Whether it’s helping individuals new to the workforce navigate their organization or supporting tenured employees who are looking to grow their career, mentors can have a significant impact by sharing their knowledge and institutional memory, and offering industry insight.
Mentors offer suggestions on how to hone skills and learn new ones, provide networking opportunities, and help clarify career goals. They may offer guidance such as how to communicate effectively during meetings, understand the work environment, or advocate for oneself. Peer or one-level-up mentoring is common in onboarding and in buddy-type mentoring programs.
A mentor is different from a coach or sponsor. A coach tends to be a subject-matter expert who offers guidance around specific skills, although using artificial intelligence in coaching may be an option. For example, a coach can offer tips on improving productivity to an employee who is failing to meet their production goals, according to Indeed.com. A sponsor in a professional setting is an executive-level leader with organizational power who advocates for and strategically engages with the sponsee to groom them for a leadership role.
While mentoring can occur informally, this guide offers best practices for HR professionals looking to create a more structured experience. The following steps will help you set up a structure that helps your program succeed in achieving the goals you set.
1. Develop guidelines.
The first step is to set some parameters for the mentor/mentee relationships.
Who is eligible to participate? Some organizations, for example, assign a mentor to a new employee as part of the onboarding process; others use it for leadership development.
What is the intent of the mentorship? Through reverse mentoring, for example, a younger employee may serve as a mentor to a more senior colleague by providing guidance in digital or other technology-based skills.
Some organizations tailor mentorships to specific groups of employees—people of color, first-generation college graduates, women in traditionally male-dominated fields—and others match new employees with mentors as soon as they are hired.
Another approach is “flash mentoring,” which utilizes short-term or one-time mentoring sessions.
How will mentors and mentees be matched? While anyone can give advice, consider whether the potential mentor has the necessary industry knowledge or firsthand experience to guide the mentee, said mentoring advocate Amy Walker, executive vice president of sales at Oklahoma City-based Paycom. Sometimes, good mentors come from outside the mentee’s team because they can provide a more objective perspective.
2. Consider program length.
Set and communicate a time frame so all parties are aware of the time commitment involved.
“Traditional mentoring programs typically run anywhere from six to 12 months so the mentors and mentees can develop meaningful relationships and have adequate time to track progress,” said David Satterwhite, CEO at Chronus, a Seattle company that builds mentorship and employee resource group programs for global firms.
He recommends checking in with the mentor and mentee at the program’s halfway mark to see if they are noticing an impact; from that assessment, the employer can determine how much longer the mentorship should continue for it to be effective.
3. Designate a coordinator.
A well-structured program can require as little as a couple of hours per month, but you may want to create a committee to assist the coordinator.
4. Develop enrollment forms for interested parties.
Provide an enrollment form that employees can complete to indicate their interest in being a mentor. Be sure to include space for potential mentors to share their areas of expertise or types of professional development they will be able to assist with, such as public speaking or networking. Ensure they understand their role and the expectations of the mentorship relationship.
Similarly, develop a form for employees to complete to indicate their interest in working with a mentor. Include space for the potential mentee to share what they would like to learn from a mentor or work on in terms of their own professional development.
5. Publicize the mentor program and review your strategies for recruiting mentors and mentees.
Use emails, Slack, or other platforms; speak at company town halls; and tap mentoring champions in your organization to speak about the program and reasons to participate.
Promote your program among potential mentors as a leadership development opportunity, publicize the program during onboarding and in your employee handbook, and encourage managers to promote mentoring and mentorship with their teams.
6. Find mentors and mentees.
Ensure both parties understand their role. For example, mentors will come prepared to discuss certain topics and review their mentees’ recent accomplishments and challenges; mentees should come prepared to meet their mentor with questions, actively seek feedback, and apply what they learn to achieve their goals.
7. Determine how you will match mentors and mentees.
This might include shared areas of professional interest, similar schedules, or geographic proximity. Also, understand your mentoring population, Satterwhite advised. “Do you have enough mentors to meet mentee needs? Do they have the right skills mentees are seeking? If not, you may need to do more recruiting to engage the right participants,” he said.
The experience gap between mentors and mentees depends on the type of program your organization is running and its goals, Satterwhite said, noting the ideal gap for different program types:
For Career Development and Skill Building: A one- to two-level difference is typically effective. “Mentors at this level often have recent, relevant experience in the mentee’s desired growth areas and can provide actionable advice without being too removed from the mentee’s current challenges,” Satterwhite said.
For Leadership Development or Reverse Mentoring: A one- to two-level difference works for this type of development, too. “It creates a level- ahead mentorship pipeline where leaders can both mentor and be mentored,” he said.
For Peer-to-Peer or Flash Mentoring: “Peer-to-peer mentoring involves little to no job-level difference, focusing on shared challenges and mutual growth,” Satterwhite said. In flash mentoring, experience levels are not so important because an employee with a particular skill set or knowledge base mentors another employee looking to improve in that area.
8. Communicate with mentors and mentees.
Notify both parties about their assigned mentorship partner and provide them with a brief biography of each other. Establish a date when mentors and mentees should make initial contact.
9. Monitor and evaluate the program.
Maintain open communication with all participants and actively solicit feedback. Consider a formal midpoint check-in with each participant to see if any changes are needed. Have all participants complete a program evaluation form at the end of the program and use the information to make any needed changes.
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