The benefits of mentoring and coaching in the public sector

Abstract

A project at the Frontier Hospital in Queenstown (South Africa) commenced in January 2009, and extended over a period of four months. Two mentoring and coaching workshops were held to create a broad awareness and a common understanding about mentoring and coaching as tools for learning and growth. A study was carried out to determine the effects of mentoring and coaching on managers following attendance of the workshops. The study results revealed that the race and gender of the respondents did not significantly affect mentoring and coaching. The respondents were in unanimous agreement that the programme was beneficial and the functional specialisation of the respondents did not affect their assessment of the mentoring and coaching programme. The study also revealed that mentoring and coaching did improve work performance and that it had far reaching positive effects in improving work-place performance at Frontier Hospital, in South Africa

Full text

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
16
THE BENEFITS OF MENTORING AND COACHING IN
THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Aaron Ganesh*, Alec Bozas*, Mogie Subban**, Elias Munapo*
Abstract
A project at the Frontier Hospital in Queenstown (South Africa) commenced in January 2009, and
extended over a period of four months. Two mentoring and coaching workshops were held to create a
broad awareness and a common understanding about mentoring and coaching as tools for learning
and growth. A study was carried out to determine the effects of mentoring and coaching on manag ers
following attendance of the workshops. The study results revealed that the race and gender of the
respondents did not significantly affect mentoring and coaching. The respondents were in unanimous
agreement that the programme was beneficial and the functional specialisation of the respondents did
not affect their assessment of the mentoring and coaching programme. The study also revealed that
mentoring and coaching did improve work performance and that it had far reaching positive effects in
improving work-place performance at Frontier Hospital, in South Africa.***
Keywords: Mentoring, Coaching, Work Performance, Scepticism, Cross Tabulations
* Graduate School of Business and Leadership, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa
** School of Management, I.T. and Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa
*** The authors gratefully acknowledge: Dr Nisha Singh (UKZN Research Office) for her assistance with the statistics; the
Journal Editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which helped us to improve the manuscript.
1. Introduction
This study provides an overview of personal
mentoring and coaching practice and focuses on its
outcomes in delivering personal and professional
change in managers in the public sector. South
African organisations are trying to compete in a
highly robust, global environment but are struggling
to overcome the legacy of the past. In particular the
South African public service is facing significant
challenges in refurbishing human resource
management for better skilling the workforce to
enable quality service delivery to all public
stakeholders in the 21st century (Kahn and Louw,
2010). Research has demonstrated that individuals,
who are mentored advance more rapidly in the
organisation, earn higher salaries, are less likely to
leave the organisation and express more favourable
work attitudes than individuals who are not mentored
(Allen and Eby, 2004). Mentoring and coaching
programmes may either be informal or formally
structured.
The benefits of mentoring and coaching have
been described as either psychosocial or career
advancement and may be achieved in the short,
medium or long term. Furthermore, involvement in
mentoring relationships has been found to be
beneficial for participants and for organisations (Egan
and Song, 2008). The inherency of learning within
the coaching process have been exposed and linked to
learning theory. In doing so, it culminates in a
proposal of personal mentoring and coaching as a
model for active, collaborative, authentic and
engaged learning that courageously challenges and
moves beyond more conventional transmission
models of learning. Ultimately this may lead to
improved skills and better workplace performance.
1.1 Motivation for the study
Information on mentoring and coaching in the
business sector and public service in South Africa is
lacking. There are only a few reported studies on the
impact of mentoring in higher education. However,
there is an abundance of literature on the positive
effects of mentoring and coaching in the developed
world, (Allen and Eby, 2004; Bozionelos, 2004; Eby,
Lockwood and Butts, 2006; Miller, 2006; and Eby,
Allen, Sarah, Evans, Ng and DuBois, 2008).
Furthermore, post-apartheid South Africa is plagued
by several social ills caused by widespread poverty
and unemployment and this situation is exacerbated
by poor service delivery by public sector institutions
resulting in a deteriorating health, civic and essential
services whilst the goals of employment equity, skills
development and empowerment of women are largely
missed (Doring, 2009). According to the literature,
mentoring and coaching has shown to be an effective
intervention to addressing these human resource
shortcomings and improving performance on the
issues covered. Hence the need for research on how
to implement, evaluate and monitor the benefits and

