We've been seeing growing interest in our mentorship pilots which, as mentioned in another recent article, are currently open for registration by employees of of our corporate member companies.
We've received questions from a few of you interested in taking part, and wanted to share more information about the mentorship pilots currently available, starting with the Neurodivergent Reverse Mentorship Pilot
Q1: This is for GAIN corporate members. I'm not sure if my company is a member of GAIN, can I apply?
New companies are joining GAIN regularly, and there is often a short delay between membership being agreed and the public announcement being made, so it's worth registering your interest even if you aren't sure if your company qualifies yet - your company may be in the process of joining, or may join us in the future. Use your work email address to register as this will make it easy to verify your eligibility. If you aren't eligible for this round, we will keep your details on record and notify you once your company joins GAIN, or once we open up mentorship schemes to our wider individual membership.
Our current corporate members are:
ABI
Ageas
Aviva
Beazley
Covea Insurance
Guardian Financial Services
Just Group
Kennedys Law
Liberty Specialty Markets
Per Ardua
Phoenix Group
PIC
QBE
RSA
Saga Group
Simply Business
Swiss Re
UnderwriteMe
Zurich
Q2: How long are registrations open for?
We've actually decided to extend the registration period for this pilot! You can register as either mentor or mentee until Friday 18th August.
Q3: Who can be a mentor?
Anyone who self-identifies as neurodivergent, and is employed at a GAIN member company, can register to be a mentor. We recognise the barriers that can make formal diagnosis inaccessible, and also recognise self-diagnosis or self-identification as valid. You will be speaking about your experiences as a neurodivergent person with your mentee, so you will need to be willing to talk and answer questions about neurodiversity.
Q4: Who can be a mentee?
People who are in more senior roles, whether this is a managerial position, a department head C-suite or otherwise, who are employed at a GAIN member company. You do not need to have experience engaging in neurodiversity projects, but we do ask about your prior experience in order to help us make the best possible match.
Q5: Why would I want to be a mentor?
Career advocacy opportunities, advancement and networking opportunities have often been thin on the ground or hard for neurodivergent people to access. Studies such as the VEQ show that neurodivergent people are disproportionately overlooked for promotions and other opportunities. We hope that by opening up mentoring relationships specifically to our neurodivergent members, this will help build bridges and create relationships with career advocates and allies. Reverse mentoring schemes of all kinds can be beneficial for a person's career.
Additionally, by getting to speak directly to people at more senior level about neurodiversity, you will be able to provide input and insight that will be included in the decisions your company makes about neuroinclusivity. It is vital that neurodivergent voices be included in those discussions.
Q6: Why would I want to be a mentee?
There is no greater insight you will get on the neurodivergent experience of your company than from the individuals actively working there. At GAIN, we use our knowledge of both neurodiversity and the industry to offer benchmarking and roadmap services to help you create a more neuroinclusive culture. But a richer and deeper understanding of your company culture, environment and needs is only possible through open and vulnerable dialogue.
Many companies survey diversity in their teams and a common concern raised is the lack of psychological safety leading to lower rates of disclosure. Opening yourself to a mentorship relationship communicates your genuine desire to learn and can help your employees feel safer to be open as they see the positive results of the relationships you build with them.
Q7: What is the process once I apply?
This is a pilot, which means we've not done anything like it before. As a result, we want to be methodical with our approach. We are not making any decisions about who does or doesn't qualify until the registration period closes.
Once the registrations close at the end of Friday 18th August we will review the list of applicants and begin making decisions. Our aim is to pair mentors and mentees from the same company with each other, but this is dependent on the rate of interest from each member company.
If you are successful in your application, we will contact you by email during the week commencing 21st August with a one-page-profile template to complete and return to us by 25th August.
We will then introduce you to the person you will be paired with by email, sharing those one-page-profile documents. You will each be provided a mentorship agreement form to sign, and copies of feedback forms that you can use to communicate with GAIN through the mentorship period.
We will help schedule an introductory meeting between you and your mentor/mentee, which should last approximately 30 minutes. From then, it will be your mutual responsibility to schedule regular meetings with each other and to maintain the relationship.
If you are not successful, we will contact you during the week commencing 21st August and explain our decision. It may be that you do not qualify at this time or we may not have a suitable person to pair you with. You will have the opportunity to reapply to be included in future mentorship pilots and in the wider release of these schemes once the pilot concludes, and we will be sure to inform you when future opportunities open up.
Q8: How long does the pilot last?
The pilot will formally begin on 1st September. Your mentoring relationship will begin from the date of your first introductory meeting with your partner, and will last for 6 months.
Q9: What commitment am I making by signing up?
You are committing to a set of minimum standards of participation as follows:
Meeting with your partner (in person or virtually) either monthly or 6-weekly (as agreed in the introductory meeting)
Providing feedback to GAIN at the start, mid-point and end using feedback forms GAIN will provide
As mentor, providing open insights into your experience of neurodiversity both personally and in the workplace.
As mentee, receiving feedback and insights with an open mindset and a desire to learn, not to judge or discount the information you receive.
You will also commit to a set of mutual goals for the relationship, which you and your partner will discuss and mutually set in the introductory meeting.
Q10: I have further questions that haven't been answered here.
We are happy to help! Please email info@gaintogether.org and a member of the GAIN team will respond within a few days. (Please be patient, as we are a small team!)
