Mentoring in Aged Care: How to Move Beyond Buddy Shifts and Build a Sustainable Workforce

Mentoring in the aged care industry is often confused with buddy shifts. Learn how to build a structured, scalable mentoring model that improves retention, capability and care quality.

The aged care sector is under pressure like never before. Demand is soaring as populations age; yet workforce supply is struggling to keep pace. 

In this context, mentoring isn’t just a “nice to have”, it’s a critical lever to retain staff, build capability, and deliver high-quality care. However, many providers treat mentoring as little more than senior staff supervising new hires or “buddy shifts.” That’s a problem.

In this post, we examine the current state of mentoring in aged care, explore what best practice looks like, and outline how providers (especially non-profit and budget-conscious organisations) can implement a mentoring model that truly supports staff, reduces friction, and future-proofs their workforce.

TL;DR

Aged care providers are under pressure to attract, retain and support a stretched workforce, yet many still treat mentoring as little more than buddy-shift supervision. This creates inconsistency, political friction and limited long-term impact. 

Effective mentoring in aged care is structured, values-aligned and centrally governed, with clear expectations, trained mentors and measurable outcomes. It builds confidence, strengthens clinical capability, and reduces turnover, especially among new RNs and carers. 

A platform like Brancher helps providers separate mentoring from rostering, standardise processes across sites, match mentees based on values and needs, and report outcomes in real time. For organisations wanting a scalable, sustainable workforce strategy, structured mentoring is one of the most effective levers available.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Key Takeaways for Aged-Care Leaders
• The Current State of the Workforce
• Why Mentoring Should Not Be Treated as Buddy Shifts
• What Best-Practice Mentoring Looks Like in Aged Care
  • Structured Mentoring
  • Values-Based Matching
  • Central Oversight with Local Flexibility
  • Recognition Models
  • Measurement and Reporting
• Common Barriers Faced by Aged-Care Providers
• How Brancher Supports Sustainable Nurse Mentoring
• Conclusion: Building a Workforce That Stays
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Current State of the Workforce

It’s not just anecdotal: data confirms that aged care is facing serious staffing gaps, but recent government estimates revised the projected shortfall to 1,490 registered nurses (RNs) in residential aged care for 2024–25.

Meanwhile, broader projections estimate a shortfall of 35,000 direct-care workers over the coming years if current trends continue. These shortages are unfolding even as regulatory reforms raise care standards, including increased minimum care minutes per resident and requirements for 24/7 RN coverage.

At the same time, a 2022 national survey by the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association found that more than one-third (34%) of nurses working in residential or community aged care settings are not being utilised most of the time. 

This suggests that there is a latent human-resource asset in many organisations; experienced staff who could be contributing more meaningfully, if supported and engaged properly.

Given this context, mentoring emerges not as a “nice-to-have extra,” but as a strategic tool: to support new staff, retain experienced ones, build competency, and improve job satisfaction; thereby, helping stabilise the workforce.

Why “Mentoring = Buddy Shift Supervision” Doesn’t Work

In many aged care organisations, mentoring has become conflated with operational supervision or “buddy shifts.” That is: a senior RN or carer simply shadows a new staff during their shifts to show them the ropes. 

In theory, this covers induction; but in practice, it conflates two very different needs:

• Buddying or supervision is short-term, task-oriented, and focused on ensuring compliance, safety, and basic competency.
• Mentoring is longer-term; developmental; focused on building confidence, professional growth, clinical judgment (for RNs), care philosophy (for carers), and embedding organisational culture and values.

When mentoring is treated as little more than paid buddy shifts, several problems emerge:

1. Staff may view mentorship as “extra work” rather than a rewarding development role; especially if it’s funded via a $$ allowance tied to shifts (as in many Enterprise Agreements).
2. Operational pressures (shift demands, staffing shortages) often crowd out real mentoring, so new staff miss out on reflective learning, emotional support, and long-term guidance.
3. Because mentor selection and matching are informal and based on availability rather than compatibility, misalignment is common, reducing effectiveness.

In short: this conflation undermines the potential value of mentoring, wastes opportunity, and breeds frustration, especially when allowances and funding are managed inconsistently across homes or teams.

What Best-Practice Mentoring Looks Like in Aged Care

Fortunately, there is growing evidence and practical guidance on what effective mentoring in healthcare (including aged care) should look like. Drawing on systematic reviews, workforce research, and policy guidance, here are the hallmarks of a strong mentoring program:

1. Structured Mentoring, Not Ad-hoc Supervision

Good mentoring programmes define clear roles, expectations, and boundaries. 

A systematic umbrella review of mentoring programmes for newly graduated nurses found that structured mentoring (whether didactic, interaction-based, or combined) significantly improved retention: one-year retention rates ranged from 72 % to 100 %, and two-year retention from 70 % to 98 %, depending on the model.

This demonstrates the real impact of mentoring; but only if treated as a structured, intentional activity, not as informal buddy shifts.

2. Matching Based on Values, Needs and Style (Not Just Availability)

Rather than simply pairing the most senior or available RN with a new graduate, best-practice mentoring takes into account:

• Learning needs and career goals of mentee (clinical upskilling, confidence-building, care philosophy, etc.)
• Experience, communication style, and capacity of mentor
• Shared values around care, empathy, and professional standards

This alignment fosters trust, open communication, and a meaningful mentor/mentee relationship; reducing risk of mismatch, drop-out, or unproductive supervision.

