FAQs
This section features answers to some common questions about Fáilte Ireland's Business Mentoring and Advisory Service. Follow the links below to read more about each topic.
What is mentoring?
What mentoring is not?
What should I expect from my mentor?
What is expected of you?
Expectation of both parties
Who are these mentors?
Working with your mentor
How will I know if the mentor is right for me?
Is there a lot of paperwork involved?
How much will this cost?
What about confidentiality?
Will the service work for me?
Mentoring is a time-honoured tradition that has become synonymous with trusted advisors, teachers and wise persons. For centuries, mentors have offered valuable advice and wisdom at critical points in a personal or business journey.
Simply put, business mentoring is a partnership between two people where the mentor provides tailored business support and practical advice to an individual. The mentors act as a confidential sound board and provide you with practical one to one advice.
BizCheck - Fáilte Ireland’s Business Mentoring and Advisory Service will help you to:
- Access highly experienced business experts for practical advice and support
- Identify strengths and weaknesses in your business
- Work through development of plans for your business
- Develop your skill to innovate and help overcome business barriers
- Stimulate your thought processes and challenge you to think differently about your business
One way to understand what mentoring involves is to look at what mentoring is not:
- Mentoring does not involve the mentor becoming involved in the day to day running of your company
- Mentoring does not necessitate the mentor doing the work
- Mentoring does not entail the mentor “telling” you what to do
- Mentors do not assume the role as decision maker for the business
The role of your mentor is to:
- Respond to your needs and agenda; it is not to impose their own agenda
- Encourage and support you in the analysis of your situation and the decision making process
- Provide critical, constructive feedback and praise where appropriate
- Adhere to a strict code of practice with guidance on conduct and confidentiality
- Develop and work towards measurable objectives
- Offer encouragement, support and reassurance as appropriate
- Avoid creating dependency as this is unhelpful in the long term
- Help you to gather information necessary to enable you to make fact based decisions about your business
- Be constantly aware that the aim of this service is to provide business solutions and build your management capability
First and foremost – commitment!
You have ultimate responsibility for your business. You need to be actively engaged in all discussions and to follow up on the actions you have agreed with your mentor.
This is a business partnership and your role is to:
- Be open, flexible and willing to try new things
- Have a committed work approach
- Take action on agreed tasks which need to be completed within the negotiated time frames
- Clear communication of your needs and aspirations
- Maintain focus
- Be able to receive feedback from the mentor’s perspective to gain a more objective viewpoint
To have an effective, productive and successful business relationship, both parties should:
- Aim to be open and truthful with each other
- Respect each other’s time and other responsibilities
- Give at least 24 hours notice if you need to postpone or cancel a session
- Come to meetings prepared
The mentor panel is made up of independent business experts with a wealth of experience and expertise within the Irish tourism industry. You will be provided with a profile of your mentor prior to first contact.
The initial one to one meeting is key to the mentoring process. It establishes trust and builds the relationship between you and your mentor. This is essential for open discussions to establish what the long and short-term priorities are for the business.
Preparation by both parties is important to ensure your time spent together is effective and productive.
You should consider what are your expectations, aims and priorities for the mentoring process and discuss these with your mentor prior to the meeting.
You will usually know pretty quickly if you can work together. If you have any concerns just contact the BizCheck Mentoring and Advisory Service team to discuss other options.
No. At the end of any meetings; you will agree an action plan with your mentor. Your mentor will complete the paperwork and send a copy of the action plan to you and the BizCheck team.
The BizCheck mentoring services are subject to a nominal fee which is based on the service option selected. All of the mentoring options above are heavily subsidised by Fáilte Ireland. Please contact the Mentoring Team to discuss your requirements in more detail.
The key to an effective mentoring experience is the development of an open, honest and trusting business relationship between you and the mentor.
Trust in the confidential nature of the service is important to ensure that you feel comfortable in candidly discussing your business needs, or problem areas, in depth. This level of openness is critical in developing and implementing an action plan that will have a positive business impact. Consequently, to allow you feel “safe” with disclosing sensitive information, all mentors have signed a
Code of Practice agreement.
Engaging with BizCheck - Fáilte Ireland’s Business Mentoring and Advisory Service can be a challenging option as it will involve focus and determination on your behalf to get things done. However it can produce excellent results as you can see from our
testimonials.
Take time to look at the questions below. If you can answer “yes” to the majority of these questions, with commitment, dedication and the advice of a good mentor, you and your business will benefit from the service and find it a rewarding experience.
- Do I need some reassurance to know that what I am doing is ok?
- Could I use some support as I grow, develop or change my business?
- Am I prepared to listen and to evaluate new ideas?
- Do I want to clarify my business direction?
- Am I ready to accept constructive critical comments?
- Do I want to progress business goals?
- Can I be open and honest about my business’ strengths and weaknesses?
- Am I ready to do things differently?
Please contact your local Fáilte Ireland office for further detail on the Business Mentoring & Advisory Service.
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