How to Monitor Your Mentee’s Professional Growth in the Workplace

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A workplace mentorship program allows a more experienced employee to mentor, support, guide, and influence the professional growth of a less experienced employee, known as a mentee.

An essential requirement for all mentorship programs is the ability to monitor and measure their success. Establishing metrics for success is essential so you can prove the program is succeeding and the mentee is growing professionally.

Here are some benefits of a successful mentoring program in the workplace:

• Improved career development. Mentorship programs help transfer knowledge from one employee who may be leaving to another who will take on their role, usually a promotion. In addition, the mentor develops leadership skills for their career development.
• Improved onboarding experiences. Mentorship programs will help new employees better understand their daily tasks and know who to report to, improving the onboarding process since employees grasp their roles faster.
• Supports a learning culture. Mentorship programs create a collaborative learning culture in the workplace, which improves employee skills.
• Reduces onboarding costs. Mentorship programs make promoting from within easier, which reduces the costs of finding, hiring, and training new employees.
• Boosts employee retention. 86% of professionals told PushFar that having access to mentoring would be a factor in staying with an organisation, with 42% saying it would be a significant factor.

In this article, we've outlined five ways a great mentor can monitor the professional growth of mentees.

1. Track Goal Progress

At the start of the mentorship program, you and your mentee should establish clear and realistic goals based on what your mentee wants to achieve professionally. You can use the SMART framework for goal setting:

• Specific. Define what needs to be accomplished or achieved - the specific goal.
• Measurable. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measures of performance toward a specific goal that can be tracked throughout the program.
• Achievable. Ensure the goal is something your mentee can reasonably achieve.
• Relevant. Ensure the goal aligns with the needs of your workplace.
• Time-Bound. Assign a deadline or time frame for completion of the goal.

Tracking KPIs is an ideal way to monitor your mentee's progress towards their goal. The KPI (or goal) can vary depending on your mentee's industry or role but can include the number of sales, revenue, productivity, customer satisfaction, or retention.

Jason Gozikowski, senior program manager at Boeing, said: "I help my mentees set realistic goals that align with what they are attempting to achieve. These goals are measured against their progress on a monthly basis to ensure they stay calibrated. The continuous monitoring allows me to help the mentees build confidence and stay motivated as they venture along their career journey."

2. Review the SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is conducted at the start of a mentorship program to assess the mentee's:     

• Strengths. These skills and positive attributes give you an advantage in the workplace.
• Weaknesses. These skills and attributes require improvement to succeed.
• Opportunities. These are accessible resources and workplace opportunities that will support you in your professional growth.
• Threats. These challenges, pressures, and practicalities may get in the way of your goals.

It is essential for you and your mentee to review and update the SWOT analysis regularly throughout the program to identify new strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

With regular feedback and monitoring, a mentee can use their strengths to exploit new career opportunities, use those opportunities to overcome weaknesses, use strengths to tackle workplace threats, and use threats to improve weaknesses.

Trinity Aikens, director of marketing at We Are White Hat, said: "If you are considering a career change, preparing for new job opportunities or have hit a wall with your development, a personal SWOT analysis could be a perfect tool to help you get unstuck and future-proof your career."

3. Communicate Regularly

Communication is essential throughout a mentorship program. It allows you and your mentee to share observations, concerns, and feedback collaboratively.

It also gives you a chance to follow the previous two steps—tracking goal progress and reviewing the SWOT analysis—in an understanding and helpful manner.

When communicating with your mentee, try to promote yourselves as a team using 'we' rather than 'you'. Here are some ways you can communicate with your mentee:

• One-to-one meetings in person.
• Video conferences.
• Email updates.
• Instant messaging platforms.

In addition, use your regular chats to recognise your mentee's achievements and efforts with encouragement. This builds trust, rapport, and understanding.

Brandon Rhodes, program experience manager at Disney Experiences, said: "I agree that regular communication is key to effectively monitoring a mentee's process. As a leader with direct reports, I find that building positive relationships and trust early on can be extremely helpful whenever you need to give feedback.  I also encourage other leaders to practise active listening during their conversations. During formal one-on-one meetings, remove any potential distractors (cell phones, computers/laptops, or other electronic devices). Ensure that you are providing your mentee with your undivided attention."

4. Use a Mentor Tracking System

A mentor tracking system allows mentors to monitor their mentees' progress, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, set goals, and track KPIs.

Mentoring platforms such as PushFar offer tracking features that present information related to the mentor-mentee relationship in one panel. The platform can also be used to schedule mentoring meetings, set and track goals, and conduct meetings.

In addition, a business will only continue to invest time and money in a mentoring program if it sees results. So, a mentor tracking system is a great way to see evidence-based return on investment (ROI) data.

5. Observe Their Online Learning

Your mentee may participate in an online course throughout the mentorship program to further enhance their skills and knowledge.

Online course platforms provide mentees with interactive and engaging lessons and materials to learn from. Students - in this case, your mentee - can take notes and sit exams to test their knowledge.

You should observe and track your mentees' progress and test scores so you can learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you adapt your mentees' SWOT analyses and determine what they need further guidance on for the duration of the mentorship program.

Grant Aldrich, founder & CEO of OnlineDegree.com, said: "The reason why online learning is useful is that everyone learns in their unique way, at their own pace. People can be inconvenienced by attending a workshop and may get intimidated by more extroverted participants. However, with online learning, employees can go through topics and soak in information at their speed. Elearning also allows taking the end of course assessments, which keeps participants alert. Some employees may even take more notes in an online setting than in-person, thus better retaining the information."

Conclusion

A workplace mentorship program is an effective way to prepare an employee for an internal promotion and help them grow professionally. Mentees can use these programs to learn new skills and more about the role from the person who understands it best.

Author Bio

I'm Neve Wilkinson, an experienced content writer at Solvid. I focus on marketing and business articles, and have previously been featured on HRreview, SitePoint, The Future Of Commerce, Boostability, and more. Feel free to check out my LinkedIn.