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Mentoring at Nine A Case Study   The Mentoring Program implemented at the Nine Network is an example of how successful mentoring can be in television. Key elements in the Nine Mentoring Program approach were: It was demand-driven by the Nine staff. All mentors and mentorees were volunteers. Human Resources coordinated and facilitated the program. Mentors and mentorees filled in background information forms to assist with matching. Mentors and mentorees had separate information sessions with Question and Answer on how the program and relationships work, with an external mentoring consultant, Imogen Wareing from The Growth Connection. Mentorees were guided through identifying what they wanted in a mentor, skills or knowledge areas they wanted to develop and nominated a choice of mentors if they knew who they needed. Human Resources assisted with access to potential mentors that a mentoree may not have known but who fitted their criteria. Mentors explored their role, the do’s and don’ts of mentoring, the boundaries between the mentor’s and the direct manager’s responsibilities and how to empower the mentoree. The Nine Network launched four mentoring programs. Evaluation and feedback from the programs was extremely positive. The mentors thoroughly enjoyed their involvement in the program and gained personal and professional outcomes that included: Broadening their own networks Use of personal experience and reviewing their own careers Satisfaction from assisting their mentoree and seeing results A chance to look at work situations differently Specific feedback from mentorees included: Great learning from the mentor’s objective perspectives Different strategies and approaches to consider Expert assistance with work-related skills such as script writing Gaining a friend with mutual respect Support and encouragement “invaluable” Increased knowledge of other departments and how they interact Clarified career directions Both mentors and mentorees also reported that feedback from people not in a mentoring program was very positive – “they think it’s fabulous! The Nine Network mentoring model was relatively informal, with just enough organisational support to ensure that participants were equipped to manage the relationships, help them to happen and monitor the mentoring programs to ensure they delivered what the participants needed and valued. It was not a time-consuming or expensive model - talk to your Human Resources department about introducing something similar! Imogen Wareing is the Managing Director of The Growth Connection Pty Ltd. Imogen was the guest speaker at a Women Working in Television networking lunch.           © The Growth Connection Pty. Ltd. 1999-2012 A.C.N. 003 421 725 Sydney, Australia iwareing@growconnect.com.au