Formal programs and recertification points could encourage more professionals to volunteer
A majority of HR professionals would like to see more mentoring in the profession, according to the most recent Pulse Survey.
The survey of 857 Canadian HR Reporter readers and members of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) found 64.5 per cent of respondents don’t think there is enough mentoring in the profession, especially considering its effect on an HR professional’s success.
For many HR professionals, it can be hard to find the time to mentor, or be mentored, if an organization doesn’t support it, said Lisa Ballentyne, a corporate HR administrator in Winnipeg. Ballentyne mentored one HR student through a university intern program, and ended up hiring her, but hasn’t had the time to mentor anyone else.
“I’m one person with about 300 employees across Canada and I’m the only HR person. I just don’t have the time. I think (for) companies, it would be in their best interest to allow HR professionals to be able to have a certain amount of time for continuing education and for mentorship-type projects,” she said.
When Ballentyne started in HR, she would have liked to have an experienced person to turn to, even if it was just through an online forum, to ask questions and figure out if she was doing things right or in the best way, she said.
“In companies that don’t have a large HR department, there really isn’t any ability for a junior person to learn other than through trial and error,” said Ballentyne.
Even now, working on a new project, she would like to have someone who is more experienced to bounce ideas off of.
“It’s taking me two or three times as long to do it as somebody with more experience. There’s no point in reinventing the wheel, but if you don’t know where to find the wheel, you have no choice,” she said.
Only 10.5 per cent of respondents think HR professionals are definitely doing enough to help their colleagues succeed, while 50.6 per cent disagree.
However, 44.1 per cent of respondents have been mentored by someone in HR and 52.4 per cent have mentored someone in the profession.
There’s less time and resources for mentoring programs, which are considered “nice to haves,” said Harold MacKinnon, an HR executive with more than 25 years’ experience in Cambridge, Ont.
When MacKinnon started out, he benefited from many informal mentoring relationships but, as organizations get leaner and professionals get busier, these kinds of relationships are becoming more rare, he said.
However, the process doesn’t always work out well.
“I was paired up with a mentor once but, after one email, she never contacted me again. She never helped with my job search or to even help build any networking,” said Sunaly Vohra, an entry-level HR professional in Ontario. “HR professionals at higher levels are not too responsive for entry-level professionals. They do not share their past experiences, successes or failures.”
HR associations should have formal mentoring programs and offer recertification points for the Certified Human Resources Professional designation to encourage more people to mentor and follow through on their commitment, said Vohra.
The vast majority of respondents (97.2 per cent) agree and think HR associations should do more to encourage mentoring in the profession.
