Bridging the gap through mentorship
TAUW employs experienced professionals and attracts bright young people. We want to retain that talent and foster a collaborative work environment. Mentorship is a small but significant part of our strategy to bridge the generational and knowledge gaps within TAUW.
Mirte van der Vlis, project advisor, and Frank Volkering, senior consultant Soil and Groundwater developed a successful mentee-mentor partnership.
Mirte began her career at TAUW almost three years ago. With a degree in nanobiology from Delft University of Technology, she was linked to Frank and since then often works with him on knowledge-intensive projects. That cooperation grew organically into an informal mentorship. At Mirte’s suggestion, they brought more structure to their work meetings and personal development sessions, leading to a formal mentorship.
Frank brings 25 years’ experience at TAUW to the table. Over the years his motivational drivers have changed from building on his technical know-how to helping others further in their career. He takes those responsibilities very seriously and worked with a coach to improving his mentoring skills. “We both feel strongly that others at TAUW should be able to benefit from mentoring. But we are aware that it is not a one-size-fits-all model. A click with each other is one factor for success.”
Mentoring benefits
Mentorship is often about the benefits to the mentee. For Mirte, it was a combination of knowledge transfer and personal development. When done right, mentoring brings value to the mentor as well. Frank can attest to that. Mentoring has given him new communication skills and greater job satisfaction.
Mirte: “Because I was new to the soil and groundwater field, Frank’s expertise was extremely helpful. I also benefited from sparring sessions and getting a clearer picture of where I want my career at TAUW to go.” Frank: “This mentorship has enriched my professional career. I am quite confident about my skills and knowledge in my work field, but mentoring was unchartered territory. It was an interesting learning curve working with Mirte. She contributes fresh ideas, other skills and different perspectives. I feel that we have both developed professionally.”
Things to consider
There are prerequisites for mentorship to work. First, the mentor and the mentee have to connect on a personal level. It also depends on what both parties want or expect from the mentorship. They need to be intrinsically motivated and have a mutual knowledge-based interest. That makes it hard to predict the outcome. But a good mentor-mentee match yields results not only for the participants but also for the company. TAUW encourages professional development and personal growth. Mentoring is one way of achieving that.
Frank and Mirte are very positive about their mentorship. They are now looking at ways to expand mentoring within the Soil and Groundwater community.