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
17
challenges of mentoring and coaching in our country
does have merit.
1.2 Focus of the study
Mentoring and coaching is gaining increasing
prominence in modern organisations as a key
management intervention in enhancing the skills set
of employees as well as encouraging their personal
growth which could result in improved job
performance. The focus of this dissertation is
mentoring and coaching for both professional and
personal growth however, it is specifically focused in
the area of public sector management in South Africa
and has as its main goal the enhancement in
performance of public sectors managers which would
then consequently improve the quality of service
delivery from these essential organs of state.
There appears to be a dire need in the public
sector for conscious change in management style and
approach from systems and processes modelled on an
autocratic and hierarchical past into a more inclusive
and participative style. Whilst public sector
organisations in South Africa continue to spend
increasing resources on training and education they
are still deemed to be poorly managed and
increasingly inefficient and are continually failing in
their mandate to effectively deliver services to the
increasingly impatient and recently less forgiving
populace. Whilst training certainly has its’ place in
the acquisition of new skills it is however less suited
to the fine-tuning of skills and to exploring specific
individual situations or contexts. Coaching theory
suggests that organisations which embark on
mentoring and coaching interventions generally see
an improvement in organisational performance
(Troskie, 2009). The protégé’s normally report
improved morale, better communication and more
effective working relationships (Troskie, 2009). The
focus of the study is therefore to evaluate mentoring
and coaching as a tool for effective management and
for better skilling the South African workforce.
1.2 Problem statement
The public sector in South Africa is facing challenges
imposed by shortage of skills, limited resource
allocations and unreliable or non-existent
infrastructure and adequate support structures. The
demands on staff members are enormous and the
management support systems are not always readily
available to assist. Effective leadership and
management are about providing the tools and
techniques that enable managers to organise their
work and meet constraints. The lack of accountability
and decision-making abilities of senior managers is
regarded as the most critical problem especially in the
sector of public health care. The realisation of the
objectives of the South African public health system
remains a challenge due to the inability of
management to effectively plan, measure, evaluate
and complete assignments (Department of Health
(DoH), 2009).
2. Literature review
Frontier Hospital epitomises the shortcomings of the
South African public health system and in many
respects is a practical manifestation of its
shortcomings. This was shown up by poor leadership,
untrained staff, lack of accountability amongst
management and generally poor level of care
experienced by patients at Frontier Hospital (DoH,
2009). The question that arises therefore is: What
mechanisms can be taken to correct these
shortcomings with the view to rolling out overall an
improvement programme across the South African
public service in general?
The concept of mentoring and coaching of
managers is not necessarily a new concept and has in
recent years received increased attention as a
management intervention mainly due to a commonly
held view that these forms of interventions offer
tangible benefits. In this Chapter mentoring and
coaching are defined and an in-depth review of
mentoring and coaching across the public and private
sectors inclusive of key concepts, techniques, benefits
and other outcomes that have surfaced following the
implementation of such programmes, is provided.
The South African public service has been under
severe pressure since 1994 to transform into state
institutions that serve the interests of the majority of
the population whilst at the same time accelerating
the employment equity goals of the country (Troskie,
2009). The difficulty in achieving these twin goals is
borne out in poor levels of service delivery to the
general populace as well as by poor performance of
public sector managers that is highlighted in the
South African media with alarming regularity.
2.1 Mentoring and coaching defined
Mentoring and coaching are often distinguished from
each other. Coaching is said to focus on enhancing
knowledge or a specific skill, while mentoring is
focused on the transfer of experience from a mature
individual to a junior employee in order to develop
and grow (Parsloe and Wray, 2000). The benefits of
mentoring relationships have been publicized for
several decades. However, only after Kram’s (1985)
seminal work on mentoring relationships at work, has
empirical research on the topic of mentoring and
coaching proliferated.
2.1.1 Coaching
Grant (2001) indicated that the definitions of the
coaching process vary considerably in their degree of
clarity and succinctness, and the extent to which
teaching or direct instruction is emphasised, as

