Innovation Leaders Embrace Mentoring [Institute of Management and Administration] Thursday 03/10/05 10:46 AM
According to the American Society for Training and Development, BEST Award winning companies (Awarded on Innovation and Thought Leaders) offer mentoring and coaching opportunities to fully 69% of their employees.
Intel has had mentoring in place since 1969. Intel's key differentiator: they match skills to needs regardless of tenure and position. One famous example is a senior administrative assistant who is a top mentor for sales, engineers and top management because she knows who to call and who to go to for which needed skills.
Blank Rome, a law firm in Philadelphia, has won recognition for their program from College of Law Practice Management. Their key ingredient is frequency of contact. They encourage weekly meetings with mentoring pairs. This regularity is best for building trust and forming bonds. Meetings can be brief visits or calls. The law firm is a frenzied place that is not conducive to conversation and networking. Their mentoring program provides a tool for new attorneys to get around this hurdle. The program pairs first year attorneys with senior and partner attorneys. The program includes funding so mentors can treat their mentee to lunch or an event once a month.
The firm also runs a networking event twice a year. The event gives new attorneys the opportunity to meet and converse with partners and senior attorneys in discussion and games geared toward solving common problems new lawyers face. An invaluable benefit of the networking program is that it lets new hires interact with and hear from several senior members at the same time, exposing them to their different thought processes and styles.
Tips for a Successful Mentoring and Networking Program:
- Establish Rules - At Intel, the mentee makes the contact and decides on the agenda and goals. They have found that 6-9 month duration is optimal.
- Set Program Goals - Some examples: encourage camaraderie, career development, share expertise, or improve company workplace.
- Make a Contract - The contract spells out the responsibilities of both sides of the relationship and guides its direction and tone. When both the mentor and mentee know what the expectations and dependencies are in advance, the relationship has a better chance of success.
- Decide on a Matching Policy - It can be based on biographical similarities or based on needed skill sets.
- Recognized Knowledge Broker - Mentor programs provide a valuable opportunity for a central player that knows who has the knowledge and who needs it.
- Provide Training - for both the mentor and mentee on mentorship relationships before they begin. Provide the option of ongoing support if needed to help redirect a mentorship back on course.
- Monitor and Revise - The best time to survey a mentorship team is as it is winding down. Find out what worked and what didn't and modify your mentor program accordingly.
- Flexibility - Instead of dictating hard and fast rules for a mentorship, set guidelines and let the relationships grow naturally. Offer guidance and redirection only when it is clearly needed.
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