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gbr.pepperdine.edu/2019/12/creating-a-mentoring-program-that-works/
2019 VOLUME 22 ISSUE 3
Creating a Mentoring Program That Works A Process for Decision Makers BY BENNETT E. POSTLETHWAITE, PHD, MSC AND REGAN HARWELL SCHAFFER, EDD, MA
Deloitte.[1] Estée Lauder.[2] The Hartford.[3] P&G.[4] These are very different
companies in very different industries yet they share one thing in common: each
has received acclaim for one or more of its innovative mentoring programs.
Mentoring is by no means a modern phenomenon. Individuals have shared—and
received—knowledge, wisdom, and developmental support throughout recorded
history. However, the 1970s marked a growing realization that mentoring can offer
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significant benefits in corporate settings. In this paper, we outline a process for
how your organization—large or small—can create a mentoring program that
meets your unique needs.
Our process will be particularly useful for those who actively manage people and
are searching for ways to increase organizational effectiveness. This process is
flexible and can be used by a range of decision makers including department
managers, senior leaders, and HR practitioners. We have sought to create a useful
desk reference that is both reflective and practical.
Benefits of MentoringBenefits of Mentoring The growing interest in mentoring programs is largely due to the benefits mentoring
provides to participants and their organizations. Research has shown that for
individuals, mentoring is related to positive career outcomes such as increased
compensation, salary growth, and promotions as well as greater career and job
satisfaction.[5] Mentoring is considered especially valuable for minorities and women
and can also shape professional confidence in participants.[6] Further, according to
Smith, “when people have mentors and when people become mentors, it makes them
feel more included.”[8] Likewise, compared to non-mentors, mentors experience
higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment.[9]
Mentoring also provides a number of benefits for organizations.[10] These include
lower turnover and higher job satisfaction,[11] the transmission of organizational
culture,[12] and the ability to serve as a “deep sensing” mechanism by which top
management can understand what is going on in their organizations.[13]
Challenges of MentoringChallenges of Mentoring However, mentoring programs are not without challenges. Programs have been
critiqued for creating power dynamics between more senior and newer employees or
false impressions implying people are placed in mentoring programs because they
need extra help or have some form of weakness. It can also be difficult to create
effective matches of mentors and mentees whether it be based upon personality
types, expectations or logistics of finding the right time and setting to meet creating
unrealistic outcomes.[14] Many of these challenges could be avoided if the
[7]
[15] [16]
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organization crafted a well-planned mentoring program that matches the
organization’s culture and employees. This will vary based upon the needs and
resources of the organization. [17]
Varieties of Mentoring ProgramsVarieties of Mentoring Programs Mentoring can take many forms, and individuals often have very different ideas about
what is meant by the term mentor. This makes it difficult to define mentoring. While
conducting a review of the mentoring literature published between 1980 and 2010,
Haggard and colleagues encountered nearly forty different definitions of
mentoring.[19] Rather than create a new definition, they identified several core
attributes that characterize workplace mentoring relationships: reciprocity,
developmental benefits, and regular/consistent interaction.
Mentoring that takes place within the context of an official organizational program is
referred to as formal mentoring. In contrast, informal mentoring relationships develop
organically through mutual admiration and trust between the mentor and mentee. In
this paper we focus on formal mentoring programs, since these are under the direct
control of the organization and its decision makers.
Mentoring models range from very traditional to highly innovative. Below we discuss
some of the most commonly used models in the workplace, providing specific
illustrations when relevant.
Traditional Mentoring typically involves two people: a mentor, someone who is
“ordinarily several years older, a person of greater experience and seniority…a
teacher, advisor, or sponsor” providing support to a mentee or protégé, someone who
has less experience in the organization.[20] Mentors provide a combination of career
and psychosocial support to their mentees.[21]
Group Mentoring is structured around mutual learning regardless of the participant’s
role in the organization, level of experience, or age.[22] This form of mentoring is
particularly prevalent in higher education and academic medicine. It is intended to
provide a broader and more flexible network of support, is highly collaborative and
reduces the hierarchy or power dynamics that sometimes exist in traditional
mentoring.[23] Pragmatically, it enables more people to be involved and therefore can
[18]
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be more efficient in coordinating. It facilitates exposure to multiple viewpoints and
perspectives for each participant. However, group dynamics can make it difficult for
each person to fully participate or receive individualized attention.
Women faculty at Pepperdine from different ranks and disciplines meet in mentoring groups to discuss professional and personal goals.
