How to create a mentoring program - some resources

Most of the time I use this blog to present new ideas or old ideas in new ways about mentoring. Sometimes though I just like to use it to point you to useful information on mentoring as in today's post.


Clearly by virtue of my authoring this blog you know I find tremendous benefits in mentoring. These benefits are not limited to the individuals who participate but also expand to include companies that foster a mentoring environment! To quote an article listed below:

Mentoring programs are one of the most effective tools in achieving business results. The authors of the book, War on Talent reported, “Of those who have had a highly helpful mentoring experience, 95 percent indicated it motivated them to do their very best, 88 percent said it made them less likely to leave their company, and 97 percent said it contributed to their success at the company.”

Some kind of mentoring program, whether formal or informal, will benefit and can be established at any size company. For example, a quote taken from another article:

 IBM started its program to build knowledge, foster learning, and connect people in a company with 386,000 employees. The culture of mentorship runs so deep that every IBM employee is either being mentored, mentoring others, or doing both. “A lot of our people work virtually, and mentoring can erase geographic and business-unit borders,” says Sheila Forte-Trammell, who manages IBM’s mentoring programs.

Whether it's to groom future leaders, help onboard new employees or improve job satisfaction, morale and loyalty there are a myriad of reasons companies would want to build on the power of mentoring programs. Below are a couple of articles that talk about how to start just such a program. If you are in a position to get a mentoring program started these articles are valuable tools. If you are someone hoping for something like this at your workplace perhaps you can forward these links to your manager or to someone in HR responsible for employee satisfaction.


If you have any additional ideas on how or why to start a mentoring program or ways to create incentives for mentors and mentees please send them along or comment below!


Recommended reading:
Here's a great article by Greg Smith entitled "How to Create an Effective Mentoring Program" which gives a wonderful overview of a typical mentoring program.

Here is another article which is quite comprehensive on "How to Start a Mentorship Program". The author discusses reasons for mentoring and the usefulness of establishing goals for your program. It also points you to some additional resources.