How the Axis Mentorship Program fuels personal and professional growth
December 28, 2022
Providing employees with the opportunity to maximize their growth and development prospects, both personally and professionally, is something we value very highly at Axis
By creating an environment in which employees can be inspired, motivated, and challenged, they can reach the next level of their potential. To best achieve this the Axis Mentorship Program (AMP) was designed to partner experienced and knowledgeable mentors with curious and passionate mentees. To get a deeper understanding of how the program works and what you can gain from taking part, we sat down with a number of mentors and mentees from past programs, to hear about their experiences.
The importance of growth and development
When it comes to looking at the best way to grow and develop an employee’s understanding of the industry and their career ambitions, it’s beneficial look to the more experienced colleagues. Those who have been with Axis long enough to see the company and the industry grow and change are best placed to not only pass that insight on, but also to share their own thoughts and experiences on how to get the most from your own personal development at Axis.
“All of a sudden, without traveling I got contacts in half of the world, just like that. It’s just a fast-track to globalizing your network.”
Ricardo Marranita, Mentee
For the mentee Frida Hjortronsteen, the Axis Mentorship Program allowed her to evaluate her career at Axis and push her to find ways to truly maximize her potential. “I had to question where my interest today lies, what I would like to explore further, what I really enjoy about my role and think what the things are that I really enjoy here and how I can develop that.”
There is no growth without challenge however, and that is one thing the program aims to do. By providing employees with an environment to ask questions of themselves and each other they are able to guide each other along in their journey. Marie-Helene Mansard offers a mentor’s perspective: “It is a journey, becoming more aware about yourself and getting tools that may help you to understand why you behave this way, why you react this way, and also to learn some best practices in people development. It is a personal journey, to learn about yourself and about the other people.”
While there are a number of opportunities to interact with other colleagues taking part on the course, it is the discussions between the mentors and mentees that can provide the most insight. Ricardo Marranita, mentee, shares his view: “There’s a lot of personal growth when all these interactions are happening, and I think that the career just follows naturally after that. When you start developing yourself and put yourself out there you start seeing new ways of developing your own career”
Ulrika Renmark, who was a mentor in the program, shares this view and points out that having strong relationships can give a broader network, understanding of other parts of the company, and many new insights. This is why everyone at Axis is encouraged to take every opportunity to meet and get to know each other better. Whether over a morning coffee or through the range of programs, similar to this one, that we run at Axis, we recognize the importance of networking and sharing knowledge and connections. Especially as an effective way to challenge and advance our personal and professional growth and development. It is the best way to break through barriers and hierarchies, share contacts and gain new insight and perspectives, which is something we know from experience can help push us all forward.
Building global networks
The program is open to all Axis employees globally, which gives us the opportunity to bring colleagues together from their offices all around the world. Everyone is invited to a kickoff event at our HQ building in Lund, Sweden, to meet each other, and other colleagues, before beginning the program
It is a huge advantage to be able to draw on so much experience from around the world. Therefore, mentors usually get partnered up with mentees from a different office, country, and ideally continent, to offer extra cultural insights into business and development, in a way that they may not otherwise be afforded elsewhere. Frida was paired with a mentor from the United States, which provided her with a new view on things: “Because it’s so far from us in Sweden, it’s so different culturally and the way they do business, so just listening to their stories gave a lot of good insight and good tips and tricks”.
This opportunity for networking across the group workshops, digital meet ups and mentor sessions was not lost on Ricardo either: “All of a sudden, without traveling I got contacts in half of the world, just like that. It’s just a fast-track to globalizing your network. To bumping into each other in the corridor, but not being in the same physical corridor.”
The participants describe the program as very open-minded and as a result it is not only the mentees who can benefit from this experience. The mentors are able to approach this as an opportunity to learn, grow and develop in new ways as well. Marie-Helene shares her view on this: “People may have the impression that the mentor will not learn anything, because they are ones who are supposed to know everything and to teach it to the mentee, but I would like to say that in this relationship, between the mentor and the mentee, the mentor is also learning.”
The benefit of long-standing connections
While the program runs over a few months, the connections made remain strong and the learning continues long after. Whether this is catch up over coffee to discuss new projects or shared interests outside of work, or to ask for advice or connections for help, the community and networks continue to grow and push each other, and the business, forward. Overall, the program is seen by those who take part as invaluable. Frida thinks it was a wonderful experience and a privilege to be able to participate. Ricardo adds: “I think everyone should at least know of this program, and as many people as possible should try it at least once. I think it’s super important for both personal development and for the career.”
The mentorship program is only one of many exciting development opportunities within Axis. Are you ready to start your journey at Axis?