Cross-Organizational Mentoring (also referred to as inter-organizational mentoring)
occurs when the mentor and mentee are in different organizations. [24] [25] This form
of mentoring may be helpful when your organization faces a shortage of qualified
mentors. It also offers the advantage of an outside, perhaps more objective,
perspective and could encourage mentees to raise issues that they may not feel
comfortable discussing with colleagues inside their own companies. This form of
mentoring may be particularly useful for small organizations such as family
businesses, startups, and nonprofits.[26]
Managers from Reasoning Minds, a Houston-based nonprofit, are matched with mentors from Deloitte’s Houston and Dallas offices.[26]
Reverse Mentoring involves pairing a junior staff member with a senior leader to
increase the senior leader’s knowledge, skills, or understanding in a particular area
such as technology, diversity, or differences between generations. [27] [28] [29]
At Estée Lauder, junior employees mentor senior managers on issues ranging from social media, to online shopping, to the millennial mindset.[28]
e-Mentoring (also known as virtual or online mentoring) relationships are facilitated
using electronic communication tools such as email, social media, chat rooms, and
instant messaging.[30] Sessions can be conducted entirely online, primarily online, or
as a supplement to in-person mentoring. e-Mentoring may be especially useful when
mentor and mentee work in different locations. It can occur synchronously, or
asynchronously, depending on program design and participant availability.
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Anonymous Mentoring is a specialized mix of e-mentoring and cross-organizational
mentoring, where the identities of the mentor and mentee, as well the identities of
their organizations, remain masked.[31] This type of mentoring is usually coordinated
by an external provider.
thirty2give has developed a mobile app that facilitates anonymous mentoring.
Micro-mentoring involves the creation of short developmental episodes focused on a
particular topic. For example, a junior employee might attend a small discussion
forum to seek the advice of seasoned experts within the company, or she could
schedule individual meetings with multiple senior experts. This exposes mentees to
multiple senior leaders and their ideas, and it could lead to a longer-term mentoring
relationship. Further, busy mentors may be more willing to commit to providing
support due to a reduced time commitment.
Implementing a Mentoring Program: Process MattersImplementing a Mentoring Program: Process Matters The ultimate success of any mentoring program will, in part, depend on the process
used to develop and launch it. A quick internet search will reveal a wealth of
information on designing and delivering formal workplace mentoring programs (see
Further Reading for some examples), so much so that it can be overwhelming. Do you
even need a mentoring program? If so, where do you start? What program format
should you use? How do you know if your program is successful?
We use research and current organizational practice to outline a process for
designing, launching, and evaluating a mentoring program. The overall process is
shown in Figure 1. Each step is described below, and in more detail in Tables 1–4. The
process is intended to be reflective as opposed to prescriptive. It can be repeated to
refine, expand, or perhaps even discontinue the program. Regardless of whether or
not you decide to start a mentoring program of your own, there is value in going
through this reflective process. Even more so if you engage multiple stakeholders
along the way.
Figure 1. Mentoring Program Process
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For each step of the process, we provide examples of how two hypothetical
organizations might make key decisions. The first organization, a software company, is
considering mentoring as a way to decrease turnover of women programmers. The
second, a nonprofit healthcare organization, is seeking to develop a pipeline of
qualified leaders for senior management positions.
Although detailed, our process and tools are not comprehensive. Depending on your
unique situation or level of experience with mentoring, you may need additional
resources. A list of relevant articles and books is provided at the end of the article.
Step One – Identify Objectives and Compare to Current Practices
Do you even need a mentoring program? In this first step, detailed in Table 1, you will
rate the importance of mentoring-related organizational objectives (such as to
increase inclusion or develop job-specific skills) and reflect on the extent and
effectiveness of your current people management practices in order to determine if a
mentoring program might be beneficial to your organization. This step would be a
healthy exercise for a small team of leaders within your organization who have an
understanding of staff needs. If your current practices are not meeting your
organizational objectives, a mentoring program may be beneficial. Conversely, you 6/18
may determine a mentoring program is not necessary at this time. If you determine
your organization would benefit from a mentoring program, you will formulate an
initial program goal statement.
Table 1. Step 1: Identify Objectives (click here for pdf)
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Step Two – Consider Resources and Constraints
Do you have the resources to launch and deliver a mentoring program? To determine if a
mentoring program is feasible, you will determine the prevalence of human and
financial resources as well as organizational constraints, noting those that will be
critical to your program’s success. This process is outlined in Table 2. If you face a lack
of critical resources or identify significant constraints, consider whether the resource
can be developed or the constraint overcome. If not, you should proceed cautiously
with developing a traditional mentoring program. Adopting an alternate mentoring
approach (group mentoring, e-mentoring, micro-mentoring) is one potential solution.
