Mentoring Scheme

Joining the Scheme

The mentoring scheme is currently available to all financial members of TechCommNZ. If you have any questions or suggestions in relation to the scheme, please contact the Business Manager.

It is strongly recommended that before joining the scheme, either as a client or a mentor, you read this page and the other pages covering relevant information about the scheme. To read the other pages you will need to be logged in and to be a financial member.

If you have already read and understood all related information and wish to go ahead and join the scheme, you can do so by completing the appropriate form on the mentor application forms page.

Purpose

The purpose of the TechCommNZ mentoring scheme is to provide TechCommNZ members, in the early stages of their career as technical communicators, with regular opportunities to discuss their work with an experienced technical communicator.

The term "client" is used to identify members of the scheme who are receiving mentoring.

Scope

The scheme is a benefit of membership and is available at no charge to financial members of the Association. If a mentor or client ceases to be a financial member of TechCommNZ, they must resign from the scheme.

Roles and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders in the TechCommNZ mentoring scheme are:

  • Mentors. Each mentor provides guidance to one or more clients.
  • Clients. Each client receives guidance from a mentor.
  • TechCommNZ Business Manager (the "Manager"). Administers the scheme.
  • Client's employer (if applicable). Provides support to their employee(s) in relation to the mentoring scheme.
  • TechCommNZ Committee. Periodically reviews the operation of the scheme.

Objectives

The TechCommNZ mentoring scheme is intended to provide:

  • a supportive environment that will allow an experienced practitioner (the mentor) to pass on his or her knowledge to a novice or relative novice (the client)
  • a formal framework for establishing working relationships between mentors and clients and other stakeholders
  • opportunities for the client to ask questions to clarify their understanding
  • a means of helping to ensure that clients produce work of consistently high quality
  • an environment that encourages the ongoing review of applicable standards and techniques
  • a means of helping to ensure that the work of client technical communicators moves towards current best practice.

For employers of clients (where applicable), this scheme should provide:

  • improved productivity for the staff involved in the scheme
  • an understanding of how documentation development is an integral part of the software or product development lifecycle
  • a better understanding of tools and techniques available
  • a better understanding of the complexities of the documentation process.

Limitations

As mentors provide their time on an unpaid basis, it is important for clients to understand the limitations of what they can expect from a mentoring scheme like this. For further information on this, see the topic on managing client expectations.