Employee Competency Management Initiative: A Literature Review

This paper discussed the concept of employee competency management initiatives. The paper highlighted particularly on three competency management initiatives – employee training, workplace mentoring and coaching. The paper is theoretical and as such draws its significance from its focus on the need for flexible and fluid employee competency initiatives given the changing dynamics and features of the work and business environment. This position is also hinged on the observed challenges of change and the imperatives for organizational learning and management re-orientation in line with the shifts in the market and the global community. The study concludes that the adoption and application of competency initiatives should begin with the specific needs of the organization as well as the specification of its goals. The design and features of competency management initiatives such as employee training, workplace mentoring and coaching, premised on the specifications of the organizations own particular experiences and expectations will offer more focus and will be more effective in addressing the organizations own unique or particular challenges and problems

The Psychology of Workplace Mentoring Relationships

Workplace mentoring relationships have been advanced as critical to employee development. However, mentoring research has tended to find small to moderate effects of mentoring on protégé and mentor outcomes and considerable heterogeneity in effect sizes. These findings underscore the need to better understand the psychology of mentoring relationships in order to maximize the benefits of mentoring for mentors, protégés, and organizations. In this article, after briefly reviewing established research on workplace mentoring relationships, we introduce five relationship science theories from outside organizational psychology and organizational behavior that provide new insight into the psychology of workplace mentoring: attachment theory, interdependence theory, self-expansion theory, Rhodes’ model of formal youth mentoring, and the working alliance. We then discuss several unique features of workplace mentoring that should be considered when applying these relationship science theories and introduce provocative ideas for future research. We conclude by discussing practical implications for mentors, protégés, and organizations.

Workplace mentoring of degree apprentices: developing principles for practice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on developing a deep understanding of the nature and impact of the workplace mentor role in degree apprenticeships (DAs). It investigates a theoretical model of DA workplace mentoring activity, with findings used to develop a set of principles for supporting the development of effective mentoring practice. Design/methodology/approach Data underpinning this paper were collected as part of the monitoring and evaluation of the first year of a Chartered Manager DA programme at a post-1992 university. Workplace mentors and mentees were interviewed to explore their experience of mentoring within this programme. Findings This study found there to be many positive benefits of workplace mentoring for apprentices, their mentors and the organisation. This understanding can be used to support the development of principles for effective mentoring practice. Research limitations/implications The data support the validity of the proposed model for DA workplace mentoring activity. In order to become a helpful guide to mentors’ planning of areas of support, the model may need to be refined to show the relative importance given to each activity area. The findings of this small-scale study need now to be extended through work with a larger sample. Practical implications The set of principles offered will be valuable to workplace mentors of degree apprentices across organisational sectors to ensure the quality of delivery and outcomes. Originality/value This paper contributes to an understanding of the impact of mentoring as a social practice on mentor and apprentice development. Such an understanding has the potential to positively influence the quality of delivery, mentoring practice and thus apprentices’ learning.