Alternately, you might choose to encourage informal mentoring or utilize other good
people management practices (see Step 1). If you decide a mentoring program is right
for your organization, you will revise your program goals to reflect your capacities.
Table 2. Step 2: Consider Resources & Constraints (click here for pdf)
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Step Three – Design the Program
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What will your program look like? In this step, detailed in Table 3, you will design your
mentoring program. Using your revised program goal statement and the resources
and constraints identified earlier, you will make key decisions about participants,
program parameters, training, and potential problems that may arise. We guide you
by offering a series of questions and special considerations that may be relevant to
your situation. At this point in the process, your program should have a solid
foundation. You are now ready to start building your mentoring program.
Table 3. Step 3: Design the Program (click here for pdf)
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Step Four – Create an Evaluation System
How will you know if your mentoring program is successful? How can it be improved? This
step is focused on creating an evaluation system and is outlined in Table 4. Here you
will revisit your mentoring goal statement and organizational objectives and design
tools to determine if you have met your goals. It is important to consider how you will
assess your program before it is launched. As in Step 3, we offer questions and
considerations about who should be involved in the evaluation process, what you
should evaluate, how you should conduct the evaluation, and when you should do it.
After you have completed this step, you are ready to launch and evaluate your
program! As Figure 1 demonstrates, the program design process is a cycle. You may
choose to refine, expand, continue, or discontinue your program based on the
evaluation results.
Table 4. Step 4: Create an Evaluation System (click here for pdf)
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ConclusionConclusion In this paper we have presented different types of mentoring programs and discussed
how these initiatives are used in different workplace settings. We have outlined a four
step process for designing a mentoring program for your organization. We encourage 13/18
you to adapt our tools and make them your own.
If you decide a mentoring program is right for your organization, it is important to
understand that what has worked for another organization may not work for you. One
size does not fit all. By going through a deliberate planning process you can design a
customized program that meets the needs of your unique organization.
Further Reading
Articles
DeJong, T. J., Gabarro, J. J., & Lees, R. J. (2008, January). Why mentoring matters in a
hypercompetitive world. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 115-121.
Forret, M. L., Turban, D. B., & Dougherty, T. W. (1996). Issues facing organizations
when implementing formal mentoring programs. Leadership & Organizational
Development Journal, 17(3), 27-30.
Hegestad, C. D., & Wentling, R. M. (2004). The development and maintenance of
exemplary formal mentoring programs in Fortune 500 companies. Human Resource
Development Quarterly, 15, 421-448.
Meister, J. C., & Willyerd, K. (2010, May). Mentoring millennials. Harvard Business
Review, 88(5), 68-72.
Thomas, D. A. (2001, April). The truth about mentoring minorities: Race matters.
Harvard Business Review, 79(4), 98-107.
Books
Allen, T. D., Finkelstein, L. M., & Poteet, M. L. (2009). Designing workplace mentoring
programs: An evidence-based approach. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Johnson, W. B., & Ridley, C. R. (2018). The elements of mentoring: 75 practices of master
mentors (3 ed.). New York: St. Martins.
Labin, J. (2017). Mentoring programs that work. Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.
Lunsford, L. G. (2016). A handbook for managing mentoring programs: Starting,
rd
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[1] Koenig, R. (2017, August 17). How one nonprofit created a successful a corporate- mentorship program. The Chronicle of Philanthropy. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/How-One-Nonprofit-Made/240943
[2] Indap, S. (2016, November 17). Estée Lauder applies millennial makeover. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/e98d3ada-9acd-11e6-8f9b-70e3cabccfae
[3] DeAngelis, K. L. (2013, May). Reverse mentoring at The Hartford: cross-generational transfer of knowledge about social media. Boston College Innovative Practice Brief. Available from https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/agingandwork/pdf/publications/hartfo rd.pdf
[4] De Vita, E. (2019, March 6). Reverse mentoring: What young women can teach the old guard. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/53d12284-391f-11e9-b856- 5404d3811663
[5] Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for protégés: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 127-136.
[6] Zambrana, R. E., Ray, R., Espino, M. M., Castro, C., Cohen, B. D., & Eliason, J. (2015). “Don’t leave us behind”: The importance of mentoring for underrepresented minority faculty. American Educational Research Journal, 52 (1), 40-72.
