Mentoring is groups, such as widely accepted as a powerful tool to develop staff. However, while mentoring programmes are often targeted at certain graduates or women, who may face particular developmental needs, another group has been largely ignored.
More than three million people at work have a disability or a long-term health condition, according to Labour Force Survey figures. And this number is set to increase as Britain’s workforce ages. But few organisations have recognised the impact mentoring can have on these individuals in supporting them and helping them develop their careers.
Such schemes have been given a shot in the arm following the launch of a large-scale mentoring initiative by Barclays. The scheme, which guarantees a mentor to the bank’s 1,400 or so disabled employees, is a bid to unlock the potential of staff, who it believes are often working beneath their capabilities.
“We want to realise the full potential of our disabled staff,” says Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe, senior manager, diversity at Barclays. “Very often, disabled staff are stuck in lower grades. Like many disabled people they are judged by what they are not able to do rather than their abilities. Working with a mentor is one way to address this.”
Evidence supporting the need for a mentoring scheme targeting disabled staff comes from the bank’s 2004 employee survey. Of the 400 staff who choose to register their disability, most were in low grades (B1-B3).
The programme is also part of Barclays’ wider strategy of making the bank an employer of choice among the disabled community, says Palmer-Edgecumbe.
Barclays’ scheme, which is run by OnTrack International, a Hertfordshire-based human capital consultancy, was launched after disabled staff raised the subject last year during one of their regular lunchtime meetings with John Varley, group chief executive.
Getting the scheme started involved several phases, says Palmer-Edgecumbe. The first phase was assembling a project team. The second, which ran from October 2005 to the end of January, was raising awareness, with the specific objective of recruiting mentors. According to Palmer-Edgecumbe, this resulted in the recruitment of 120 mentors, including the chief executive himself.
The next stage, finding mentees, has got off to a flying start, with 40 mentees already on board. All mentors receive training, consisting of two strands: disability awareness, and mentoring skills.
They are then equipped to mentor anyone, not only disabled people.
Mentors and mentees receive guidance via a booklet and fact sheets, and there is also an optional contract, says Palmer-Edgecumbe.
The final step, matching the mentor and the mentee, can be tricky, admits Palmer- Edgecumbe. “Every relationship is different,” he explains. “We spend a lot of time analysing the needs of the two individuals to ensure there is a good match.” However, despite the complexity, 360-degree relationships are already in place.
Once the scheme is up and running each relationship will be formally evaluated every quarter, and a full appraisal of the scheme is due to be carried out after the first and second years.
But so far Palmer-Edgecumbe says feedback has been “exclusively positive.”
“Staff welcome the opportunity for a frank discussion about working at Barclays with someone, generally a more senior person, who can help them to address their problems and aid them in their careers,” he says.
“Disabled staff realise they can be pigeon-holed, but through mentoring, opportunities have opened up that they would never have previously considered.”
And though he accepts that not every disabled person joins the scheme for promotion, in due course, Palmer-Edgecumbe expects data will show it helped them advance in their careers. “We would expect to see people’s careers progressing as a result of the scheme,” he says.
Victoria Winkler, CIPD adviser, learning and development, agrees that the scheme will have a positive impact on disabled people’s careers in Barclays. “Barclays’ staff are being encouraged to think about their careers and their next moves in the organisation, and being given the opportunity to take the next step,” she says.
Alyson Rose, chief press officer at the Disability Rights Commission, says: “Mentoring can be especially useful for people with disabilities, who are more likely to be in less senior positions.”
A lack of confidence often prevents disabled staff from seeking promotion. Sarah Ackroyd, director at the Centre for Mentoring and Coaching, says: “Positive action schemes can be brilliant. Disabled people often don’t have the network or the networking skills needed to get on. They need to become more self-confident. Mentoring can help develop self-esteem and enable them to do more than they think.”
Case Study: Sarah Tubb
Sarah Tubb, a learning adviser (Grade B2) from Dorset, who has cerebral palsy, is clear about what she wants from Barclays’ scheme: promotion. Tubb, who has worked for the company for 19 years, says: “The top purpose for me is promotion,” she says. “I have been with the bank for some time, but not really moved grade wise.”
She says she thought “long and hard“ before signing up. However, after meeting her mentor, a woman (three grades higher) who works in Barclays’ head office in London, she decided to get involved.
Tubb hopes that having a mentor will help her address one issue in particular that she believes has held her back. “I am not very good at job interviews,” she says. “I look wonderful on paper, but fall apart in the interview.” Consequently she has tended to avoid them.
However, since joining the mentoring scheme, she says she feels more confident, and has now lined up three job interviews.
Tubb meets her mentor every other month, with a monthly telephone conversation. They also email one another “if there is anything going on”.
Tubb says the scheme works for her. “It gives you an external person to talk to, who is not directly involved in your workplace. You can say anything to your mentor about anything. They are like a sort of mirror. That gives you confidence.”
Learning points
Get senior management buy-in. The Barclays’ scheme has the personal commitment of its chief executive. He is also a mentor.
Ensure you get support from other stakeholders by making the business case.
Appoint a programme co-ordinator. The success of a scheme depends on having someone to manage it effectively.
Evidence from successful schemes, such as those at British Energy and UnumProvident (an insurance company) suggests there should be a minimum of four meetings a year between mentors and mentees.
Geographical proximity between mentor and mentee is important. But don’t forgo the use of the telephone or email.
Take into account the specific needs of each mentee, particularly any that arise from their disability.
Allow mentees to take control by deciding for themselves how much of their disability to disclose to their mentors.
Sources:
Barclays, Radar (Royal Society for Disability and Rehabilitation)
Fact File:
The Disability Discrimination Act
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 employers are allowed to provide more favourable treatment to disabled people. The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 placed a duty on all public-sector authorities to promote disability equality. Where there is evidence that disabled people are doing less well in the workplace (as is the case in Barclays), this could give a boost to public-sector mentoring schemes aimed at this group.
By 2024, workers over 50 are set to make up nearly a third of the UK workforce – raising the proportion of those in work with a disability or health condition.