For the two scenarios below, prepare a recommendation for HR leadership in an internal memo that is 2-3 pages.

• Select and explain whether mentoring or coaching would be the better approach to support each employee's professional development needs.
• Describe the nature of mentoring OR coaching best practices, relevant to each individual.
• Evaluate the benefit to the organization from each individual's mentoring or coaching program.
• Develop a communication strategy to inform the direct managers and their employees about the decision to initiate the mentoring OR coaching process.

Scenarios

Mentoring: The nature of mentoring varies, and the type of mentoring we give depends on the needs of different employees. What might seem an easy, quick session with one employee might turn into an extensive engagement for another. Mentoring in organizations may be formal or informal. Formal mentoring usually involves a group of dedicated members of the staff willing to guide employees through professional learning they do not know and may not understand. Formal mentoring may be administered by the learning and development office of human resources. Some organizations have ongoing informal mentoring that manifests based on professional affinity between a prospective mentor and mentee. The benefits of mentoring are significant and allow employees to learn from past experiences of their mentor. This relationship can help encourage social confidence, support individual community and open networks to the mentee they did not know existed.

Coaching: Organizations must be capable of responding to performance, leadership, and other aspects of organizational life that require attention. An activity that can help improve all these areas is coaching. Coaching is a demanding skill that requires training and knowledge on how to execute it and directly support the employee's challenges. Some challenges require more sophisticated coaching by certified coaches, but other less demanding coaching needs are often performed by supervisors or managers.

Resources

Coaching

• Coaching tip: The leadership blog: Workplace engagement. (2017). Newstex Global Business Blogs.
• NOF energy limited: Dekra - reflections on workplace coaching. (2019). News Bites - Private Companies.
• Adubato, S. (2019). Coaching in the workplace. New Jersey Business, 65(9), 22.
• Eskandanian-Yee, C. (2019). How to maximize executive coaching for the future of your organization's performance management. Talent Management Excellence Essentials.
• Milner, J., McCarthy, G., & Milner, T. (2018). Training for the coaching leader: How organizations can support managers. The Journal of Management Development, 37(2), 188-200.
• Raza, B., Moueed, A., & Ali, M. (2018). Impact of managerial coaching on employee thriving at work: The moderating role of perception of organizational politics. Journal of Business Strategies, 12(1), 87.

Mentoring

• Rolfe, A. (2015). Coaching and mentoring - What is the difference? Training & Development, 42(5), 12-13.