Increasing Mentorship Participation
Organizations that offer mentoring opportunities know that mentoring is a powerful tool that can have a positive impact in many ways. Mentoring encourages employee development, helps build strong teams, positively impacts employee engagement, and increases retention.
Many organizations invest in developing mentoring programs which take commitment including time and monetary resources. So, why is participation in mentoring programs in most organizations less than desired?
In recognition of National Mentoring Month, here are some strategies that can help increase mentorship participation: [Link here]
Market your mentoring program
As with most things in our world today, communication is the key to success. When designing or implementing a mentoring program, focus on letting employees know about and understand the specific benefits of the program.
You need to market to potential participants. They need to know how participating in the mentoring program will help them reach their professional and personal goals. Then provide them the resources to help them reach those goals and so employees will want to participate. Be sure your mentoring program and process is inclusive and accessible, encouraging the feeling of belonging needed for a successful and enduring program.
One way to capture people’s imagination and encourage them to want to be a mentor or a mentee is by gathering examples of how mentoring has worked for people in your organization. Interview senior staff members to gather their success stories of how mentoring impacted their careers. Then craft stories that can be shared with potential participants.
Use the stories and examples when communicating via email messages, texts, or at all hands meetings to share information but also to encourage participation. Take every opportunity to see mentoring as a key to success at your organization.
Incorporate storytelling when sending the message that mentoring is not just a “nice to have program” but is an essential component of every employee’s career development.
Provide resources for mentors and mentees
Develop lists of podcasts, webinars, articles, books and more to help mentors develop their skills and abilities.
Hold activities for mentors and mentees to encourage participation. Get people together to share success stories or hold problem solving sessions to help each other navigate tricky situations.
Recognize and reward participation in mentoring programs. Research what would be meaningful to your staff so that you are rewarding what is motivating. For example, time off and professional development opportunities are highly valued by employees today so find ways to incorporate them into your recognition programs to encourage participation in mentoring programs.
Carefully match mentors and mentees
Make it easy to participate in mentoring programs in your organization. Take the time to carefully match mentors and mentees by getting to know their strengths and their potential. Emphasize the value that participating in a mentoring program will have on the employee’s development.
Remember, mentorship programs are a powerful employee career development tool so encourage your organization to find ways to increase participation. Your program will not have the impact you desire unless you actively work to communicate its benefits. All of these topics and more are included in our free e-book that you can download here: Essentials of Employee Mentoring Programs.