[7] Forret, M. L., Turban, D. B., & Dougherty, T. W. (1996). Issues facing organizations when implementing formal mentoring programs. Leadership & Organizational Development Journal, 17(3), 27-30.
[8] Smith, J. G. (2017). The garden: An organismic metaphor for distinguishing inclusion from diversity. Graziadio Business Review, 20(2).
[9] Ghosh, R., & Reio, T. G. (2013). Career benefits associated with mentoring for mentors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 106-116.
[10] Wilson, J. A., & Elman, N. S. (1990). Organizational benefits of mentoring. Academy of Management Perspectives, 4, 88-94.
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Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. (Eds). (2007). The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory,
research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Zachary, L. (2005). Creating a mentoring culture: The organization’s guide. San Francisco:
Jossey Bass.
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[11] Payne, S. C., & Huffman, A. H. (2005). A longitudinal examination of the influence of mentoring on organizational commitment and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 48 , 158-168.
[12] Ostroff, C., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (1993). The role of mentoring in the information gathering process of newcomers during early organizational socialization. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42, 170-183.
[13] Wilson, J. A., & Elman, N. S. (1990). Organizational benefits of mentoring. Academy of Management Perspectives, 4, 88-94.
[14] Jackson, L.H., & Price, C. (2019). Illuminating constellations of peer mentoring: The case of music programmes in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 56(1), 99-109.
[15] Blake-Bear, S. D. (2001). Taking a hard look at formal mentoring programs: A consideration of potential challenges facing women. Journal of Management Development, 20(4), 331-345.
[16] Clawson, J. G., & Kram, K. E. (1984). Managing cross-gender mentoring. Business Horizons, 27, 22-32.
[17] Baugh, S. G., & Fagenson-Eland, E. A. (2007). A “poor cousin” to informal relationships? In Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. E. (Eds.). The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research and pracitce (249-279). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
[18] Llewellen-Williams, C., Johnson, V.A., Deloney, LA., Thomas, B.R., Goyol, A., & Henry- Tillman, R. (2006). The POD: A new model for mentoring underrepresented minority faculty. Academic Medicine, 81(3), 275-279.
[19] Haggard, D. L., Dougherty, T. W., Turban, D. B., & Wilbanks, J. E. (2011). Who is a mentor? A review of evolving definitions and implications for research. Journal of Management, 37 , 280-304.
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[22] Llewellen-Williams et al. (2006)
[23] Jackson, L.H., & Price, C. (2019). Illuminating constellations of peer mentoring: The case of music programmes in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 56(1), 99-109.
[24] Mains, I., & MacLean, S. (2017). Developing across boundaries – mentor and mentee perceptions and experiences, of cross-organizational mentoring. Industrial and Commercial Training, 49, 189-198.
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[25] Murrell, A. J., Blake-Beard, S., Porter, D. M., Jr., Perkins-Williamson, A. (2008). Interorganizational formal mentoring: Breaking the concrete ceiling sometimes requires support from the outside. Human Resource Management, 47, 275-294.
[26] Koenig, R. (2017, August 17). How one nonprofit created a successful a corporate- mentorship program. The Chronicle of Philanthropy. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/How-One-Nonprofit-Made/240943
[27] De Vita, E. (2019, March 6). Reverse mentoring: What young women can teach the old guard. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/53d12284-391f-11e9-b856- 5404d3811663
[28] Indap, S. (2016, November 17). Estée Lauder applies millennial makeover. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/e98d3ada-9acd-11e6-8f9b-70e3cabccfae
[29] DeAngelis, K. L. (2013, May). Reverse mentoring at The Hartford:
cross-generational transfer of knowledge about social media. Boston College Innovative Practice Brief. Available from https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/agingandwork/pdf/publications/hartfo rd.pdf
[30] Ensher, E. A., & Murphy, S. E. (2007). E-mentoring: Next generation research strategies and suggestions. In B. R. Ragins and K. Kram (Eds.) The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 299-322). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
[31]Meister, J. C., & Willyerd, K. (2010, May). Mentoring millennials. Harvard Business Review, 88(5), 68-72.
Bennett E. Postlethwaite is Associate Professor of Organizational
Behavior and Management at Pepperdine University, Business
Administration Division, Seaver College.
Regan Harwell Schaffer is Professor of Organizational Behavior and
Management, Advisor of the Nonprofit Management Minor, and Director
of the Nonprofit Leadership Collaborative at Pepperdine University in
AUTHORS OF THE ARTICLE
Bennett E. Postlethwaite, PhD, MSc
Regan Harwell Schaffer, EdD, MA
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