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18
opposed to the facilitation of self-directed learning.
Parsloe and Wray (2000) however emphasized an
instructional approach, wherein it is proposed that
coaching is directly concerned with the immediate
improvement of performance and development of
skills through tutoring or instruction. Coaching also
according to Parsloe and Wray (2000),entails a
process of observing and offering hints, feedback,
reminders, new tasks, or redirecting a student’s
attention to a salient feature, with the goal of
approximating the student’s performance with that of
the expert’s. Whitmore (2004) proposes that coaching
is a process of unlocking a person’s potential to
maximize their own performance, and helping them
to learn rather than teaching only.
Hudson (1999) reported that the process of
coaching occurs when a coach helps a client to
perceive options of becoming a more effective human
being. Hudson (1999) further proposes that a coach is
one who facilitates experiential learning that results
in future-oriented abilities, is a trusted role model, an
adviser, a wise person, a friend and a steward or
guide, and one who works with emerging human and
organisational forces to tap new energy and purpose,
to shape new vision and plans and to generate desired
results. Hence a coach is someone trained and
devoted to guiding others into increased competence,
commitment and confidence.
Coaching is commonly associated with
technology (people who provide just-in-time, task-
based assistance) and business settings (people who
are hired to provide guidance on a particular task at
the individual or organisational level). The term
coach, in modern society, makes one immediately
think of sports coaches – individuals and teams have
coaches for good reason. In many ways a coach and a
mentor do the same thing and in practice the terms
often are used interchangeably, which begs the
question as to how one differentiates them (Troskie,
2009).
2.1.2 Mentoring
Dennen (2004) describes a mentor as one who
mediates expert knowledge for novices and helps that
which is tacit become more explicit. The two most
common uses of the word mentoring are to (a)
describe a professional development relationship in
which a more experienced participant assists a less
experienced one in developing a career and (b) a
guiding relationship between an adult and a young
person focused on helping the youth realise his or her
potential and perhaps overcome some barriers or
challenges. In both cases it is the mentor who
provides advice and support and may serve as a role
model. Whereas these examples generally imply
long-term relationships, mentoring can be used as an
instructional strategy on a smaller scale. In a
phenomenological viewpoint of the mentoring
literature, Roberts (2000) notes that there are eight
attributes of mentoring that commonly appear. These
include; an active relationship, a helping process, a
teaching-learning process, reflective practice, a career
and personal development process, a formalised
process and a role constructed by or for a mentor.
Dennen (2004) further reports that notions of
helping, teaching and learning, and reflection, are all
central to mentoring, which is a process that involves
relationships. Not mentioned directly, but implied, is
the concept of expertise. This then may imply that
mentors are expected to provide expert knowledge to
a mentee in a “do as I do “type of action learning
process. According to Dennen (2004), mentors may
use strategies such as verbal descriptions and
diagrams to help concretize or reveal expert
knowledge pertaining to why things are done in a
certain way and further explain the relationship
between parts. One however may argue that that
mentors should not take too prominent a role in the
mentoring relationship but rather use techniques like
questioning to help mentees to demonstrate their
understanding, and therefore confirm that learning
has indeed taken place.
Enerson (2001) points out that teacher-centred
terms such as; sage, actor, and pedagogue have long
been used as metaphors for the teacher’s role and,
suggests that a mentor more appropriately puts the
focus on the learner. Essentially, the teaching-
learning situation changes from being about teacher
performance to being about learner needs. Enerson
(2001) further emphasized; “One may act without an
audience, but it is not possible to mentor without a
mentee. One might evaluate an actor’s performance
without regard for the audience’s reaction, but a
mentor cannot effectively be evaluated without
consideration of the mentee.”
Parsloe and Wray (2000), who discuss practical
application distinguished coaching from mentoring
by suggesting that a mentor is one who provides
support of a more general nature in an on-going
capacity and a coach is typically focused on
assistance for meeting a particular goal.

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Table 1. The four goals of mentorship (Burton, Brown and Fischer, 1999 p 139 - 150)
Goal
Example
1
Ensure that appropriate sub skills are
acquired
Employing practices to master particular skills for which the
mentor has been selected, e.g. a golf Pro teaching aspirant
golfer the value of good posture
2
Design appropriate exercises and
supply the required technology
Teaching the mentee a specific “drill” e.g. when a golf Pro
selects the appropriate golf club and engages with a golfer to
practice specific drills
3
Demonstrate the student’s performance
in the interest of highlighting problems
A golf Pro will analyse the scores of a club golfer so there is
no argument on what on what level the student is currently
performing
4
Provide clear explanation and
instruction
The golf instructor would provide clear , unambiguous
instruction in easily understandable language on what
corrective actions need to be implemented
By this definition, within the context of career
development a mentor would help guide the career
choices and workplace skills of the protégé, while a
coach would be involved in more concrete, goal-
oriented tasks such as getting a new job or promotion.
Burton, Brown and Fischer, (1999) state, that there
are four goals for a coach to accomplish; Table 1.
Hence a coach maintains focus on the goal, and
determines when learner exploration is fruitless or
ready to move onward.
3. Research methodology
The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of
the mentoring and coaching programme that was
implemented at the Frontier Hospital by the National
Business Initiative (NBI) in conjunction with the
Eastern Cape Provincial Administration (ECPA) so as
to determine whether such an intervention would
improve manager performance and service delivery in
the public sector. The following objectives and
research questions were formulated for the study.
3.1 Objectives
a) To critically evaluate the impact of mentoring
and coaching by determining if there are
differences in benefits obtained based on
demographics, functional specialisation and
length of employment.
b) To establish whether participants have noticed
improvements in their performance.
c) To determine whether participants have
developed personally in terms of confidence,
interpersonal skills and effectiveness.
3.2 Ethical issues and clearance
Both the National Business Initiative and the Eastern
Cape Provincial Administration authorized the study
and ethical approval was also obtained from the
University of KwaZulu-Natal.
3.3 Questionnaire construction
The questionnaire was made up of 20 questions
which were categorized as shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Questionnaire composition
Question/statement number
Type
1, 3, 4, 5
Multiple Choice
2
Dichotomous
6-20
Scaled (Likert)
3.4 Pilot study
The draft questionnaire was tested on five people,
thereafter the responses were examined and the
necessary changes as improvements were done. The
pilot study provided the opportunity to identify and
eliminate any vagueness that could have arisen due to
any ambiguity or unforeseen inferences that may
perhaps have been drawn from the way the questions
were worded or structured.
3.5 Population
The population (N) consisted of 101 senior
government officials who attended the workshops at
Frontier Hospital as part of the NBI and ECPA
mentoring and coaching programme.
3.6 Sample size
Non-probability sampling was used since the study
was concerned with the results obtained from a small

