Mentoring Program Design and Implementation * What is mentoring? * Why a formal program? * How do mentoring programs help? * What are keys to program success? * What training do participants need? * What are the first steps to a mentoring program? * Mentoring clients * Where can I learn more? An alternative to formal programs About my work Mary Dingee Fillmore, Director Clients Projects	First Steps Toward Mentoring Programs 1. Convince yourself. Before you start trying to persuade others, persuade yourself. Think carefully about how a mentoring program would be helpful in your particular setting. It isn't enough for it to provide mentees with guidance, information, skills and confidence; for the program to be successful, the mentors must also see that they will benefit by seeing the world from a different angle, gaining skills in a new area, and more. Is your organization one where people feel cared about and taken seriously -- particularly if they are from under represented groups? If not, a mentoring program can be a step toward turning that situation around. Do people who need mentors have access to them informally -- or only some people? One of a mentoring program's best features is that it spreads the wealth much more equitably, and gives people access to mentors who would never get them otherwise. 2. Enlist allies. No matter how good you are, you can't do it alone. Test the idea first with your friends; do they respond with cynicism or excitement? Talk with relevant Committees or Task Forces: Total Quality Management, Federal Women's Program, Human Resources Council, Equal Employment Opportunity, or whoever takes an interest in employee development. Start enlisting managers as early as you can, so your top management will hear about the program from several sources. You'll probably encounter some resistance along the way; be prepared for it. Most of the common objections (you can't match people accurately, people's expectations are unrealistic, etc.) have been overcome successfully in other programs. 3. Learn about other programs. Use your network to find information about how other people have focused their programs. The author can provide you with people to call at a number of agencies. Ask the questions that are most important to you: what was successful? what were the pitfalls? how did you match people up? how important was the training? Try to think of the questions management will want answered so you can anticipate them. 4. Prepare a proposal to top management. As with any proposal, be sure to get buy-in from anyone in the organization whose cooperation is needed to make the program work; this varies from place to place, but the human resources and EEO organizations are usually key, depending on your goals.   Successful proposals usually include the following elements: why a mentoring program is needed in your particular organization. Is it because you have a concentration of female and "minority" employees in lower grades, who reported on an employee survey that they don't have access to mentors? Is it because management is dissatisfied with the way new people aren't "catching on" when they come into the organization? Is it because you don't get a variety of applicants for management positions? There are many possible reasons for a mentoring program; be specific about which apply in your particular case. what the experience has been in other agencies. Show them that the program has already worked elsewhere in government, if possible in a similar organization. Say what the benefits have been, to mentors, mentees, and the organization itself. what your goals are, and who the target group will be. Is the purpose of your program career enhancement? orientation? skills transfer? diversification of candidates for certain jobs? Let the manager know exactly what you want the program to achieve. Vague phrases like "improve morale" don't have the same impact as specific goals. what it would take to implement the program, including numbers and costs. For most organizations, a group of l5 mentees and 20 mentors is plenty for a pilot project; a large organization where staff time is available for followup can handle twice that many. E-mail me for more information. how you plan to evaluate the program. Most pilot programs run for one year, long enough for the pairs to accomplish something but not so long that they begin to stagnate. An outside evaluator assures that you get the information you need to improve your program. Individual interviews, focus groups, and a survey provide a rich assortment of data to work with. what you want them to do right now: sign a letter (which you have drafted) chartering a mentoring committee or task force, and a letter to all employees announcing the program; agree to a date when they will kick off the program; and announce the program at staff meeting. 5. Hold a briefing to talk it over. Don't count on paper to sell management on the program; do a briefing for them as well, so you can discuss the idea. Your objectives are: to inform them about mentoring programs and what they involve to learn as much as possible about management's concerns so you can respond to them, both at the time and later. This is an opportunity for you to have some visibility; show what you can do, with good advance materials and visual aids. Role play in advance unless you have a lot of experience, and ask other people to ask you the toughest questions they can think of.
© 1996 - 1998 Mary Dingee Fillmore, Changing Work <mfillmore@usa.net>. All rights reserved.