How to Create & Sustain a Mentorship Program

Steps to Creating a Mentorship Program

Begin with the end in mind. What is your intent?

There should be measureable goals

Organizational commitment from the top

Participants: Prep & Orientation

Who will the participants be? Mid-level, senior, etc.

Interns and/or full-time hires? This will drive duration.

Nature of Interaction

Single leader mentoring circle: one mentor and many mentees

Mixed level mentoring circle: a mixed group of mentors and

mentees

Peer mentoring: each member of the group is on

the same professional level

E-mentoring: implements the use of phone and e-mail in

order to interact with participants

Reverse mentoring: junior employees mentor senior

staff

Evaluation & Review

How will you define success?

What measures are in place?

Have you committed yourself to a process of continual

improvement?

Benefits of a Mentorship Program

Win:Win:Win

Mentees will certainly benefit

Mentors often learn from their mentees

Organizations benefit from increased retention,

engagement levels and overall effectiveness of their

employees

Foundation for Success

Helps on-board entry-level employees to new

organizations and the quality of the new hire experience

First 90-120 days is key in determining both short- and

long-term success

Over time, a level of trust and candor develops where the

mentor can sometime tell the mentee things they “don’t want to hear” (tough love)

Underrepresented Groups

Mentors often offer access to the “system” that is often

challenging for these groups to gain access to

Attracting and Retaining New Hires

Commitment to Development (Attract)

The presence of a mentorship program speaks to a

company’s commitment to developing their associates,

enabling them to be successful, etc.

Stronger Organizational Commitment (Retain)

Increasing Performance Levels

Culture

You can’t operate successfully within an organization if you’re

unaware of its cultures, its norms, values, principles, etc.

You gain access to and an understanding of these things

through mentoring relationships

Organizational Intel

It allows you to better understand where you fit, how

you fit, and where your contributions are best suited

Unwritten Rules

You gain it through trusted relationships, and these often

take the form of mentoring relationships

Creating a Comfortable Environment

Commitment

To each other, to the process, to the mutually established and

communicated expectations, objectives, etc.

Trust

A base-line level must be established up-front and not

violated

You can’t build immediate trust, but you can lose it almost

immediately

Sincerity

The mentor needs to display a sincere care and concern for

their mentee and that they are sincere with respect to their

commitment to the role

Candor, Humility & Transparency

Before You Act/Speak, Ask Yourself: What’s My

Motivation?

Why am I in this relationship?

What am I hoping to obtain?

Making the Most of Your Time

Rules of engagement (in-person, on the phone, ad hoc,

planned, etc.)

Have a plan! (when, how, why, where)

Questions?

Heather R. Huhman, founder & presidentCome RecommendedHeather@ComeRecommended.com

Dave Cofer, founder & presidentCofer Consulting SolutionsDavid.Cofer@CoferConsulting.com