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
20
group that is representative of the much larger
grouping, in this case being public sector managers in
South Africa. A sample size (n) of 33 was chosen as
being representative of the population (N=101), at
90% confidence level and 11.75% error. An on-line
survey random sample calculator
(CustomInsight.com, 2010) was used.
The sample of 33 managers included:
- 16 Nursing Managers including operational
managers at Frontier Hospital,
- 8 Heads of Clinical Departments at Frontier
Hospital,
- 1 Middle Manager - Administration at
Frontier Hospital,
- 1 Quality Assurance Coordinator at Frontier
Hospital,
- 1 ARV Programme Coordinator at Frontier
Hospital and
- 6 Sub-district managers for Chris Hani
Health District.
3.7 Reliability and validity
The questionnaire adequately measured the
mentoring and coaching concept, and its linkages to
performance and self-confidence thereby enhancing
the validity and reliability. Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient, using the variables shown in Table 3 was
calculated as 0.700 and this indicated that the
questionnaire was reliable. More on reliability can be
obtained from Bryman and Bell (2007).
3.8 Analysis of data
Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW) version 18
was used to analyse the data where attention was
given to:
a) Frequency distributions,
b) Descriptive statistics, including measures of
central tendency and dispersion,
c) Cross tabulations on dependent and
independent variables,
d) Chi-square analysis and
e) Graphical representations.
4. Presentation of results
The data analysis was presented in univariate and
bivariate forms. The univariate was in the form of
frequency tables and bar charts while the bivariate
was in the the form of cross tabulations and
correlations.
4.1 Univariate analysis
Race, gender and age
The demographic data representing age, gender, race
and also length of service is summarised in Table 4.
The majority of the respondents (73%) were
Black (Africans). There were no Indians in the
sample and Whites and Coloureds comprised a total
of 27%. Most of the respondents were females (67%).
The vast majority of the respondents were above 45
years old (73%), and 18% were above 55 years of age
as shown in Table 4.
Role in the organisation
The level of management of the respondents was also
recorded as shown in Figure 1. The results indicated
that the majority (51.5%) of the respondents were
middle managers, and that only 3% were senior
managers.
Table 3. Measuring reliability using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient
Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient
No. of items
Variables (items)used
.700
10
Mentoring positive
Mentoring beneficial
Recommend
Performance targets
Career progression
Confidence
Interact better
Time management
Grow and development
Prioritise tasks
Role in the organisation
The level of management of the respondents was also
recorded as shown in Figure 1. The results indicated
that the majority (51.5%) of the respondents were
middle managers, and that only 3% were senior
managers.
Length of service
The lengths of service (tenure) of the respondents are
shown in Table 4.3. Employees with 11 to 15 years of
service made up 24.2% of the sample, whilst
employees with less than 5 years of service made up
18.2% of the sample. The majority of the respondents
(42.4%) worked for the organisation for 15 years and
longer. Employees with 11 to 15 years of service
made up 24.2% of the sample, whilst employees with
less than 5 years of service made up 18.2% of the
sample. The majority of the respondents (42.4%)
worked for the organisation for 15 years and longer
as shown in Table 5.

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
21
Table 4. Demographic profile of the respondents
Demographic Characteristic
Race group, gender, age group
Percentage
Race
Black
73
Indian
0
White
21
Coloured
6
Gender
Male
33
Female
67
Age
<25 years old
0
25-34 years old
0
35-44 years old
27
45-54 years old
55
55 and older
18
Figure 1. Level of management of the respondents
Table 5. Length of service of the respondents in the organisation
Length of service (tenure)
Percentage respondents
<1 year
0
1-5 years
18.2
6–10 years
15.2
11-15 years
24.2
> 15 years
42.4
Employees with 11 to 15 years of service made
up 24.2% of the sample, whilst employees with less
than 5 years of service made up 18.2% of the sample.
The majority of the respondents (42.4%) worked for
the organisation for 15 years and longer as shown in
Table 5.
Effects of the mentoring and coaching programme
The respondents were asked to rate various
statements on the effects of the mentoring and
coaching programme by indicating whether they
strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed or strongly
disagreed to each statement. The data was analysed
and is shown in Table 6.
Positive effect of mentoring and coaching
The results in Table 6 indicated that 81.8% of the
respondents strongly agreed that the mentoring and
coaching programme had a positive impact on them.
In overall, there was 100% agreement that mentoring
and coaching had a positive effect.
3,0
15,2
30,3
51,5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Senior Supervisory Operational Middle
Percentage
Role in the organisation

