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Introducing mentoring to your organization can have a positive impact on your employees’ ability to develop their careers, improve on their existing skills and become more engaged. However, in order to harness the full potential of mentoring and achieve these objectives, senior managers should carefully plan and structure their approach to its implementation. Here, we outline some practical suggestions for the successful introduction of a mentoring program.
Appoint a Mentoring Champion or Team
Appointing a mentoring champion, team or even a committee, responsible for the mentoring scheme’s design and administration will help the program run smoothly. Some ideas for forming an effective mentoring team are outlined below:
- Invite a diverse range of employees across several different functions and levels of seniority to ensure a cross-section of employees are represented.
- Consider appointing individuals to lead on dedicated areas of the mentoring program based on their existing skills and strengths. For example, if your mentoring program is being launched online, a colleague with strong IT and web skills could lead on this area. Similarly, strong administrators could be asked to lead on the co-ordination of the marketing material or managing incoming applications from potential participants.
- It is also a good idea to have the input of your Human Resources or Learning and Development colleagues so they can advise what support they can lend to the program.
Gain Senior Buy-In
The endorsement of senior leaders is essential for the successful introduction of a mentoring program as it helps to give the initiative publicity and credibility. Senior leaders can support the implementation of mentoring in a number of ways:
- Promoting the program through their staff communications (e.g. team meetings, emails, newsletters) in the weeks prior to the launch of each mentoring cycle.
- Speaking at information events for potential participants, outlining the organization’s view of the importance of mentoring and the benefits to employees of taking part.
- Championing the mentoring program as a development opportunity and encouraging their team members to participate, either as mentees or mentors, in individual development discussions.
Plan and Design the Program
Prior to launching a mentoring program, it is essential to:
- Establish the key organizational objectives of the program.
- Clarify the roles and responsibilities within the mentoring relationship, both for mentees and mentors.
- Identify which types of employees should qualify as mentors and the levels of experience they will need to have.
- Develop a clear timeline for delivering each aspect of the mentoring program, taking into account the time allocated for planning and preparation, marketing, training new participants, the mentoring relationship itself, soliciting feedback and evaluating success.
- Identify a length of time over which the mentoring relationship should be conducted and how regularly mentors and mentees will be expected to meet. Seek feedback on these design areas from participants at the end of each mentoring cycle to establish whether any changes need to be made.
- Design a training process for new participants to undertake before the mentoring process begins. The training activities should provide participants with a full understanding of the key stages of the mentoring cycle and what to expect from the mentoring relationship.
- An understanding of the learning cycle and different learning styles should be promoted to help mentors successfully identify their mentees’ preferred learning styles and adapt their approaches to the mentoring relationship accordingly.
Market the Program
A wide-reaching and highly visible marketing campaign will raise employees’ awareness of the mentoring program. Some advice for running an effective internal marketing campaign includes:
- Utilizing a diverse range of media to capture different people’s attention in different ways (e.g. posters, articles in internal newsletters, screen splashes across employees’ computer monitors).
- Beginning your marketing campaign well in advance of the program’s launch date and increasing your efforts as the closing date for applications approaches.
- Including key details in your marketing material, such as the purpose of the program, the benefits of participating and details of how to apply.
- Considering running a separate campaign to attract mentors, to ensure the benefits of mentoring another employee are fully understood.
- Ensuring your marketing material is placed in locations visible to all employees, such as canteens, meeting rooms and communal ‘break out’ stations.
- Holding an information event for employees who want to find out more about the mentoring program. This provides employees with the opportunity to ask questions and gain a better understanding of how participating could benefit them.
Design a Matching Process
An appropriate match between mentee and mentor is essential for the relationship to be effective and for each party to achieve his or her objectives. It is therefore important to solicit detailed information from participants regarding their reasons for becoming a mentee or mentor, key learning objectives, strengths and weaknesses and professional areas of interest. The mentoring champion or team can then use this information to establish appropriate pairs of mentees and mentors. Prior to this, you may also wish to consider giving mentees the opportunity to select their own mentor by hosting a networking lunch, seminar or discussion group where participants are able to interact freely and identify common interests.
Support the Mentoring Process
There are a number of tools that can be used to support the mentoring process and enable an effective relationship between mentor and mentee. These can include:
- A mentoring contract to be signed by both mentor and mentee at the beginning of the relationship to agree upon the minimum number of times they will meet and the commitment each will give to the mentoring process. The signature of a senior leader in the business will add further credibility to the document.
- A mentoring progress document can be designed to help mentees and mentors set objectives, record progress and make a note of action points and dates for completion.
- A mentoring journal can enable mentors and mentees to reflect on the mentoring relationship and what they learn as the mentoring relationship develops.
Evaluate and Revise
The mentoring needs and objectives of your employees are likely to change over time and it is important your program is regularly updated to ensure these needs and objectives are met. In order to retain the buy-in of your senior leaders, you should be able to demonstrate the ongoing benefits of the mentoring program, both to employees and to the organization. The success of each mentoring cycle can be measured by:
- Seeking anonymous feedback from mentors and mentees after the formal mentoring cycle comes to an end through a paper or online survey.
- Asking participants to provide you with a brief testimonial outlining their experience as a mentor/mentee and how they have benefited from participating. These testimonials can be used (with the participant’s permission) to support the following year’s internal marketing campaign. This feedback does not need to be anonymous but should be optional, as some participants may prefer to keep their experiences confidential.
- Arrange a meeting for the mentoring team to review participants’ feedback and to discuss any potential changes to the following year’s program.
