Mentoring aims to share expertise

Continuous, systematic and innovative HR development is part of Otava’s strategy. Our main ways of developing competence include everyday learning and cooperation with colleagues and partners.

In 2022, we implemented a Group-wide mentoring programme aimed at self-improvement at work. The programme was facilitated by experts from Kulmia Group Oy.

Mentoring is based on confidential interaction between two equals, in which skills and knowledge are transferred through regular, goal-oriented discussions.

Mentoring aims to bring new ideas and insights to everyday work by challenging experts to share their expertise in a practical manner. The programme also sought increased engagement from top professionals.

Participants applied to join the programme as either mentors or mentees. The work itself was largely based on mutual knowledge sharing and peer learning.

Mentors and mentees met once a month over a nine-month period, and there were also three joint meetings with the entire network. Mentoring group members met a total of three times for joint coaching sessions over a nine-month period, and each pair met about once a month according to their own schedules.

Jari Vehola, who originally joined the mentoring programme to find new networks, described his role as a mentor as follows:

 “At the last joint meeting, I said that this had ended up being a lot more than I’d expected. It wasn’t just a case of knowledge passing from mentor to mentee – I also got a lot from my mentee. I learned the art of listening, which was the biggest thing I got out of this. And it won’t end here – my partner and I will be meeting again in the future.”

Jari would definitely encourage his colleagues to participate in a repeat of the programme: although mentoring takes time, its benefits far outweigh the time invested in it.