Designing Successful Mentoring Programs

Paper written by: Abdulhameed O. ZUBAIR

Designing Successful Mentoring Programs: Challenges, Solutions and Outcomes

This is a crucial organizational need in today's business environment. To start with, there is a great need for us to deeply understand 3 basic terminologies that are associated with "mentoring" programs, and they are; Mentoring, Mentors and Mentees. Mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competences and characters of the mentees. Mentor is a senior or experienced person in a company who gives guidance and training to a young colleague. And mentee, somebody who is mentored, usually lower in age, experience and position to his/her montor.

In designing successful mentoring programs, it is important to have the end in mind, that is, knowing why the need for such program. Having this in mind, the organization has a clear cut determination of the accomplishments of the program and its benefits to the participating members- the mentor(s), the mentee(s), and the sponsoring organization, that is, the company. And also design or structure an effective means to the end by identifying what the possible challenges are, proffer solutions to these identified challenges and design an effective feedback system which accurately measures the productivity of the mentoring program.

In putting a successful mentoring program in place, there are lots of challenges that could crop up when designing it, depending of the aims and objectives of the program and kind of industry in which the program is to be applied. Since organizational needs for a successful mentoring program vary across different organizations, this write-up will focus on the challenges and solutions that are applicable to virtually all walks of life.

The under-listed challenges make up the most critical design parameters for a successful mentoring program:

• Determination of program accomplishments and how it benefits the participants (the mentors, the mentees including the organization);

• Determination of the mentees’ personalities and size;

• Identification of those that will serve as mentors;

• Determination of when the mentoring program will commence and its end time;

• Determination of the amount of time the mentors and the mentees will spend together and how often they will meet;

• Determination of the program stakeholders and how to promote the program;

• Establishment of a case management system that sees that the program has regular contact with the mentees and mentors concerning their relationships;

• Deciding on how to evaluate program effectiveness and success;

• Determination of the type of mentoring system the program will offer вЂ" such as group, peer, one-on-one, e-learning or team;

• Defining the nature of the mentoring session (such as career involvement, academic support and socialization);

• Determination of the structure of the mentoring program, whether as a stand alone program or as part of an existing division in/of the organization; and

• Determining where and how mentors and mentees meet.

Critically looking into these of above-mentioned parameters will give a better insight into why they are challenges and subsequently proffer possible solution to them.

Determination of program accomplishments and how it benefits the participants (the mentors, the mentees including the organization). This parameter allows any organization designing a mentoring program to be able to clearly state from the beginning what the aims and objectives of the program are by answering questions like: What is the program’s cost impact on the organization? Who amongst the staffs participate as mentors and mentees? Which department of the organization is the mentoring program designed for? How does the investment profit the organization? What are the personal gains of the mentors as well as the mentees? In which area of expertise are these mentees going to acquire skills? What are the major skills they are meant to have acquired at the end of the program? Appropriate answers to these questions shall vividly define the program accomplishment and how it benefits the participants.

Determination of the mentees’ personalities and size will probe into what the nature of those to be mentored are and how many they are. This is necessary, in that, there is a great need for a magnificent match between the trainers (mentors) and the trainees (mentees) so that they both can have a sound rapport with themselves and synergize. A sound and healthy relationship between them is a key to effective synergy and in turn a successful mentoring program. Knowing how many trainees are to be dealt with allows for adequate mentors/mentees ratio, and this increases the effectiveness of the mentor.

Proper identification of those that will serve as mentors is one of the greatest challenges organizations face when designing mentoring programs. This requires a thorough understanding of the above discussed parameters because they are prerequisites to this stage in our design вЂ" the degree of success in those two parameters determines the organization’s success at this stage. This step allows the organization to make a perfect match between the mentors’ skill requirements вЂ" technical, managerial and most importantly leadership/stewardship вЂ" and the mentees’ personality features and number, not leaving out the organizational benefits.

Determining when the mentoring program will commence and its end time gives room for proper resources allocation to every part of the program. These resources could be human, finance and time, with any other necessary resources. This parameter also allows for effective monitoring of the program’s progress and efficacy. It is a feedback mechanism which from time to time, tells the achievements of the program and also its shortcomings.

Determination of the amount of time the mentors and the mentees will spend together and how often they will meet. It should be ensured that the mentoring time is