GOT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT? CRITICAL STEPS IN ESTABLISHING A MENTORING PROGRAM

In previous posts, we’ve established that employee engagement is one of the markers of a healthy and successful workplace. But companies need to be intentional in their approach when developing them. Following are some critical steps in establishing a mentoring program:

Start small—with a pilot
Many companies don’t get it right on the first try—and that’s OK. The temptation to go big or home isn’t productive. It’s really more practical to go into with an open mind. Test the program out on a small sample population and iron out any kinks if necessary. Start small but dream big.

Make a match
As is best practice, matches should be hand-picked based on skill set and desired outcomes. If resources allow, then investment in technology can be made at a later point. Although it’s important that the duo gets along, they do not need to be two peas in a pod for the outcome to be successful.

Keep the tracking simple
There is a tendency by some managers to add too many layers of bureaucracy in tracking the match, which can be detrimental to the mentor who has other things on their plate. When monitoring, keep in mind two basics:

• Maintain confidentiality
• The mentee should set goals

Set clear guidelines
There should be very clear guidelines about the interworking of the mentoring programs, including the length and frequency of sessions and duration. It’s also important to have a mediation process if something goes awry.

If you’re looking for some guidance on this subject, I invite you to join me at a workshop “Business Mentoring Fuels Success,” at The NIIC March 28 8-9:30 a.m.. At the end of this crash course you’ll be able to:

• Identify what makes mentoring valuable to the entrepreneur
• Outline where value could be derived by entrepreneur
• Apply tactics to assess/measure value in the mentoring relationship.

Registration is required. Visit https://theniic.org/our-events for details.