Built Environment Professions - Part 3 - Mentoring - A Professional Necessity

New members of staff require time and if a mentor does not allocate sufficient time to train and supervise them then the consequences are likely to result in a demotivated member of staff who is not developing and likely to make mistakes. If this is the case an employer should question their selection of mentor or ask themselves if they have made provision to fulfill the role effectively with the mentor’s workload.

Source: http://caithnesschamber.com/

Any successful business will undoubtedly have staff development as one of their core business objectives and understand the importance of the continued professional development of their employees.  Although training and development should occur at all levels of a business, a key part of the process involves training of new and junior members of staff when they are embarking on their new profession/role for the first time.  These are the type of people who will be extremely ‘green’ and have maybe decided on a career change or just left education and think they are now ready to enter the stresses and strains of the professional world.  If we take a second to think back a few years (in some cases, like myself, more than a few years) to the time when this was us, you may remember feeling lost, often alone and generally overwhelmed at times. 

If your experience was anything like mine, you were thrown in at the deep end and allowed to sink or swim and basically learn by your mistakes.  Unfortunately, times have moved on and the litigious nature of the professional world, no longer affords us this luxury.  Nowadays organisations appear to be much more inclined to take the training of their newer employees much more seriously and often attach individuals to mentors.  Mentoring is defined by Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring, as: "Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be’. The role of a mentor is therefore a significant one, usually allocated to an extremely busy individual who will be expected to work closely and oversee the activities of a new member of staff for a defined period of time.

Source: http://shetakesontheworld.com/

For mentoring to be effective it requires time and commitment from the mentor. However time is often a commodity in short supply and if the mentor is not aware or does not take account of the time needed to adequately fulfill their role then the results can be disastrous. Employers need to select mentors very carefully and try to ensure they are appropriately trained, they know what is expected of them and importantly the extra time needed to fulfill the role is taken into account in the mentor’s workload.  If an employer does not take account of these things when selecting a mentor then a number of things will happen.  Firstly, the allocated mentor will immediately feel that the employer is allocating them an additional responsibility with no consideration for their current workload.  Secondly, the new member of staff may be seen as a hindrance (which is actually true in the early days!). Finally the new member of staff, will pick up that they are unwanted, which will make them feel disillusioned and unhappy. This is unfair on the mentor and the employee and creates a situation where nobody achieves what they want.

A good mentor however is invaluable and will realise that every minute that they spend with a new member of staff will be repaid tenfold.  Having acted as a mentor on many occasions I soon realised that the first few weeks required some intensive supervision, which meant that I needed to put certain things on hold so that I could make enough time to allow this to happen.  In these first few weeks I would set a weekly timetable, which would also include time slots where I had arranged for members of staff in other parts of the organization to facilitate certain activities.  For example, I would allocate a day with administrators, so that an appreciation of filing, photocopying, incoming and outgoing post and other policies and procedures could be attained.  All of these are fundamentally important activities within the business.  I also arranged for time to be spent in other departments, so that an appreciation of the wider business activities was also attained.  If you do take the time in the early weeks to spend time to train and supervise appropriately, then you will find that your new colleague becomes an asset who you can allocate ‘real work’ too, which will help to develop them and ease the burden on you.  The problem with a lot of people, however is that they focus on the here and now and are too short sighted to see this!

It is also very important to make new people feel welcome and at ease in their new role.  Always remember that one day you had been in this position and that no matter how busy you are politeness and courtesy costs nothing.  As stressful as a work environment may be, there is absolutely no excuse for shouting or being rude to your colleagues.  I say this because in the past I have seen a number of members of staff almost reduced to tears as a result of being inappropriately spoken to by more senior members of staff.  This is totally unacceptable and in most cases was due to the fact that the member of staff had not been given adequate support and supervision from their mentor, which had resulted in a number of mistakes/issues occurring. New members of staff require time and if a mentor does not allocate sufficient time to train and supervise them then the consequences are likely to result in a demotivated member of staff who is not developing and likely to make mistakes. If this is the case an employer should question their selection of mentor or ask themselves if they have made provision to fulfill the role effectively with the mentor’s workload.