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
22
Beneficial effect of mentoring and coaching
The majority (93.9%) of the respondents strongly
agreed that a mentoring and coaching programme
would be beneficial to other managers in the public
sector. There was 100% agreement that such
programmes are beneficial (Table 6).
Table 6. Responses to various aspects of the mentoring and coaching programme
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
4.7.1 Positive effect of mentoring and coaching
81.8%
18.2%
.0%
.0%
4.7.2 Beneficial effect of mentoring and coaching
93.9%
6.1%
.0%
.0%
4.7.3 Mentor/ coach appraisal
39.4%
24.2%
33.3%
3.0%
4.7.4 Level of scepticism about mentoring and
coaching
6.1%
45.5%
21.2%
27.3%
4.7.5 Recommendation of mentoring and coaching
66.7%
33.3%
.0%
.0%
4.7.6 Job performance targets
33.3%
51.5%
15.2%
.0%
4.7.7 Exceed job performance targets
21.2%
51.5%
27.3%
.0%
4.7.8 Favourable performance appraisal
9.1%
39.4%
36.4%
15.2%
4.7.9 Career progression
21.2%
45.5%
27.3%
6.1%
4.7.10 Salary increases
.0%
.0%
57.6%
42.4%
4.7.11 Confidence about abilities
51.5%
45.5%
3.0%
.0%
4.7.12 Effective interaction on different levels
45.5%
54.5%
.0%
.0%
4.7.13Time management
30.3%
51.5%
18.2%
.0%
4.7.14 Effectiveness in the organisation
24.2%
75.8%
.0%
.0%
4.7.15 Personal and professional development
42.4%
57.6%
.0%
.0%
Mentor/ coach appraisal
The results revealed that 63.6% of the respondents
agreed that the mentor or coach was an expert and
was therefore able to provide specialised assistance.
However, 36.3% of the respondents were in
disagreement (Table 6).
Level of scepticism about mentoring and coaching
It was revealed that 6.1% and 45.5% of the
respondents highly agreed and agreed respectively,
that they were still sceptical of mentoring and
coaching as a management development intervention
in South Africa (Table 6).
Recommendation of mentoring and coaching
All the respondents agreed that they would
recommend mentoring and coaching to other
professionals with 66.7% highly agree and 33.3%
agree responses (Table 6).
Job performance targets
33.3% and 51.5% of the respondents highly agreed
and agreed respectively that the mentoring and
coaching programme assisted them to meet job
performance targets. Hence this constituted
agreement from the vast majority (84.8%) of the
respondents. However, 15.2% of the respondents
disagreed (Table 6).
Exceed job performance targets
The majority (72.7%) of the respondents agreed that
the mentoring and coachingprogramme assisted them
to exceed job performance targets. However 27.3% of
the responses disagreed (Table 6).
Favourable performance appraisal
The results reveal a mixed reaction by respondents to
them receiving a favourable performance appraisal
following the mentoring and coaching programme.
Only 9.1% of the respondents highly agreed, 39.4%
agreed, whilst 36.4% disagreed and 15.2 % highly
disagreed. Overall, more than 50 % of the
respondents did not receive favourable performance
appraisals (Table 6).
Career progression
The majority (66.7%) of the respondents agreed that
prospects of career progression improved following
the mentoring and coaching programme. However,
33.4% disagreed with 6.1% of these recorded as
highly disagree (Table 6).
Salary increases
All the respondents disagreed to receiving higher than
average salary increases following involvement in the
mentoring and coaching programme (Table 6).

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
23
Confidence about abilities
The vast majority of the respondents (97%) agreed
that they were confident about their abilities. There
was a mere3% disagreement regarding confidence
about abilities following the mentoring and coaching
programme (Table 6).
Effective interaction on different levels
There was 100% agreement that respondents were
able to interact more effectively and on different
levels in the organisation following the mentoring
and coaching programme (Table 6).
Time management
Although the majority (81.8%) of the respondents
agreed that they managed time more effectively and
have become more effective managers following the
mentoring and coaching programme, 18.2 %
disagreed (Table 6).
Effectiveness in the organisation
The results revealed that there was 100% agreement
that the respondents were able to prioritise tasks more
effectively to the extent that they were able to
maximize effectiveness in the organisation, following
the mentoring and coaching programme (Table 6).
Personal and professional development
There was 100% agreement that the mentoring and
coaching programme helped the respondents to grow
and develop on a personal level and this has had a
positive impact on professional development (Table
6).
4.2 Bivariate analysis
Relationship between age and length of service in
the organisation
Several cross tabulations were carried out using chi
square analysis and Fisher’s exact test. Significance
was shown only when age was cross-tabulated
against length of service in the organisation. Fisher’s
exact test was 0.011. This indicated that there was a
significant relationship between age of the
respondents and the length of service in the
organisation. Thirty three percent of the respondents
in the 45-54 age group were in service for longer than
16 years, compared to only 3% of respondents who
were between 35 and 44 years. It is indicated
therefore that respondents in the 45-54 age group
benefited from mentoring and coaching. Younger
respondents served the organisation for shorter
periods (Table 7).
Table 7. Cross-tabulation between age and length of service
Age
Length of service
Row
Totals
<5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
>15 years
35-44
6.1%
6.1%
12.1%
3.0%
27.3%
45-54
9.1%
12.1%
33.3%
54.5%
55>
3.0%
9.1%
6.1%
18.2%
Column Totals
18.2%
15.2%
24.2%
42.4%
100%
Fisher’s exact test= 0.011
Other cross-tabulations
There were no significant relationships between the
following cross-tabulations using chi square analysis:
- race and role in the organisation,
- race and length of service,
- gender and role in the organisation,
- gender and length of service,
- age and role in the organisation,
- role in the organisation and length of
service,
- role in the organisation and mentoring,
- Role in the organisation and mentoring
positive and
- Role in the organisation and mentoring
beneficial.
All the senior managers (3%) in the sample were
White and all the Coloureds were middle managers
(6.1%). Blacks occupied middle, supervisory and
operational management positions, but not senior
management positions (Table 8).
Black (39.4%) and white managers (3%) served
the organisation for longer than 16 years and in total
comprised 42.4% of the sample. At the time of the
survey, Coloured managers were in service for a
minimum of 6 and a maximum of 15 years (Table 9).
All senior managers were males. In total only
6% of the males occupied supervisory and
operational management positions, compared to
39.4% of the females who held these positions (Table
10). Females (36.4%) were the longest in service
compared to males (6.1%) as shown in Table 11.

