By Sarah Couture (Principal at Couture Consulting LLC in Indianapolis, IN.)

Originally Posted on: Compliance Cosmos

Most compliance professionals are who and where they are because of a mix of factors: hard work, grit, personality, upbringing, etc. Another significant contributor to each person’s success has very likely been people: those who took a chance on a hire, those who saw something special to be developed in a person, and those who took time to invest in someone coming up behind them. Whether it was done formally or informally, most of us can thank a variety of mentors along the way who helped guide and shape us into the professionals we are today.

Mentoring can be beneficial in multiple ways. It helps individuals—both the mentees and mentors—grow personally and professionally. It allows us to meet, impact, and benefit from others in a unique way that may not have occurred were it not for the mentoring relationship. It allows us to “pay it forward,” investing in others as we were invested in. It helps ensure a strong healthcare compliance profession in the future. And it helps contribute to effective compliance programs by ensuring growth and expanding the proficiency and capability of those who lead, manage, and staff healthcare compliance programs.

Whether you are a mentor, mentee, or both, begin by gaining an understanding of your goals or objectives related to mentorship. What do you need, want to do, and how will you know if it is successful and when it is complete? Seek out potential mentors who can help move toward your goals. This may be someone you have met through the HCCA community, someone who appears to have achieved objectives like yours in your organization, or even someone in a mentoring network. Consider whether a more formal or informal approach makes the most sense based on your objectives and the nature of the personalities and relationships. Decide how often to meet and how to connect, whether over coffee or over a virtual call. Think about what approach and activities can best accomplish your goals. These may include a discussion of specific challenges or obstacles and potential strategies and solutions to address them. It could include reading and discussing specific articles or books. It could involve working through strength and/or personality tests and how the related insights may play into your goals, challenges, and future directions. Ensure there is clear discussion regarding concluding the mentoring relationship and evaluation of the impact it had.^[1]

1 Sarah Couture, “Chapter 3: Running an Effective Compliance Program, Complete Healthcare Compliance Manual 2024, https://compliancecosmos.org/mentoring-compliance-professionals.

Copyright 2024 Compliance Today, a publication of the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)