Why Mentoring Matters
We recently surveyed our team to ask them what we do well, and, just as importantly, what we could do better. Of course, our monthly socials, great benefits package, and supportive culture all received plenty of praise, but one thing that emerged as a real strength was our mentoring.
At Link, helping people develop professionally isn’t something we take lightly. After all, Growth is one of our core values, so naturally it underpins everything we do. That’s why it was so rewarding to see our team’s feedback reinforce something we’ve always believed: that mentoring isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. It’s a fundamental part of how we ensure job satisfaction, career progression and long-term success. We wanted to take a moment to reflect on why mentoring matters so much to us and share some of the ways we make it part of everyday life at Link.
Why mentoring matters in engineering
Engineering careers aren’t built by simply turning up and doing the job year after year. Of course, experience is important, but having the opportunity to undertake formal training, learn from your seniors, develop your ICE or IStructE Attributes and work towards Chartership, are key.
Lack of mentoring, and the lack of support and growth that go with it, is also one of the quieter reasons people leave firms. Not because the work is wrong for them, but because nobody was really invested in their success and no one was there for them when a technical problem (or a career decision) got difficult.
We built Link differently on purpose.
“At Link, we believe the best engineers are those who can see the full picture. This enables them to understand challenges in all their complexity, rather than through the narrow lens of a single discipline, leading to more thoughtful and effective solutions.
Developing that kind of versatility doesn’t happen by chance. It comes from a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity, an eagerness to learn from others, and a culture of connecting people across different disciplines and experience levels.
It’s why knowledge sharing is intentionally and consistently placed at the heart of development across our business, and this commitment is something we are very proud of.” Robert Gill MEng (Hons) CEng MICE, Director
What mentoring looks like at Link
Mentoring doesn’t happen by accident. It needs to be incorporated into the business from the ground up, starting with leadership mindset, then formal processes, and finally, ongoing reinforcement. Here are some of the more formal ways we support mentorship.
Our Buddy System
Every new joiner is paired with a buddy before they even start. This is someone at a similar grade, but with enough experience at Link to help you settle in properly. You’ll usually meet your buddy on your first day over a welcome lunch, and they play a key role through induction and beyond. It’s a small thing, but we’ve seen genuinely long-lasting relationships come out of it.
Monthly Mentoring From Your Line Manager
Everyone at Link, regardless of career stage, gets a regular 1:1 with their line manager covering wellbeing, performance and development. These sessions are the ideal time to discuss anything you feel you would like extra support with or potential learning and development opportunities. Alongside this, you’ll have daily access to your manager and colleagues. Our team is generally in the office 4 days a week, which makes it easy to ask quick questions in person.
Structured Chartership Support
We’re proud to be an ICE Approved Employer, a status we’ve held since October 2023. It means our engineers follow an official ICE training scheme which includes internal guidance from trained Supervising Civil Engineers and Delegated Engineers, IPD tracking through ICE’s own systems, and a clearer, faster route to professional review. Right now, over 80% of our senior team (Principal and above) is chartered, and 8 more of our team are actively working through a training agreement toward it.
Link Lunch Learns
Our Link Lunch Learns aren’t mentoring in the traditional sense, but they’re a big part of our learning culture. We believe everyone has something to teach and something to learn, and we encourage questions, curiosity and knowledge-sharing throughout the business. On the first Friday of every month, a member of the team gives a short talk on something worth knowing, anything from how to use your Link 4 You benefits and neurodiversity to traffic data and SuDS. We also provide lunch for the whole team.
What makes our mentoring effective
Plenty of engineering consultancies say they offer mentoring. But as our team survey showed, not all mentoring is created equal. At Link, we have systems in place to embed development within our culture and to ensure we keep the standard high.
Line Manager Training
We run regular line manager training, which is delivered in-house by Jess, a Chartered Member of the CIPD who built an established HR and L&D career at PwC before joining Link. These sessions run once or twice a year and focus specifically on effective managing and mentoring techniques. The leadership team also attend external events to learn more about how to support their teams. Learning isn’t something that stops once you reach a certain level. Even our Directors continue to develop through ongoing business coaching.
Feedback Systems
Feedback is a huge part of our culture. So much so that giving regular feedback to colleagues is one of everyone’s core KPIs. We also have a 360 leadership feedback survey, which we send to our team once a year and even have an anonymous feedback form which employees can use whenever they like to provide feedback on anything from kitchen supplies to leadership feedback. In addition to this, the senior team has an annual away day built around professional development that includes 360 feedback debrief session.
Setting KPIs
KPIs are set every August through a supportive conversation with your line manager, and they’re reviewed every quarter at least, so goals don’t just sit there until the next appraisal rolls around. It’s an opportunity to agree on what success looks like for the year ahead, whether that’s developing technical skills, taking on more responsibility, progressing towards Chartership or contributing to wider business objectives. Regular reviews help keep development on track, celebrate progress and make sure priorities can evolve as your role and ambitions do.
In their own words
Here’s what our team has to say about our approach to mentoring and professional development…
“Having the opportunity to communicate with all of the senior staff on a daily basis has provided me with the support I needed to tackle my chartership with the ICE. Any gaps in my abilities identified against the ICE Attributes have been taken care of in house where possible, or I’ve been given the opportunity to attend courses to help me improve in these areas. Being part of a team where all the members are supportive and helpful is great.” Valentin Ivanov, Associate
“After starting as a graduate in my first engineering role, there was a lot of learning from the start. Both my senior colleagues and those around me have continuously helped me develop both my base engineering knowledge, as well as my technical skills in using the engineering software. So far, I’ve been enjoying all the learning opportunities I’ve had. It has been great to be given the chance to develop my engineering knowledge. Link is a great place to begin your career, knowing that the team genuinely cares about your development and wants you to learn.” Daniel Donohoe, Assistant Engineer
“Joining Link has provided the most amazing opportunities for me to better myself in my career. If I mention an aspect of work I want to develop my skills in, my managers ensure that I get further experience in that area. There is a real sense of teamwork and willingness to help others.” Karishma Lally, Principal Engineer
“One of the things I enjoy most about my role is the variety of work and the chance to mentor junior team members. The company has a high level of care for its employees and a very open culture where people at all levels work closely together. Everyone is welcoming, understanding, patient and supportive. For anyone considering applying, I would say that if you’re looking to progress and develop a wide range of skills to make a well-rounded engineer, then this is the place to do it.” Ben Latcham, Principal Engineer
Why it matters to us
We invest in mentoring because we want the best people, and we believe the best way to do this is by helping talented people become the best version of themselves, professionally and otherwise. For us, mentoring isn’t just a retention tactic dressed up as care. It’s a fundamental part of our business ethos and our vision for becoming one of the UK’s top consultancies.
Whether you’re just starting out, working towards Chartership or looking to take the next step in your career, you’ll find a team that’s invested in your success. If that sounds like the kind of business you’d want to be a part of, we’d love to hear from you.
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