Creating a mentorship program can be advantageous for a company by increasing employee retention and job satisfaction.

Mentorships help employees to develop new perspectives as they share information with one another, build skill sets together, and connect better across generations.

This is really important,” said Kirsti Coghlan, the human resources director for Mauch Chunk Trust Co.

Start by deciding on a goal. There could be many depending on how many mentees are in the program.

Select an executive sponsor in the company, such as a senior level executive who can help encourage managers to get involved in the program.

Appoint a program manager. This person will own the process and have the authority and responsibility to get things done and make things happen.

The program manager will also create the process, manage the budget, market the program, develop support activities, solve problems, and handle anything that comes up unexpectedly.

The program manager should also be supported by a steering team.

A steering team is a cross-functional team that oversees the process. They can be involved in setting the scope, the goals, the direction and the deliverables of the initiatives, as well as the training involved, individuals needed, processes, measures and outcomes, and the evaluation at the end of the project.

Selection

Now it’s time to select the mentors and mentees.

Figure out who the target employee populations are, market the program, and recruit the participants.

“It is like an interview process. You want to make sure you’re getting the right fit,” Coghlan said. “Let everyone who is interested know the details, the benefits and the time effort involved in the program.”

The last thing anyone should do is allow a mentor or mentee to think the mentorship is a matter of checking off some boxes and getting a certificate with minimal effort, if it’s not.

“You’re going to build frustration on both sides. You’ll have somebody who’s not really motivated in the program and somebody who is really motivated wasting their energy and spinning their wheels,” she said.

Matching

Coghlan suggested to have mentors and mentees fill out profiles about themselves with information about their past job history, hobbies, special skills, and personality types.

Consider holding a matching workshop, so they can meet, have conversation, and see if there is anyone they can work with from the start.

“Pair people up by matching preferences, but not necessarily the behaviors,” she said. “You might think you want to set up two like personalities, but actually that may not be the best for the organization or the project,” she said. “You might want to find opposites, an introvert and an extrovert. That way, when one is pulling the other one is pushing.”

Providing the training

The training format can depend on the resources that are available. Prepared programs are available to use as support. Mentors and mentees should receive some training on how to use it.

Also check to make sure there is a balance between the number of mentors and mentees. Don’t overload it one way or the other.

“One mentor can’t have 15 mentees. There’s just not enough time in the day and the mentor is going to get burned out,” she said. On the flip side, you don’t want to have one mentee deal with 15 mentors.”

The mentee should have one mentor and other resources to prevent the development of conflicting priorities and projects. They need one person that is their solid go-to person.

Mentoring agreement

“This is key,” she said. “The goal is going to define the purpose of the relationship such as the knowledge and the skills that each party plans to obtain.”

Define the time frame, so that expectations are maintained. Establish the length of the program and any checkpoints along the way.

Decide how often the mentors and mentees should meet, because it can affect the goals of the mentorship and overall time frame of the project. Agree to it upfront and adjust as needed.

Pick a meeting time and location that is best for both parties. It should be a place where interruptions are minimal and both parties can have a conversation that is candid.

The agreement should also spell out how the mentorship is going to conclude, and the steps that need to be met in order for it to end.

Coghlan said that by signing the agreement, the parties are made aware of these steps, which can be adjusted later if needed.

“It provides an initial framework,” she said.

Monitoring the program

Make sure the relationship is working, not just the project that is being worked on during the mentorship.

Do a periodic survey of the get-togethers, such as on a monthly basis.

Wrap up

At the end of the mentorship, do a survey the participants on where the program can improve.

“It can always improve. That’s not a bad thing. Don’t take that as a criticism. That’s actually constructive,” she said.

Have everyone go back to their goals and measure their results.

“Benchmarking is phenomenal especially if you are going to continue this program,” she said.

And celebrate success, Coghlan said.

“Share the success stories and the outcomes, so that everyone can celebrate,” she said. “These are achievements on both sides.”