As the future of work and learning continues to evolve as a result of the pandemic, employees and professionals both young and experienced have been propelled to think much more critically about their careers. The demand for more flexible workplaces and value-aligned employers is increasing. Research suggests that millennials are already seeking workplaces that focus on physical and mental health, over those solely driven by the bottom line
For some, this time has encouraged career pivots, reskilling and upskilling, revisiting passions, more time investing in“side hustles”, pursuing the gig economy, while others have been forced to begin their job hunt again. Yet no matter the stage in your career, the pandemic has taught many that resources and tools are crucial for career development, which is why many have found the value in seeking out mentorships, and learning opportunities within their relevant industries.
Alternatively, employers are also now required to think more about both their hiring practices and employee retention strategies. To adapt to these shifts, many industries are rethinking or implementing the concept of work-integrated learning (WIL) within the workplace. In order to appeal to new employees and retain their existing talent, employers will have to foster an environment that both nurtures their employees and accelerates their skills. Mentorship programs in particular have become a successful and cost-effective way for employers to support the career development of their employees, new hires and nurture future prospects.
After having her own transformative experience with mentorship, Chantal Brine, Founder and CEO of EnPoint was fueled to create the same experience for others. Working in an industry that was predominantly male-oriented, Brine found a lifelong and invaluable mentor in one of the very few women who worked with her at a time. She describes the experience as watching the “magic” of her mentor bringing groups together to deliver groundbreaking strategies.
“The term and label of mentor, when I was able to work with her, wasn’t one we used but now I’ve come to understand 100% that’s what she was. She would take me for lunch, and explain how she was maneuvering the bits and pieces at the time, and I really appreciated it.” However, this was not Brines’ only substantial experience with mentorship. She began quickly discovering that the relationships that she built and facilitated reflected in her overall job satisfaction and positive career outlook.
A turning point came in 2014 when Chantal was volunteering for Techsploration, an organization that encouraged young women to pursue education and careers in STEM through creating awareness of math and science courses that were available to them. Not just Chantal herself, but Wayne Crawley, her mentor at the time, took note of how doing impactful work in mentorship boosted her overall morale and positive career outlook. Crawley has always had a strong belief that “human beings are put on earth to find purpose, and serve others. In fact, you’ll live longer than others if you do, and engaging in mentorship is part of that.” For Chantal, it was clear that finding the right person, at the right time, can be life-changing. Having a mentor like Crawley, was the helping hand that lifted and propelled her to a place she was not able to get to on her own.
“I was with people who I knew were aligned in terms of what we were doing there – a common purpose. We were passionate about the work that we were doing and were getting sh*t done. We were making a difference for 3,000 girls in this province. It showed in my body language! For the next year and a half, I worked with my mentor to actually figure out what was going to be the next step for me…it was a beautiful, amazing opportunity. I got to see so many examples of things that worked really well in terms of building a team, culture and product so I did learn a lot. It’s just that it was someone else’s baby. It was someone else’s vision and company.”
Chantal’s journey to entrepreneurship however was not overnight, as she actually went on to a few different roles over the next two years across different organizations. Yet the roles always somehow brought her back to mentorship, and its impact on team building and culture.
When Chantal first founded EnPoint in 2018, it was initially created to address Nova Scotia’s problem of needing to keep young, talented professionals in Nova Scotia after graduation. Brine saw the need for young professionals to receive tools and meaningful connections to enable them to transform their passion into a career. Today, EnPoint is a B2B company that partners with organizations that are committed to working with, facilitating and supporting the passion-fueled careers of individuals.
EnPoint Mentorship allows its businesses to implement, manage and monitor custom mentorship programs. EnPoint allows its clientele to alleviate the administrative burden that is often associated with creating mentorship programs. With EnPoint, you are able to set up custom questionnaires that provide the best mentor to mentee match-up, while simultaneously track the progress of these relationships with measurable results within the platform. Where impactful mentorship programs required complex and time-consuming communication and planning, EnPoint offers a seamless and scalable implementation and maintenance all within a single platform.
However, EnPoint Mentorship’s work goes beyond software. From her years of experience in mentorship and consultancy for other businesses both in the public and private sector, Chantal was determined to continue doing the same for others through her business.
As a result, EnPoint also has what they refer to as “Mentorship Program Design & Consultation” which offers advisory and planning services to help clients create their own mentorship program.
Above all, Chantal and her team at En Point believe that “intrinsic motivation” and a connection to the work that you do will ultimately increase productivity and job satisfaction, which naturally, is beneficial for both employers and their employees.
“ As human beings, we all want to feel valued, to add value and while those things have always been important, the pandemic has forced all of those things to the forefront for all organizations. Using productivity as a metric for employers, economic engines and communities rely on the people doing the work to be connected to that work, to want to do that work…Intrinsic motivation is such a different driver than externally driven motivation. If you are able to get somebody that’s intrinsically connected AND you compensate them fairly, man you got a rockstar. ”
Today, EnPoint is continuing with its mission to support one million people to make the right connections at the right stages in their careers.
To Chantal, the ambitious goal means that there are finally enough people from all backgrounds who are happy and fulfilled in their work.
About EnPoint: EnPoint’s mission is to support one million people to make the right connections at the right stages in their careers. EnPoint leverages their proprietary mentorship software and expert services to build custom mentorship programs for organizations and institutions. Visit getenpoint.com to learn more.
1.https://www.iscebs-swo.org/uploads/1/1/6/9/116983144/future_of_work___learning_-_20191126.
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