Lis Merrick
In the latest in a series of columns dedicated to mentoring, we take time out to give your mentoring programme a springtime health check. This issue: freshen up your offer
Don’t let your mentoring programme lose direction during the summer – get it into shape now
Spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner, so it’s a good time for external consultants or internal co-ordinators to check organisations’ programmes are in tip-top condition to keep them going into the autumn.
Many programmes tend to launch or set up new cohorts in the autumn or before Christmas. Then they drift into a malaise during the early part of the year.
Effective formal mentoring needs nurturing and energising to deliver the best outcomes, and could usually do with a freshen-up before people start drifting off on their holidays.
1. Monitor the programme
When did you last do some interim evaluation or check in with your mentors and mentees? Is it a good time to carry out a mid-term series of focus groups or confidential questionnaires? Or, if resources allow, some one-to-one check-ins with mentors and mentees? Regular formative evaluation from programmes will inform the effectiveness and allow changes to be made and factors to be rectified that might be having an impact on performance.
Health tips
It is most effective to set up the evaluation framework at the outset. Don’t leave it till later.
Work in the evaluation seamlessly so that mentors and mentees feel comfortable giving confidential, ongoing feedback on the process.
2. Are you developing the mentors?
A well-designed programme will not only start with a robust briefing or training for mentors and mentees, but will continue to provide up-skilling and supervision during its life. If it is too difficult to get mentors together as groups, then invite them to a webinar, or have a mentoring newsletter, or use the organisational intranet to post new materials for them.
Health tips
Ideally, there should be some development intervention for mentors at least twice a year.
Don’t forget: mentor supervision, quality assurance and ethical practice checks are key.
3. Is ‘real’ mentoring really going on?
You will find this out from your check-in with participants. It’s sad how little actual mentoring is going on in some formal organisational mentoring. Not because of time issues, but due to lack of rapport and trust in the relationships, poor matching, or mentees not being aware of what they can really discuss.
Health tips
Take into consideration organisational culture, power dynamics and senior stakeholder support – it’s not too late to change the way the programme is set up.
Check at the outset that mentors and mentees know enough about the programme objectives and what mentoring is really about, to feel confident moving forward.
You have a no-fault separation clause – there is no stigma in using it!
Finally, make sure they have safe support to go to, internally or externally, if they get ‘stuck’.
If you can already tick off all these tips, your programme is in good shape – well done! n
Next issue: using role-model mentors in mentoring programmes.
Coaching at Work, Volume 9 Issue 3