6 Tips To Build A Strong Mentorship Program For New Employees

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We know for sure that your employees will fall in love with the employee welcome kits you’ve prepared with great care, but there’s another thing they will appreciate—a strong mentorship program that will help them grow and progress.

The fact is that nearly half of workers with higher education degrees leave companies where their career path is limited. So, if you want your new employees to stick around for the long run, give them a better employee experience by offering ways to improve and advance professionally.

A mentorship program does this well as it allows your new employees to be paired with skilled and experienced mentors. Another fantastic option you can look into is group mentorship.

That "it takes a village to raise a child" adage works well with your new hires. With someone guiding them, they can develop their leadership talents, strengthen how they communicate with their colleagues and so many other improvements that benefit the individual and you, the company.

If you’re still figuring out how to create a robust and engaging mentorship program, fear not! We’ve got just the thing for you, so read on for some actionable advice.

1. Lay Out All Your Goals

You can't start any program without setting goals. Once you're sure about launching a mentorship program, establish its objectives. Remember to keep them clear, concise, measurable, and attainable. These goals can help mentors set clear targets to aim for and assist organizational leaders in seeing the benefits of your program.

Goal setting for a mentorship program will typically include identifying the skills and talents of your new hires and matching their development to their areas of interest. Knowing the objectives of your mentorship program also involves making sure they align with your company's.

2. Outline The Mentoring Process In Your Workplace

Workplace mentoring initiatives come in a variety of formats. When developing a mentorship program, you must take into account:

• How will mentees apply or enroll in the program?
• Is the mentoring arrangement one-on-one, project-based, or in a group setting?
• How long will the mentoring relationship last?
• When and where will the mentor-mentee meetings take place?
• How will you gauge the program's effectiveness?

Chart the progression from your program’s enrollment to objective completion through an evaluation that will help you assess the effectiveness of the mentorship to those involved. Lastly, make an evaluation of the mentorship program. From the data you’ll get from surveys or interviews, you can create upgraded mentoring programs in the future.

3. Pair Them Up!

Once you've gathered your participants, the next step would be the pairing process. This is one of the key elements you must watch out for as it will generate either a positive or negative experience for both mentors and mentees.

There are several approaches to finding a good match, but before doing that, you must first understand what a good match means for your program.

• Ask yourself the following questions:
• Are you looking to match a new recruit with a mentor who possesses the knowledge and expertise the employee wants?
• Should the mentor and mentee have particular traits, such as shared interests, professional backgrounds, and communication preferences?
• What are the expectations of both the mentor and the mentee?
• Do they have any suggestions or ideas for creating a fruitful mentoring relationship?

Another thing you can consider is to include your mentors and mentees in the selection process. Give the mentor or mentee the option between three candidates who, in your opinion, would make suitable matches based on your assessment. Giving participants the last say in the decision-making process might make them feel like they have some control over it.

4. Provide Resources To Mentors

Training your mentors before the mentorship program starts is better so they know your expectations and how to support their mentees most effectively. Talk about the following:

• What does a workplace mentoring program entail?
• What advantages will mentors and mentees experience?
• How frequently will mentorship occur?
• How will the mentoring program be structured?

Your mentors can approach mentoring in different ways. For example, they might opt to role-play sales calls or other crucial interactions, demonstrate new skills, or monitor the mentee and provide constructive feedback. Talk about these options with them and urge them to collaborate closely with their mentees to create a program that benefits both participants.

Mentoring training aims to give your mentors the tools they need to succeed. Each mentor will then decide on the best strategy based on their prior interactions and evaluation of the mentee.

5. Have Regular Check-Ins

Your job doesn’t end once your participants are paired. Create a strategy for staying in touch with participants at the start, finish, and all stages of the mentoring relationship.

Ask participants for their opinions on the experience. You can refine your program by learning what worked and what didn't. Furthermore, you also have to prepare yourself to deal with issues that may arise, such as a mentee who wants a different mentor.

6. Keep A Detailed Report

Building a solid onboarding mentorship program requires having a well-defined reporting process. Some of the crucial parameters you have to monitor are:

• Signups. The number of registrations you are getting indicates your organization's mentorship program's popularity.
• Mentor and Mentee Objectives. The foundation of a mentoring relationship is setting mentee objectives and preparing your new hires to achieve them.
• Anecdotal Testimony. Program managers should get in touch with mentees at various program phases and ask them for feedback.
• Session Evaluation. After each session, these evaluations from mentors and mentees can help provide new insights into the program.
• Business Results. It’s essential to demonstrate to executives how the onboarding mentoring program is advancing company goals.

Engaging New Employees With Great Mentors and A Good Mentorship Program

Although starting a mentorship program might be challenging, your company and your employees will gain so much from it once it is up and going. With a strong program in your workplace, it will be easier for your ambitious new hires to achieve their professional objectives with the help of their willing advisors.

Head to PushFar's Mentoring Resources section for more mentoring articles and resources.

Author Bio

This article was guest written by Regi Publico. Regi Publico is a full-time writer based in Manila who is also an artist for fun. She takes pride in her towering collection of books and loves reading about anything under the sun. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge through every article that she writes.