3. Centralised Oversight with Local Flexibility

Mentoring frameworks work best when there is a centralised, organisation-wide strategy and oversight; even if actual delivery happens at site level. This ensures consistency in standards, fair access, and transparent reporting.

At the same time, local teams should have flexibility to adapt mentoring delivery based on site culture, needs, resident mix, and staff mix. This dual model (central governance + local execution) helps reduce political friction and variation between homes.

4. Recognition of Mentoring Without Over-reliance on Shift Allowances

While paid allowances for mentors can be useful (especially to acknowledge the extra work), over-reliance on allowances tied to rostering or budget-centred decisions often becomes a bottleneck.

Alternative recognition models work well: professional development pathways, internal accreditation, acknowledgement in performance reviews, or non-monetary benefits (e.g. dedicated time, access to training, mentoring leadership roles). 

These create sustainable, valued mentoring without burdening operational budgets.

5. Measurement & Reporting of Outcomes (Not Just Anecdote)

Good mentoring programmes capture real-time data: staff retention, staff satisfaction, resident outcomes, feedback loops, learning needs met, turnover rates, competency development. 

This helps demonstrate value to leadership, drive continuous improvement, and justify investment; especially for budget-constrained providers.

How Organisations Are Tackling the Mentoring Challenge — And What’s Holding Them Back

Many aged care providers recognise the need for mentoring. But execution is messy. Common barriers include:

• Budget Constraints & Siloed Funding: e.g. Mentoring allowance written into enterprise agreements, but funding drawn from individual manager budgets = political gatekeeping, inconsistent uptake.
  
  
• Informal Matching & Lack of Standard Process: Mentor selection and endorsement vary across homes; managers, rostering teams, clinical education teams each have different ideas of what mentoring is.
  
  
• Lack of Centralised Oversight or Consistent Data: Tracking is limited to post-shift evaluations, not live mentoring data or outcome metrics.
  
  
• Operational Pressure vs Developmental Time: Shift coverage, staffing shortages, compliance needs often override time for real mentoring.

As a result, many providers end up with a “mentoring programme on paper,” but little real impact.

How a Nurse Mentor Program from Brancher Can Help

For aged-care organisations wanting to move from “mentoring lip service” to a sustainable mentoring culture (especially non-profit or budget-conscious providers), a digital, platform-based approach can solve many structural and political problems. 

Here’s how a platform like Brancher can help:

• Separation of mentoring from rostering and buddy shifts: Ensuring that mentoring is clearly defined as a developmental activity, not a shift.
  
  
• Objective matching based on values, skills, and learning needs: Rather than just availability, reducing personal friction and improving compatibility.
  
  
• Centralised oversight, consistent process across sites: Making mentor selection, allocation, and tracking transparent and fair, without relying on individual manager discretion or budgets.
  
  
• Simplified reporting and analytics for leadership: Enabling real-time visibility over mentoring activity, uptake, retention outcomes, and return on investment.
  
  
• Support for budget-conscious organisations (e.g. NFPs): By minimising reliance on allowances and manual processes, reducing admin burden, and making mentoring more scalable and consistent.

In essence: Brancher enables mentoring to become a stable, strategic backbone of workforce development; not an afterthought or after-hours burden.

Build a Workforce That Stays, Grows and Delivers Great Care

Aged care providers are operating in a pressured environment, but you’re not powerless. 

When you create clarity around what mentoring is, move beyond buddy-shift supervision, and put a structured system behind it, you give your workforce what it desperately needs: support, capability, confidence and connection.

The providers that will thrive over the next five years aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who make smarter workforce decisions. 

Structured mentoring is one of those decisions. It helps new staff settle faster, keeps experienced staff engaged, and reduces the churn that disrupts both continuity of care and team morale.

If you want mentoring to be consistent, equitable and scalable across all sites, you also need the right infrastructure. That’s where Brancher can help. 

With a dedicated nurse mentoring program, evidence-based matching, central oversight, and real-time reporting, Brancher gives you a practical way to embed mentoring in a way that is fair, sustainable and aligned with your care standards.

For a deeper walkthrough of how to plan, design and launch a program that works, download our Mentoring Program Handbook. It gives you the full step-by-step guide to making mentoring in aged care a strategic advantage instead of an administrative burden.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between mentoring and buddy shifts in aged care?

Mentoring is long-term and developmental. Buddy shifts are short-term, task-focused supervision during onboarding.

Why is mentoring important in aged care workforce retention?

Structured mentoring improves confidence, job satisfaction and clinical capability, which helps reduce turnover among new and experienced staff.

How do aged care providers choose the right mentors?

Best practice recommends selecting mentors based on values, communication style and capability, rather than just seniority or roster availability.

Should mentors in aged care be paid an allowance?

Allowances can help, but relying solely on them creates bottlenecks. Many providers use recognition pathways, training and development incentives instead.

How can mentoring programs be standardised across multiple aged care sites?

Using a centralised framework, clear expectations, transparent matching and platform-based reporting ensures consistency without adding admin burden.