Introduction
How2 develop a mentor apprentice culture
Main
Designing a mentoring programme that fits your culture
A mentoring programme is often viewed as mainly an HR initiative. However, unless there is a strong, credible person at the helm who represents the entire organisation, the initiative will feel like one more add-on to an already full schedule. A strong, clear and communicated context for creating a mentoring programme is essential in order to obtain buy-in across the whole company. You may want to create a task force who will be responsible for the administration and implementation of such a programme, but the initiative must be lead by someone from the senior team. This selected member must communicate the purpose to all participants, for creating a mentoring programme that spells out what achievements and benefits are desired at the outcome.
The task force must understand the direct link between the programme and the changes that will be culturally inevitable from both a positive and potentially negative angle. For example, if people do not understand fully why they are to be mentored or why they will be mentoring, they may feel that this is ‘yet another layer of bureaucracy’ or ‘management initiative’ that’s been landed on them. By setting up a mentoring programme you are recognising the knowledge that exists within your company, within your people and you are also acknowledging that you have understood that people are interested in their own development, so let these reasons form the context for the programme.
Focus on real issues, challenges and specific areas of development
If the programme is simply a “feel good” programme, there is less likelihood that it will be taken seriously. A very good way to avoid this would be to get all mentees and mentors to complete profiles that are then matched by a team of managers and HR staff. The goal is to match the mentee’s specific developmental need with that of a mentor who is skilled in that area.
Provide on-going training and other resources for both mentees and mentors
Provide training sessions for mentors in order for them to understand their role and effectively manage the relationship. Will they be responsible for the mentee’s development in any formal way? If so, they need to know this in order to understand how to approach the relationship outside of what your plan is for them working together. Also train mentor-mentee pairs to help them maximise their partnership. If both parties are completely clear of the other’s objectives, they will be more comfortable with the process.
Integrate the mentoring programme with all other development activities
The programme will be more successful if it is connected to other activities that are underway already within the organisation. For example, link the programme if possible to succession planning, performance reviews, 360-degree feedback processes, promotions and challenging assignments and job rotations. This will also help to obtain buy-in for the programme if people can see that it fits seamlessly into other areas where they are measured.
Spell out the roles and responsibilities for participants
For example, mentors should not get between mentees and their managers or get overly involved in the detail of the mentee’s work. Mentees need to understand that having a mentor doesn’t guarantee that they will get promoted or have unlimited access to their mentor.
Make mentor programmes voluntary
Mandating mentor or mentee responsibilities is doomed to failure. The mentor must be enthusiastic and willing or he/she will do more harm than good. Mentees need to be willing to accept responsibility for their own career and be willing to accept the mentors’ help. If someone wants to opt out of the programme, they should be able to do so. However, make sure that these people do fully understand that there are major benefits with the programme and respect their wishes whilst asking them to state why they would prefer not to participate.
Conclusion
It is imperative that you design your programme to fit your current culture, but the design must also reflect and take into account the culture that you are looking to create. If your organisation has a flat organisational structure, then the level of involvement that your mentors have with your mentees may be stronger than in a fixed hierarchical structure. Within the flat structure you may decide to have your mentors attend their mentee’s performance review or appraisal for example as this can be perceived as supportive. In a hierarchical structure, this may not be appropriate and the exchange between mentor and mentee may be made to be more formal.
Strike a balance between formal events and informal sessions. The benefits of mentoring are found in the private, one-on-one sessions. Too much bureaucracy will kill it.