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Gloucestershire Enterprise launches a new Coaching & Mentoring service

Offering local businesses access to the County's most experienced coaches and mentors
 
Gloucestershire Enterprise has recently launched a new Coaching & Mentoring Service, building on their many years  of experience in running coaching programmes and the County's hugely successful Small Business Mentoring Scheme. This new combined solution will enable local businesses to access the best of Gloucestershire’s experienced coaches and mentors with support and confidence.
 
Gloucestershire Enterprise, Managing Director, Kevin Holt said:  “These are tough times and they’re about to get tougher.  Many companies are downsizing, reorganising and/or diversifying and many will find themselves moving staff into roles with new or wider responsibilities, including greater targets.  These staff will need to be equipped with the right skills, motivation levels and attitudes, and they will need to feel positive about the changes if you’re planning to get the best from them.  Naturally some staff will require more development than others, but they will all need support in some form or other.  Both of these services bring targeted development in a flexible and responsive way. They are easily arranged, quick-impacting and very cost-effective, making them solutions to be considered, they’re local too.” 
 
All individuals whether small business owners, senior managers  or staff in large companies can benefit from the support of coaches and mentors to help them achieve their business potential. Using a coach in the workplace or small business can be a very effective use of time and money; that’s because coaching covers a wide range of development needs and includes acquiring new skills, gaining a greater depth of understanding, changing of attitudes, increasing motivation levels, raising confidence and so on…Traditional training sessions can achieve a similar outcome but not in the same flexible, targeted way.  Sessions are mutually arranged to fit in with the demands of the company and are easily rescheduled when ‘things’ crop up.  What’s more, coaching sessions can build on prior training and always leave the individual with things to get on with between sessions, thus continuing their development and improving the business.
 
Mentoring offers a very different kind of solution, though just as effective as coaching when used correctly.  Mentors are often described as ‘a wise or trusted adviser and guide’ also called ‘critical friends’ whose role it is to help managers and business owners to see more clearly.  They can help with assessing the current situation, listening to new ideas, addressing personal development needs and/or providing advice, guidance and feedback. A mentor will help you steer your business in the direction to enable you to achieve your goals and ambitions. They will help shape the outlook or attitude of an individual, whereas coaching deals primarily with skill building. They are truly independent, objective and they bring calmness to tense times.  That said, the key strength of a mentor is their ability to deal with the inter-connectedness of issues and can help explore the impact of decisions. A mentoring relationship is shaped by the needs and aspirations of the client and the talents and resources of the mentor. In summary, your mentor is a skilled facilitator who is trustworthy and genuinely there to help.
 
Coaching or mentoring is a great opportunity to improve staff skills in the workplace and a real investment in the business for a small business owner or senior manager, so to find out more please call 0845 8389964 or email training@glosenterprise.co.uk.
 
Gloucestershire Enterprise also deliver the “Coaching For High Growth” and “Starting a High Growth Business” programmes for which funding is available subject to eligibility criteria being met. Please contact us for further information on these programmes.