If you are currently acting as a mentor, I refer to the definition stated earlier and ask you to consider whether you are encouraging and supporting your colleague to help them manage their own learning in order to help them to develop skills to maximise their potential. Or, do you see them as a burden that has been thrust upon you, where you have no time to help them.  If it is the latter, then I suggest that you speak to your employer and see if they can find someone more suitable, as this is not fair on the person you are mentoring.

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Construction Professions - Employability Skills – A Key Element of Undergraduate Education

I have heard many working in the construction professions comment that they do not think that Universities provide the depth of knowledge and skills necessary to prepare graduates for the rigours of the professional world. But is this a fair assessment?

Source: http://www.tailoredrecruitmentservices.co.uk

During my many years in professional practice, I have worked with numerous graduate construction professionals, fresh from University and ready to enter the professional world, in many cases armed with little more than the knowledge they had gained from University.  When employing graduates in practice we were looking for potential in terms of attitude, drive, entusiasm etc and we would not have unrealistic expectations in terms of technical knowledge at this point (although this would be assessed through the recruitment process). I have heard many working in the construction professions comment that they do not think that Universities provide the depth of knowledge and skills necessary to prepare graduates for the rigours of the professional world. But is this a fair assessment? At University we try our very best to ensure that the content of our courses is continually updated and importantly relevant to the various built environment professions. Infact 75% to 80% of the content of built enviroment courses is determined by what our accrediting bodies require and expect.  We also try wherever possible to allow students to apply this knowledge in practically based, industry relevant assessments wherever possible.  In truth, and I am sure most would agree, the real learning/experience of each particular profession actually starts in the workplace.  Although we try our utmost to arm our students with relevant up to date knowledge and as many practical skills as possible there will always be limitations to what can be achieved in an academic environment. 

Most people will be aware of the significant changes to University funding over the last few years and in particular the significant increase in the amount a student is required to pay if they want to come to University.  In reality the cost of most undergraduate courses has not changed, what has changed is that the government no longer subsidise a large percentage of the fee (for the student) which they used too.  The outcome is that students are now faced with tuition fees of between £8,000 and £9,000 per year (fees vary between universities), resulting in an investment of between £24,000 and £27,000 for a three year course without even thinking about living costs and other expenses. Although a low interest loan can be sought to cover tuition fees, in addition to thier degree, most graduating students will leave University with a large debt.  All of this has resulted in students thinking very carefully about the type of courses they will undertake or whether they will go to university at all.  Nowadays, students should expect and demand a high level of service, high quality teaching, a modern learning environment and an overall positive experience throughout their time at University, which will ultimately provide them with good career prospects and good earning potential.  This is something our University has worked very hard to achieve. In fact Coventry University have recently leapt up 10 places in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2014; putting us 45th in the overall rankings. This is the highest listing for a modern university in the history of these guides; sealing our title as the UK’s top modern university. We still however have room for improvement and we will work hard to make further positive enhancement/improvement to the University, our courses and to the student experience.

Source: http://www.sqa.org.uk

As an Admissions Tutor and Senior Lecturer, teaching on RICS, CIAT, CIOB and CIBSE accredited courses I have noticed a significant increase in the amount of enquiries and questions that applicant’s and in particular thier parents ask, especially at open days.  Many of these questions, revolve around career opportunites available once they graduate, and not just focussing on questions relating to the course itself.  This has highlighted a very interesting and important point, as it appears that applicant’s are now thinking much more about the likely return on their (increased) investment and how their academic studies will translate into employability. 

In order to ensure the continued supply of construction professionals it is extremely important that undergradate teaching is underpinned with employability skills, to help ensure that graduates are as prepared as much as possible for the rigors of the professional world.  At Coventry University we adopt our own ‘activity led learning’ method of teaching and delivery, where our students are given practical, industry relevant activities, as often as possible, by providing them with projects that reflect as closely as possible situations that they will undertake in professional practice once they graduate. We try to move away from a traditional ‘chalk and talk’ style of teaching and learning wherever we can.  In adopting this style of delivery we are supported by a number of employers within the West Midlands area, who are happy to provide our students with projects and to give them the opportunity to present their findings and recieve feedback from those working in the industry.  One such employer is Severn Trent.  For the last three years they have provided our second year building surveyors with access to one of their buildings.  The assessment brief requires a professionally presented building survey report, with an analysis and explanation of defects and an option appraisal of what the client could do with the building.  Students then present thier findings to members of Severn Trent’s Property and Asset Managment Team, at their headquarters in Coventry, where they were challenged and questioned on their proposals. This is just one example of how we try to engage our students with industry partners in order to improve their employability skills.

