These results were partly due to the overall context in which mentoring took place. There was generally low contact between mentor and protégé; graduates' development was already relatively closely monitored and managed. Mentors reported a culture reasonably conducive to mentoring, but with little accountability or reward for carrying out their mentoring duties. In such circumstances the benefits of mentoring are likely to be limited, and some of the predictors of mentoring success obscured. |
