​We are thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of the HCPC's ground-breaking developmental initiatives: the Beyond Barriers and Reverse Mentoring Programmes.

Launched in National Inclusion Week (October 2023), these programmes were designed to foster growth, understanding, and mutual respect within our organisation. They have provided personalised, authentic and motivating experiences that tap into purpose to strengthen, individual, team and organisational performance.

Beyond Barriers: Breaking New Ground Together

Our Beyond Barriers programme was all about mentorship and professional growth. Senior leaders were paired with colleagues eager to advance their careers. This initiative provided a unique opportunity for employees from all backgrounds to thrive and achieve their professional goals. Over the past months, eight mentors and nine mentees embarked on this transformative journey, building connections, sharing insights, and paving the way for future success.

Reverse Mentoring: Learning from Each Other

The Reverse Mentoring Programme flipped the traditional mentoring model on its head. Here, colleagues had the chance to mentor senior leaders, sharing their knowledge, skills, and experiences. This upward flow of insights proved invaluable, enriching our leadership's perspectives on cultural awareness, social understanding, and diversity of thought. By engaging in this programme, our leaders gained fresh viewpoints and a deeper appreciation of the diverse talents within our organisation. Effectively, the most educative and most mutually beneficial reverse mentoring relationships involve people coming from different lived and professional experiences.

Lasting Impact: Personal and Professional Growth

Both programmes have been catalysts for new experiences and positive choices, boosting self-confidence, motivation and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Participants have walked away with enhanced skills, new perspectives, and a stronger sense of community. The impact on our organisation has been profound, leaving a lasting legacy of collaboration, mutual respect, understanding and shared growth.

As we celebrate the successful completion of these programmes, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants, mentors, and mentees. Their dedication and enthusiasm have made these initiatives truly remarkable. Together, we are breaking down barriers and building a brighter future for everyone at the HCPC.

Reflections from the Reverse Mentoring programme

Seeing things differently - Alastair Bridges, Executive Director of Resources:

“My regular conversations with Ann as my mentor provided me with valuable insights into how I can engage effectively and be visible with colleagues across the organisation. I also gained an understanding of how colleagues living with health conditions may need support from the range of resources available within HCPC to be fully effective in their working day.More generally, talking to Ann was always an enjoyable and thought- provoking opportunity to hear her ideas for how we can improve further and to gain fresh insights into issues that affect all of us working in HCPC.”

Being a reverse mentor is a rewarding experience - Ann Faulkner, Education Administrator:

"This opportunity gave me an invaluable insight into an executive leadership role. Sharing our lived experiences with each other; what it is like to be a senior manager and what the reality is for an administrator for example was a very positive thing and created a greater understanding for both of us as mentor and mentee to appreciate the different challenges we face in our respective jobs.

The safe space to challenge ideas and thinking was a unique experience and I appreciated Alastair’s candour as he provided me with an honest picture of his role and over the weeks we met, this gave me a unique understanding of the challenges he faces and an opportunity for me to be able to suggest possible solutions because of the reversed perspective that this scheme provides.

Alastair was interested to hear about my experiences as a disabled person and about my phased return to work and how I found being a service user with Occupational Health. The whole lived experience framework was key to opening frank discussion that challenges our thinking, our ideas on how we think other people work in their roles and the reality which is often different.

Some important questions we often used were: How about, what if and have you thought about which allowed us to offer possible solutions or simply different perspectives so we could really get a clear idea of what it means to be in the respective positions we are in. We were also challenged to self-reflect and bring back to subsequent meetings and share how our thinking was influenced by what we learnt. Throughout the process, our communication with each other was strengthened and we built a good working relationship together."