A combined approach of undergraduate teaching and professional experience is fundamental to ensuring a continued stream of high quality graduates into the built environemnt professions. Our students are very popular with employers, particuarly in the Midlands area.  We encourage our students to secure a year out placement opportunity during their studies and we have some excellent students, some who will soon be starting the process of applying for positions for 2013.   If you are employer, who is thinking about placement or graduate positions now or in the future, please contact me at Coventry University. 

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Business Development - People, the key ingredient to success!

Without people who can improvise, innovate, inspire, challenge 'the norm', and strive for continuous improvement most businesses would not survive long before being overtaken by their competitors 



Source: Google Images


Success of an organisation can be measured in a number of ways however the most valuable commodity in achieving success has to be it's people.  Without people who can improvise, innovate, inspire, challenge 'the norm', and strive for continuous improvement most businesses would not survive long before being overtaken by their competitors.   It would therefore seem logical for a business to invest in it's people and this should be considered at all levels, not just at a senior level. Everyone has to start somewhere and no matter what career path an individual selects, in order to develop they will require the guidance and supervision of more experienced members of the organisation to help them progress. If you look at a successful business you will usually find that there is a structured training programme for their staff at all levels. This will help fulfil the potential within individuals and also provide a good promotion and succession pathway, allowing internal appointments to be made of people who understand the business, rather than having to make external appointments which can often be expensive.

If a business is 'top heavy', i.e it has a high percentage of senior executive/managers, then what can happen is that when these individual start to retire or leave there may not be suitable personnel 'waiting in the wings' to fill these positions.  An external appointment may then be made, where the new individual will need time to adapt to the business and this can sometimes take many months. It would be much better for a business to have a 'succession plan', where individuals are identified at all levels and trained ready for these opportunities as they arise. Succession planning should start with the most junior of positions and this is where graduate appointments, year out industrial placements and even work experience opportunities should be considered.



Source: Google Images

At my last organisation we would usually appoint 2 or 3 year out industrial placement students each year for our office. The appointment would commence in or around June, however we would normally start the recruitment process in September/October of the year before.  This is when students return to University, and in order to get the best graduates we knew we needed to 'get in early'.  We would approach a select number of Universities who would send us CV's of students who may be interested in the opportunity.  After reviewing the CV's we would then invite those selected to a group workshop, where during the day they would also be interviewed individually.  The workshop enabled us to see how each individual would respond to a number of situations, and during this process we were also looking closely at enthusiasm and attitude.  At this entry level we were not looking for a genius, were were looking for someone with the right attitude and personality, as well as the expected academic aptitude, that had the potential to fit into our organisation.

Over the years we employed a large number of our year out students when they graduated and some went on to become Project Team Leaders and even Associate Members.  A year out placement student has a wonderful opportunity to not only gain experience, but to also secure a permanent position (business finances permitting).  The industrial placement could actually be viewed as a year long interview where the employer has the opportunity to look at an individuals skills, commitment and attitude and decide if they will fit into the business. Not every placement student turned out to be suitable, however this provided us with a highly successful recruitment method, which allowed us to employ top quality graduates who we could mould into our way of thinking, our vision and our business culture. Is  this  an approach that  you're  business  takes? If not, then whilst thinking about the long term future of your business then  maybe this is something that you should give serious consideration too.

At Coventry University we offer a wide range of degree courses covering all disciplines within the built environment (Building Surveying, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Architectural Technology, Building Services Engineering, Architecture and Civil Engineering).  Our students are very popular with employers and we encourage our students to secure a year out placement opportunity. We have some excellent students, who will be now starting the process of applying for positions for 2013.  We also have some students who are looking to secure graduate positions.  If you are an employer, who has or is thinking about graduate positions now or in the future, please contact me with details (garyoneill65@hotmail.co.uk), where I will be able to direct suitable students to send their CV's to you.

  
Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.