Driving business growth and wellbeing through professional business mentoring  

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“Mentoring is unlike anything you can find anywhere else… The amount of value I got from day one really surprised me.”  
– Brandon Shiels, Managing Director, Compassion First Homecare

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One of the things that has struck me the most about professional business mentoring since I joined the ABM just over 18 months ago is just how big an impact it has on the business community, yet how little it is understood and its benefits known about.  

Professional business mentoring matters. Why? Because it drives business growth and wellbeing, two key ingredients for business success. I’ve seen first hand just how proud the ABM and its members are in delivering professional business mentoring, whether paid for, voluntary or subsidised. This report focuses on the impact of paid for professional business mentoring.     

So lets do more to raise awareness and encourage more business owners to access it.  

Today we do that. Today we are proud to launch our research report on the impact of professional business mentoring, focusing on the impact of paid for mentoring. The research, undertaken by a third-party research group who spoke to business leaders who had received professional business mentoring, as well as professional business mentors themselves, looked across the financial, cultural and wider workplace impact that professional business mentoring had provided to businesses.  

Business mentoring objectives vary from business owner to owner. For some, objectives may relate to profit, turnover and job creation. For others it may relate to a specific issue in the business. The report looks at the impact of growth and well-being and outlines some of the reasons businesses looked for mentoring support, from digital transformation and HR expertise to strategic planning, work-life balance and DEI experience.

What do the key findings show?

• Mentoring is not solely about financial outcomes; it can also enable leaders to achieve other valuable goals, such as reclaiming time, improving decision-making, or fostering sustainable growth but asked directly 65% of business leaders felt that the mentoring they received helped them directly boost their revenues, and 64% said it had a positive impact on their profits.
• 63% of business leaders reported that mentoring allowed them to increase their headcount, demonstrating its role in building capacity and supporting team expansion.‍
• 7 out of 10 business leaders said working with a professional mentor improved their mental health and confidence, showcasing the personal and emotional benefits of mentoring.‍
• 72% of business leaders noted that mentoring directly improved their work-life balance, with the same number highlighting enhanced mental health and confidence as a result of their mentoring experience.

“Having that sounding board for when things get really tricky when I can't see a solution is very good for my personal mental health. It means I've got somebody who knows my business who I can talk to.”
– Charlie Stockbridge, Managing Director, Manuscript Pen Company

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What are the barriers for business owners in accessing professional business mentoring?  

Whilst the findings of the report demonstrate the positive impact that professional business mentoring has on growth and wellbeing, the research also found clear barriers to accessing mentoring:

• A quarter of business leaders said that they had found it harder than expected to find a business mentor.  
  

• There are barriers to the benefits of mentoring being felt across the business ecosystem - 25% of business leaders said they found it harder than expected to find a mentor, suggesting that demand may be outstripping supply. 34% said that finding someone with professional mentoring experience/qualifications was the main barrier to finding a mentor – the most cited reason by respondents.

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Where do we go from here? Our recommendations.

The question now is how do we ensure that more businesses – and, by extension, the UK economy – can access these powerful benefits? Our research points to several areas where public policy can play a supportive role, helping make professional business mentoring more widely accessible and impactful.

Our recommendations are centered on two key actions:

1. ‍Increasing Awareness: It is vital to promote the proven benefits of professional business mentoring for growth and wellbeing. Raising awareness among business owners, government, policy makers, and business bodies can drive demand for quality mentoring and enhance understanding of its long-term value. ‍
2. Expanding Access to Qualified Professional Mentors: The evidence shows that qualified mentors are instrumental in fostering growth and resilience in businesses. Making it easier for companies, especially SMEs, to connect with experienced and highly qualified mentors can unlock significant economic and social value.

Over the past decade, professional business mentoring has generated tremendous value in the UK, setting businesses on paths of sustained growth and resilience. This research underscores that there is even greater potential waiting to be realised.

Now is the time to harness this opportunity – empowering more businesses through expanded access to professional business mentoring can drive economic growth, foster innovation, and enhance wellbeing across the country.

Download ABM's research report here.

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