Formal Mentor Programs to Build Strength for Businesses
Master Glassblowers at Simon Pearce.
Sarah A Scala, M. Ed & OD, ACC
Estimated Reading Time: 3 Minutes
Mentor Programs with some formality can provide great benefits to the organization and its people. I have designed mentor programs to reduce turnover, strengthen cultural immersion for new hires, develop high potential leaders and talent, as well as a development tool in succession planning.
It is my opinion that everyone would benefit from having a formal mentor. Personally, I have 3 business mentors (Formal Mentors) and 4 peer mentors. As an entrepreneur, these mentors serve as my “pseudo” Board of Directors, providing feedback on growth and marketing for my business.
I have designed successful formal mentor and apprenticeship programs for companies in industries including financial services, consulting, consumer package goods, and manufacturing, that have resulted in a strong Return on Investment.
Mentoring Partners Well With Talent Management Tools
Formal mentoring may serve as a tool for onboarding new talent. Using a 70-20-10 development plan, the 20% portion is allocated for mentoring. Mentoring is often used in the development of high potentials by executives or in succession development. The higher up in the organization a leader moves, the less likely they will be able to find a mentor internally. For this reason, external mentors are often used in these cases. Lastly, mentoring can be used as a part of performance management.
Roles in a Formal Mentor Program
It is common to have a steering committee in place to oversee and advise on a formal mentor program, with a Program Administrator often designated in larger organizations. There is the mentor and mentee, as well as the supervisor of the mentee. Designing an effective program with these resources helps to ensure that the program will be effective and have a positive return on the organization’s investment in time and money.
Steps for Formal Mentor Program Design
Here are the steps involved in creating a formal mentor program:
Get commitment and sponsorship
Be clear about objectives
Define the management and structure
Budget
Recruit or identify mentors
Training of Mentors
Accountability
Evaluation
When not the right match, best to end soon
Formal Mentor Program States
The three states of a formal mentor program often include:
Initiation
Setting expectations / developing partnership
Terminating or sun-setting the relationship
Some organizations have mentor programs with as little as 90 days of time, while other programs may last 1-2 years, depending on the specific objectives and organizational needs.
Mentor programs that I have custom-designed:
Here are the results of formal mentor programs that I have created and designed:
Reduce turnover by 88%, build morale, and increase skills for front-line staff
Successfully onboard new hires into the business culture
Develop high-potential employees
Increase apprentice speed and quality in manufacturing
Support succession development of high potentials
Here is the Case study on the Simon Pearce Apprenticeship Program that I designed. Here is an article on this program in the Boston Globe.
Interested in learning how to build a MENTOR program for your organization? Check out my new Digital Course: Mentor Program Design for Positive ROI
Similar posts:
Check out my short list of mentor blog posts I have written:
Workshops
Sarah Scala hosts business mentoring workshops for teams and organizations of various sizes. Learn more about our business facilitated workshops.
Questions about formal mentor programs? Let’s connect. I would love to hear your success stories. Please send them to: hello@sarahscala.com or visit www.sarahscala.com
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About the Author:
Sarah Scala is a senior talent management leader and executive coach with 20+ years of experience providing organization development, change management, and leadership development solutions for diverse global and local industries. She is a collaborative consultant, coach, and educator supporting performance transformation of executives, leaders, and teams. Sarah is a methodical, results-driven leader recognized for helping clients reach their highest potential, increase revenue, reduce turnover, elevate business profitability, build competencies, and improve performance.
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