Being a mentor comes with great responsibility so before you decide to take up the task, take a look at these helpful pointers.

Although mentoring an employee requires a fair deal of effort, the rewards are well worth it. Before taking on the responsibility of heading a mentorship programme read these mentor tips to make sure you’re at the top of your mentor game.

Assign
Mentors must learn to assign tasks and be clear and concise about what is needed. The employee you’re mentoring needs structure and goals to grow. Your mentorship programme should allow you to provide support where needed and set up regular reviews to monitor their progress.

Encourage
Positive reinforcement is the best way to get their spirits up. If your employee does well in an assigned task, congratulate them on a task well done. This will encourage your employee to keep doing well and more importantly, be consistently well in every task they've been given. Whether it’s a simple pat on the back or a lunch outing, find a way to acknowledge their achievement.

Give constructive feedback
Try to regularly provide your mentee with feedback. Make notes as they do their job and arrange regular sessions to catch up. Make sure your feedback is constructive as well. If it’s negative, break the news in a professional manner and give guidance as to how they can improve. Your employee needs to know what they're doing right or wrong if they are to succeed.

Set up goals 
In your regular catch up sessions, set up goals together. Discuss a personal development plan and advise what is needed in order to reach the goals. This will help your employee focus on specific goals and gain a better understanding of what is needed. Having a clear purpose is a great way to re-energise their self drive.

Help them grow
As a mentor you’re responsible for your employee’s growth as well. As you become more familiar with your employee consider asking their opinion on work projects or work problems – this will also help them grow and expose them to more than what they are accustomed to at work. To be a great mentor, you should give your mentee greater responsibility and you'll see them mature into an exceptional professional.

For more of the best management tips, visit Careers24's advice section.