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
24
Table 8. Cross-tabulation between race and role in the organisation
Race
Role in organisation
Row
Totals
Senior
manager
Middle
manager
Supervisory
manager
Operational
manager
Black
33.3%
12.1%
27.3%
72.7%
White
3.0%
12.1%
3.0%
3.0%
21.1%
Coloured
6.1%
6.1%
Column Totals
3.0%
51.5%
15.2%
30.3%
100%
Table 9. Cross-tabulation between race and length of service
Race
Length of service
Row
Totals
<5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
>15 years
Black
12.1%
9.1%
12.1%
39.4%
72.7%
White
6.1%
3.0%
9.1%
3.0%
21.2%
Coloured
3.0%
3.0%
6%
Column Totals
18.2%
15.2%
24.2%
42.4%
100%
Table 10. Cross-tabulation between gender and role in the organisation
Role in the organisation
Row Totals
Senior
manager
Middle
manager
Supervisory
manager
Operational
manager
Gender
Male
3.0%
24.2%
3.0%
3.0%
33.2%
Female
27.3%
12.1%
27.3%
66.7%
Column Totals
3.0%
51.5%
15.2%
30.3%
100%
Table 11. Cross-tabulation between gender and length of service
Length of service
Row Totals
<5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
>15 years
Gender
Male
9.1%
9.1%
9.1%
6.1%
33.4%
Female
9.1%
6.1%
15.2%
36.4%
66.6%
Column Totals
18.2%
15.2%
24.2%
42.4%
100%
Table 12. Cross-tabulation between age and role in the organisation
Age
Role in the organisation
Row Totals
Senior
manager
Middle
manager
Supervisory
manager
Operational
manager
35-44
18.2%
6.1%
3.0%
27.3%
45-54
3.0%
24.2%
9.1%
18.2%
54.5%
55>
9.1%
9.1%
18.2%
Column Totals
3.0%
51.5%
15.2%
30.3%
100%
All senior managers we in the 45-54 age group.
Younger respondents between 35-44 years of age
were middle, supervisory and operational managers
whereas older respondents above 55 years old were
either middle or operational managers (Table 12).
Middle managers comprised 51.5% of the
sample of which 21.2% served the organisation for
more than 15 years (Table 13).
Although all the respondents agreed that the
mentoring and coaching workshops had had a
positive effect on them, the weighting of their
responses differed. Senior managers only agreed,
while all supervisory managers strongly agreed.
Middle and operational managers both agreed and
strongly agreed (Table 14).
There were no significant relationships between
the following cross-tabulations using chi square
analysis:
- race and level of scepticism;
- age and level of scepticism;
- gender and level of scepticism;
- gender and mentor/coach;
- race and mentor/coach; and
- age and mentor/coach.
The data are presented in Tables 16 to 21. When
race was cross-tabulated against scepticism, it was
found that blacks (42.5%) were the most sceptical
about the mentoring and coaching programme,
followed by whites (6.1%) and Coloureds (3%),
(Table 16).

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
25
Table 13. Cross-tabulation between role in the organisation and length of service
Role in organisation
Length of service
Row
Totals
<5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
>15 years
Senior
3.0%
3%
Middle
12.1%
9.1%
9.1%
21.2%
51.5%
Supervisory
3.0%
9.1%
3.0%
15.1%
Operational
6.1%
3.0%
6.1%
15.2%
30.4%
Column Totals
18.2%
15.2%
24.2%
42.4%
100%
Table 14. Cross-tabulation between role in the organisation and mentoring positive
Role in organisation
Mentoring positive
Agree
Strongly agree
Row Totals
Senior
3.0%
3%
Middle
12.1%
39.4%
51.5%
Supervisory
15.2%
15.2%
Operational
3.0%
27.3%
30.3%
Column Totals
18.2%
81.8%
100%
Table 15. Cross-tabulation between role in the organisation and mentoring beneficial
Role in organisation
Mentoring beneficial
Row Totals
Agree
Strongly agree
Senior
3.0%
3%
Middle
3.0%
48.5%
51.5%
Supervisory
15.2%
15.2%
Operational
3.0%
27.3%
30.3%
Column Totals
6.1%
93.9%
100%
Table 16. Cross-tabulation between race and level of scepticism
Race
Sceptical
Row
Totals
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Black
18.2%
12.1%
36.4%
6.1%
72.8%
White
9.1%
6.1%
6.1%
21.3%
Coloured
3.0%
3.0%
6%
Column Totals
27.3%
21.2%
45.5%
6.1%
100%
Table 17. Cross-tabulation between age and level of scepticism
Age
Sceptical
Row Totals
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
35-44
12.1%
6.1%
9.1%
27.3%
45-54
12.1%
9.1%
30.3%
3.0%
54.5%
55>
3.0%
6.1%
6.1%
3.0%
18.2%
Column Totals
27.3%
21.2%
45.5%
6.1%
100%
Table 18. Cross-tabulation between gender and level of scepticism
Gender
Sceptical
Row Totals
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Male
9.1%
9.1%
15.2%
33.4%
Female
18.2%
12.1%
30.3%
6.1%
66.7%
Column Totals
27.3%
21.2%
45.5%
6.1%
100%
More than twice as many women (36.4%) than
men (15.2%) were sceptical of the benefits offered by
mentoring and coaching as a management
development intervention (Table 18).
Of the respondent (36.3%) who disagreed that
the mentor or coach was an expert, 27.2 % were
female and 9.1% were male (Table 19).
All the Coloured respondents agreed that the
mentor or coach was an expert and was therefore able

