How to build a successful

employee mentoring program

Sustained success is the goal of almost any human

endeavor. In the college sports world, for example, some
basketball programs create winning cultures that, when
passed down from roster to roster over many years,
championships are won repeatedly – even though hundreds
of players flow through the program.
Your business may be able to build that same kind of
chemistry and lasting productivity with the help of an effective
employee mentoring program. (Net-cutting ceremony
optional, of course.)

Why have employee mentoring programs?

Successful employee mentoring programs can create a
variety of positive outcomes. But they should exist for one
reason – to address a specific organizational need or set of
needs.
These might include:
• Developing leaders and managers
• Improving onboarding and acclimation of new hires
• Transferring institutional knowledge to reduce the
impact of attrition/turnover of staff
• Boosting retention
• Enhancing customer service
With clear insights into the need behind the mentoring effort,
you’ll be better able to gauge success.

Benefits of employee mentoring

Small businesses can benefit greatly from mentoring because
it’s relatively inexpensive compared to formal training and
development programs.
For businesses of every size, mentoring may be more
effective than formal training, which may be a cookie cutter,
one-size-fits-all solution. Unlike formal training courses,
mentoring often results in deeper, personalized conversations
and feedback. In turn, these can foster collegiality, rapport
and a common sense of purpose.
Additionally, mentoring increases an organization’s bench
strength, making it easier to keep things moving when a team
member is on vacation, retires or moves on to another job.

Getting management on board

Now that you’re ready to get a mentoring program up and
running, where do you start? To develop your company’s
future leaders, you’ll first need to get buy-in from today’s
leaders.
When you present the idea to your decision makers, tie the
program to your company’s goals. Employee mentoring
programs should address a gap between your leaders’ vision
for your company and the current reality. In other words – and
to reiterate a point made earlier, you’ll be more persuasive if
you connect the program to an unmet need or needs.
If you’re fortunate to have senior staff who value talent
development, you might want to tap into that interest. Thus,
other reasons for the company brass to back a mentoring
program might include:
• They want to engage employees in different ways with
an eye to building culture.
• They may have been mentored themselves and want to
“pay it forward” to others.
Yet, whatever their motives for signing on, leadership’s
involvement shouldn’t stop after they say, “Yes.” Ideally, your
leadership team should be vocal in their support of the
program – and they may even volunteer to be mentors. This
will help establish mentoring as part of your company culture,
making it a powerful professional and organizational
development tool for years to come.

Building a mentorship program in the

workplace
As with any other HR endeavor, there are both best practices
to follow as well as pitfalls to avoid. Here are eight tips to help
you develop an outstanding employee mentoring program.

1. Think beyond one-way mentoring.

Mentorships involving tenured employees are a great way to
get new hires used to the company’s workflows and
processes, but employee mentoring should go beyond just
the tenured teaching the new.
Mentorship from recent hires who have brought valuable new
information into your organization (i.e., reverse mentoring)
can also re-energize and re-engage workers in the middle of
their careers.

2. Define desired outcomes and milestones.

What does a successful mentoring relationship look like?
How does this help the employee and your company?
Defining your desired outcomes for an employee mentoring
program from the beginning helps you address your needs
best.
For example, at a software company, you might state that a
mentoring program goal is for incoming and junior level
software engineers to be able to acclimate to your
environment, understand your processes and help achieve
company goals.
With those goals in mind, you can set milestones for your
mentors to use as benchmarks. You can also decide what
tools and resources (e.g., mentor training, timelines) you’ll
need to create to foster success.

3. Identify a program overseer.

Strong employee mentoring programs have one or two
people who oversee the program at-large. This could be
someone from your HR team or an employee who is
passionate about mentoring.
These program administrators are responsible for:
• Connecting mentors and mentees
• Monitoring the relationships
• Ensuring mentorship activities benefit the mentee and
the company
• Resolving any issues that arise in a consistent manner
(e.g., what happens if a mentor leaves the company?)
4. Don’t play matchmaker.
Don’t choose mentor and mentee pairs only because their
personalities are compatible. It’s not a blind date. A match
should be based on the skills of the mentor and the needs of
the mentee.

5. Develop specific mentor criteria.

The best employee mentors have distinct, important skillsets
to share and characteristics that align with your organization’s
values (e.g., perseverance, a servant leadership mindset).
They also have the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to
successfully deliver the desired outcomes of your program.
Using this information to guide you, you can develop criteria
for your mentors.
In general, some things to look for in an employee mentor
are:
• A desire to work with someone and share information
• The ability to have two-way communication about
processes
• Willingness to accept mentees’ input as well as provide
guidance and support
• A desire to help the company as a whole and make it a
stronger organization
• One year of service in your company
o This may be less important if you have an individual
who is hired specifically for new skills or technology
that they bring on board. There will likely remain
some duration for the person to be properly
onboarded, but they may not need a full year or so
before beginning to mentor others.
• The ability to meet any performance evaluation rating
requirements
These factors are important because employee mentorships
aren’t just about the tactical transfer of information. They’re
also a strategic opportunity to pass on attitudes and values
important to your company culture.

6. Take a practical approach.

Rather than just have mentees observe their mentor or ask
questions, get them involved in the actual work when they’re
ready and when appropriate. So doing helps the learning take
hold while building confidence in the mentee and trust in the
mentor and supervisor. Plus, in client-facing roles, this
approach may help forge new relationships with customers
and may help keep them at ease in the event of a handoff.
The process of a true mentor naturally shifts responsibility to
the mentee:
1. The mentor shows the mentee how to do something.
2. The mentor and mentee do it together.
3. The mentee shows the mentor how to do it.
4. The mentee does it independently.

7. Don’t let it look like a fast track.

Studies show that people who participate in workplace
mentorship programs (both mentees and mentors) are more
likely to be promoted than their peers.
However, you don’t want your mentoring program to be
perceived as a guaranteed path to a promotion, as it’s not a
realistic outcome for every employee. This perception could
also draw participants for the wrong reasons and distract from
the program’s real goals.
Participation doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t guarantee a move up
the ladder either.
8. Don’t use the program as a crutch.
Mentoring programs are not a replacement for performance
management processes or day-to-day leadership. Likewise,
the mentor should not become the mentee’s de facto
supervisor. That would undermine the authority of their actual
manager.
Rather, if performance issues arise with a mentor or mentee,
your program should have a plan for modifying the mentor
relationship when needed and communicating with the
supervisor who should address the issue.

9. Set the mentorship length to fit your objectives.

If you’ve given mentees some new experiences and they’ve
done well, there’s no problem in bringing the mentoring cycle
to a close.
In fact, establishing a program timeline at the outset can help
motivate participants to make the most of the opportunity.
Plus, in larger companies, repeating mentoring cycles may
help ensure that everyone who wants to participate can do so
without overwhelming any of the mentors.
Mentoring can take place over the course of a year, a
season, or even a quarter. It all depends, again, upon your
company’s needs, demand and calendar.

Wrapping things up
When it comes to talent development and strengthening
professional relationships, there’s always room for
improvement. Mentor programs can go a long way to help
foster growth. And, arguably, mentoring may be seen as an
ongoing leadership competency in our rapidly changing world
of work.
When the mentorship period is over, consider holding a
special wrap-up meeting, luncheon or recognition ceremony
to mark the occasion. This is another great opportunity for
senior leadership to step in and sing the program’s praises,
cheering the efforts of all those involved.
You can also showcase mentors and mentees in a company
newsletter so that you not only celebrate participants, but also
build buzz for the future.

Author – Bonnie Monych