Mentoring for New Research Staff in UCC

Mentoring for New Research Staff in UCC

As part of our progress in HR Excellence in Research University College Cork (UCC) is committed to nurturing and retaining our best people. To this end UCC has introduced mentoring for all new hire research staff in all research roles during their first year of employment in UCC. It does not apply to appointments less than 1 year. For everyone else please see information on mentoring available to all staff in UCC here.

What is Mentoring in the Workplace?

Mentoring in the workplace is an established partnership between colleagues for the purposes of learning and growth.  Having a mentor at work is traditionally seen as senior and more experienced research staff members providing advice and support to new research staff or those earlier on in their careers.

Benefits of Mentoring in the Workplace

Mentoring comes with a whole host of benefits, from personal development, to mental health, to staff retention.

Benefits to the Mentee

Those with mentors in UCC will benefit from an increase in:

• Self-confidence
• Self-awareness
• Job satisfaction
• Aspiration
• Fulfilment at work

Many research staff who have been mentored will also go on to mentor others, and so contribute to this cycle of learning and development within UCC.  See link to further information

Benefits to the Mentor

There are also many positive benefits for those doing the mentoring. With studies having shown an increase in:

• Self-confidence
• Communication skills
• Job satisfaction
• Loyalty to UCC
• Fulfilment at work

Harvard Business Review conducted a study researching the positive effects mentoring can have on the mentors themselves, and found that that people who served as mentors experienced lower levels of anxiety, and described their job as more meaningful, than those who did not mentor.

Benefits to University College Cork

The positive outcomes of mentoring stretch far beyond personal development for the staff involved in the partnerships. Mentoring in the workplace results in huge benefits by increasing:

• Research Staff engagement
• Research Staff satisfaction

• Diversity in leadership
• Knowledge sharing
• On-boarding ease
• Strong organisational culture

What PI’s and/or Hiring Managers need to do:

Complete the Recommendation for Appointment Form.  On the form you will indicate the name of the mentor for your new research hire.

For new starts in Research. 

The mentor should be appointed from within the research unit or from a discipline similar to that of the research unit. The mentor should ordinarily be an experienced research staff member other than the head of unit.  The name of the mentor will be included on the contract of employment for new research staff members.

Recommendation for Appointment Form

New Recommendation for Appointment Form