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
26
to provide specialised assistance, but whites (9.1%)
and blacks (27.2%) disagreed (Table 20).
Respondents above 45 years old (21.2%) disagreed
that the mentor or coach was an expert compared to
12.1% of the respondents who were younger than 45
(Table 21).
The scores for Positive effect of mentoring and
coaching, Job performance targets, Exceed job
performance targets, Favourable performance
appraisal, Career progression and Salary increases
were computed as shown Table 22 and Figure 2.
Table 19. Cross-tabulation between gender and mentor/coach
Gender
Mentor/coach
Row Totals
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Male
9.1%
9.1%
15.2%
33.4%
Female
3.0%
24.2%
15.2%
24.2%
66.6%
Column Totals
3.0%
33.3%
24.2%
39.4%
100%
Table 20. Cross-tabulation between race and mentor/coach
Race
Mentor /coach
Row Totals
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Black
3.0%
24.2%
15.2%
30.3%
72.7%
White
9.1%
9.1%
3.0%
21.2%
Coloure
d
6.1%
6.1%
Column Totals
3.0%
33.3%
24.2%
39.4%
100%
Table 21. Cross-tabulation between age and mentor/coach
Age
Mentor/coach
Row
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Totals
35-44
12.1%
3.0%
12.1%
27.2%
45-54
18.2%
18.2%
18.2%
54.6%
55>
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
9.1%
18.1%
Column Totals
3.0%
33.3%
24.2%
39.4%
100%
Table 22. Statistical data reflecting the scores used in analysing objective 2 (n=33)
Salary
Performance
appraisal
Career
progression
Exceeds
performance
Meet
performance
Positive
Mean
39.39
60.61
70.45
73.48
79.55
95.45
Std. Error of Mean
2.18
3.77
3.68
3.07
2.97
1.70
Median
50.00
50.00
75.00
75.00
75.00
100.00
Mode
50.00
75.00
75.00
75.00
75.00
100.00
Std. Deviation
12.55
21.68
21.15
17.61
17.06
9.79
Minimum
25.00
25.00
25.00
50.00
50.00
75.00
Maximum
50.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
Table 22 shows the median percentage score
(which represents the middle value of the data set) for
each of the statements (9 questions in the
questionnaire) used. It is clearly indicated that the
programme had a positive impact on the respondents
as the median was 100 for the responses to the
statement “The mentoring and coaching that I have
received has had a positive impact on me”. On the
other hand, the statement pertaining to the attainment
of higher than average salary increases had a median
value of 50.
Figure 2 shows that the respondents found that
the mentoring and coaching programme had a
positive impact on them and the mean percentage
score was 95.5% and that they were able to meet job
performance which scored a mean percentage of
79.5%.
The programme had least impact in attaining
higher than average salary increases (39.4%). Other
high scoring attributes of the programme were
assistance in exceeding job performance targets
(73.5%) and progression in career (70.5%). Hence it
can be indicated that the mentoring and coaching
programme was instrumental in improving the overall
work performance of the respondents.

