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Information for Business, SMEs and other organisations in Leicester/Leicestershire

This information is for you if: 

  • Your employee has requested your support to participate in mentoring
  • You have a DMU graduate (graduated 2015-2020 undergraduate or postgraduate) from a BAME background in a highly skilled role at your organisation and you wish to provide a learning and advancement opportunity 
  • You would like to put forward mentors from your organisation

How will the mentoring work?

Each graduate (mentee) will be matched with an experienced mentor from a business in Leicester/Leicestershire. The match is made based on details provided by the mentors and mentees on the application form.  Both mentees and mentors will attend a training session to ensure they both get the best out of the partnership.  

The partnership will last six months. Mentees are expected to arrange an online meeting once a month. The meeting does not need to take place during working hours.  

The meeting will be led by the objectives and goals set by the mentee. There will also be an opportunity to attend a group mentoring session where both mentors and mentees can share their experiences, thoughts and exchange ideas. Mentors and mentees will also have an opportunity to deliver masterclass, publish an article on LinkedIn.

As this is a fully funded project with measurable outcomes, we require mentees and their employers to complete a questionnaire to measure successful impact.

The benefits of mentoring - research

About 70% of Fortune 500 companies have a mentoring programme, however only a quarter of smaller companies provide mentoring opportunities (Forbes women 2019). If your organisation does not have the finances, time, resources or expertise to set up a mentoring programme, you can be part of a fully funded mentoring programme created by the university.  

A recent survey by the UK’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found that 94% of SMEs using external support have seen benefits. These firms are more ambitious and have higher relative turnovers (National Mentoring Day 2020).  

DMU's offer

As part of the £400,000 that DMU was awarded, we have developed and designed a targeted in work mentoring programme for BAME graduates in highly skilled roles into leadership roles, with the support of knowledgeable, experienced, professional mentors from business in Leicester and Leicestershire.

Top 5 ways mentoring can benefit your organisation

  1. Develop new leaders

    Mentees will be matched with experienced mentors from a diverse range mentors who will share their expertise, experiences, and knowledge to support and guide mentees to develop and enhance future leaders.

    71% of people with a mentor say their company provides them with good opportunities to advance in their career, compared with 47% of those without a mentor (mentoring statistics)

  2. Retain talent

    Research has continued to show a positive impact on an organisations employee retention and engagement ( McCormack et al 2014).

    94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if they were offered opportunities to learn and grow (LinkedIn Learning Report)

  3. Recruit new talent

    In addition to retaining talent, mentoring has proven to attract new talent. Data has shown when millennials consider which employer to join, they look for mentoring and development opportunities (Gover 2014).

  4. Employee satisfaction

    Sizer (2008) found in his research that employees with mentors had increased high job satisfaction than those without mentors.

  5. Diversity in leadership

    Mentoring has the potential to increase diversity in your organisation and in leadership positions. Conby and Kelly 2016 found that that mentoring programs increased ethnic minority representation at the management level by 9% to 24% (compared to -2% to 18% with other diversity initiatives). Furthermore, the same study found that mentoring programs also dramatically improved promotion and retention rates for minorities and women—15% to 38% as compared to non-mentored employees.

To find out more please contact:

Mentoring Manger - Leicester Future Leaders  

Rabeya Choudhury: rabeya.choudhury@dmu.ac.uk