Create a code of conduct
How will you ensure everyone acts professionally?
Alongside any other guidance documents you create, it may be helpful to provide participants in your programme with a code of conduct that governs their behaviour when they engage with the programme.
What you could include
Focus
You could use a code of conduct to set out what the focus of any conversations should be during each mentoring interaction.
General behaviours
You could use a code of conduct to set out how you want people to act and behave when they engage in mentoring relationships. You might also want to set expectations about who leads the relationship – the mentor or the the mentee.
Boundaries
You could use a code of conduct to establish what should and should not be discussed during a mentoring session. You could also use it to establish safeguarding procedures, and when mentors should refer issues a mentee wants to discuss to a third party.
Confidentiality
You could use a code of conduct to establish to what extent participants are allowed to talk about the interactions they have in the programme with others.
Propriety
You could use a code of conduct to establish a process for resolving any conflicts of interest.
Ending the relationship
You could use a code of conduct to explain the process for ending a mentoring relationship, and when participants can or should do that.
Concerns and complaints
You could use a code of conduct to explain how someone on the programme can raise a concern, either about the substance of a discussion or the approach someone is taking to the relationship as a whole.
Example
Code of conduct
This document contains an example of a code of conduct you could provide to those participating in your programme. You can freely re-use and adapt this guidance document to suit your needs.