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
27
Figure 2. Mean percentage scores used to evaluate improvements in performance
5. Conclusions and recommendations
5.1 Conclusions
By and large the mentoring and coaching programme
had a positive and beneficial effect irrespective of
race, gender or age of the respondents. Furthermore
functional specialization of the respondents did not
affect their assessment of the mentoring and coaching
programme, however, all senior managers were white
males, and many females (39.4%) occupied lower
management position compared to only 6% males.
The respondents reported astounding improved
performance to the point that their career progression
was facilitated and work performance targets had
exceeded. However there were negative comments in
that neither higher salaries nor performance
appraisals were achieved. It therefore seems that
these aspects may take time to accrue over several
mentoring sessions.
Managing time more effectively, the
prioritization of tasks, personal growth and
development, interaction on different levels in the
organisation and confidence about abilities were high
on the list of personal accomplishments following
mentoring and coaching. The mentor or coach was
held in high esteem as the respondents regarded him
or her as an expert, despite their apparent scepticism,
and they also reported that they would highly
recommend mentoring and coaching to other
professionals (91.7%), which they thought would
benefit managers in the public sector. Hence personal
development of the participants in terms of
confidence, skills development and effectiveness was
achieved following mentoring and coaching.
5.2 Recommendations
This was the first report of the effects of mentoring
and coaching in the public sector in South Africa
where the sample size was small (n=33). Therefore it
may not be accurate to make generalisations from this
study and as a result further larger surveys are highly
recommended to enable more concrete deductions
about the overall outcomes of mentoring and
coaching. More surveys in the public sector entities
across the country should be taken and at regular
intervals to determine effectiveness. A larger sample
size is recommended to extrapolate more numerical
data for statistical analysis. Ranking type questions
should be included so that more powerful deductions
can be made, following statistical analysis of the
numerical data. Furthermore, the surveys should be
on-going for several years. As indicated by Doring,
(2009), the need for coaching or mentoring does
require empirical research and data to support this
form of intervention for skills development in the
healthcare sector in South Africa.
Whilst males still occupy higher ranking
management positions (Adams and Funk, 2012), this
was also was evident in this study in South Africa. It
is indicated that race and gender may have effects
that were not evident in this study. Therefore larger
cross samples should be evaluated and both the
mentor and mentee should be assessed, before and
after coaching/mentoring to determine the more
robust effects of race and gender on mentoring-both
from the perspective of the protégés and the coaches.
It is highly recommended that the Human
Resources records as well as education and skills
certification of staff performance improvement
following mentoring and coaching is taken into
consideration as a true reflection of the work or
career-related benefits and impacts of such
programmes. Mentees/protégés often request for
feedback from their coaches for better guidance. It is
therefore recommended that mentoring and coaching
workshops are structured to provide feedback on a
regular basis.
39,4
60,6 70,5 73,5 79,5
95,5
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Salary Performance
appraisal Career
progression Exceed
performance Meet
performance Positive
Mean percentage
Variables used to assess objective 2

Journal of Governance and Regulation / Volume 4, Issue 3, 2015
28
We recommend that both the psychosocial and
career impacts of protégés be evaluated before and
after a mentoring and coaching programme. Hence
queries/statements about the Human Resources
records as well as education and skills certification
should also be factored into the questionnaire to
evaluate both the personal and the work/career-
related benefits of such programmes.
Research has predominantly focused on the
effects of mentoring from the perspective of protégés,
with few exceptions (Bozionelos, 2004; Eby et al.,
2006b). There is a scarcity of systematic empirical
investigations of mentoring from the perspective of
mentors. In order for there to be a feedback loop and
for conclusions, generalisations and
recommendations to be more accurately administered,
it is suggested that the mentor perspective on
mentoring is thoroughly investigated, especially in
South Africa where there is cultural diversity.
5.3 Suggestions for further research
It is further suggested that future research should be
conducted and that the inclusion of the following
enhancements could perhaps provide greater and
more beneficial insights:
Informal mentoring
In the workplace, the supervisor or line manager may
inadvertently takes over the role of mentor coach.
Whilst mentoring and coaching programmes at the
workplace may be formally structured, as was the
case in this study, it is equally important to assess the
role of informal mentoring at the workplace, in order
to evaluate the overall benefits gained and to evaluate
the coaching return on investment ( CROI).
Continuous evaluation
In this study, it was not possible to attain official HR
information on respondents’ performance appraisals,
higher than normal salary increases and career
promotions. It is clear that these aspects accrue over
time and therefore cannot be assessed soon after a
mentoring and coaching workshop. It is therefore
suggested that questionnaires are administered
continuously to evaluate long-term benefits and/or
challenges of mentoring and coaching.
Developing a framework
There is a need to consider the problem of
conceptualizing mentoring to account for its diversity
in practice. It is important to provide a simple and
relevant account of the diversity of mentoring in
practice. It is also important to make use of particular
perspectives, such as a psychosocial perspective, to
analyse/organised mentoring that centres more
specifically on human resource concerns, and to focus
on contemporary issues. Organisational cultures and
structures have changed tremendously in South
Africa. Approaches to the management of people at
work have also changed. If these environmental
factors, which will shape what mentoring can and
will be, have changed, it becomes important to
explain organised mentoring as a product of these
factors. Hence, an analytical approach to
understanding the diversity of organised mentoring in
modern organisations needs to be developed. Without
a conceptual framework it is difficult to provide the
critical perspective necessary to promote debate and
analysis about the potential and limitations of
investing in mentoring as a major innovation in
employee development, which is highly capable of
improving service delivery and organisational needs.
Qualitative study approach
A qualitative study approach such as the use of
interviews and or focus group discussions is also
recommended, as interviews and /or more
personalised interactions could provide deeper
understanding and greater insights of respondents’
behaviour that might otherwise be missed in a purely
quantitative analysis.
Mentor/ coach as participant
We recommend that the mentor/coach complete the
questionnaire in future studies and follow-up surveys
are recommended.
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