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Let’s examine how to
improve an existing program. Let’s start with some assumptions.
- It needs improving. At the risk of stating the obvious,
if your mentoring program is working well and people are satisfied,
don’t make radical changes beyond expanding it.
- The target audiences (potential mentees, mentors, stakeholders)
want an improved effort and are willing to participate.
- You’ve pilot tested your processes and materials
and know, at least in general, what works and what doesn’t.
- You and your group have the energy, time, and financial
backing to take on this important task. (Remember, improving
existing programs can be as hard or harder than starting a new
program from scratch.)
Assuming the above are true, here are some suggestions:
- Get more data. Sit down by yourself and list your own
objective and subjective reactions to what’s occurred
up to now. What helped mentees the most? What was fun for you
and others? What was constantly difficult and unproductive?
Ask others in your planning group to do the same, and compare
notes.
Interview numerous people. Even if you have existing
evaluation data, take the time to personally contact representatives
of all the “stakeholder” groups (e.g., past and
future mentors, past and future mentees, policymakers). Even
talk to some of the naysayers who complained about the old
program and are pessimistic about any revisions. Check with
other mentoring program planners and implementers to see what’s
working well for them.
- Compile a summary of your findings. What has to be
different this time? Whittle down the ideas into your new
program design. Draw this out in a flow chart, get
reactions, and improve it.
- Improve (or purchase better) mentoring resource materials.
At the very least, your program participants should have access
to self-study materials plus guides or booklets to use during
their training. If you’ve limped by with photocopies of
photocopies up to now, consider preparing or acquiring higher
quality materials. (They’ll make a statement about your
program’s quality.) Put together some “best practices”
used by mentors and mentees in your former program and in other
programs.
- Do more with the mentees this time. Be certain they’re
ready to take a very active role in their development and in
their mentoring relationships. Provide training for them. Have
them nominate the mentors they want, choose specific skills
on which to work, and write tentative development plans. Teach
them how to motivate and reinforce their potential mentors.
Encourage them to organize events for themselves such as brown-bag
luncheons with speakers from the mentor pool.
- Tighten up your training. Formalized programs clearly
benefit from rigorous training for mentors and mentees and from
at least a briefing for mentees’ managers (or other leaders).
In the training, emphasize mentoring concepts and
skills. Don’t let people off the hook. If they have
to miss your training event, have a back-up session for them
supplemented with self-study materials and coaching by yourself
or another skilled person.
- This time, make a commitment to solid, meaningful evaluation.
Figure out how you’ll decide (a year from now) if your
program has really made a difference: in people’s skills
and knowledge, career progress, satisfaction, promotions, retention,
productivity, or whatever else is important to your audiences.
No doubt you can think of many more steps and areas to improve;
this is only a start. Please e-mail us at info@mentoringgroup.com
with mentoring program ideas that have worked for you.
For more ideas on programs, order The
Mentoring Program Coordinator’s Guide (listed
in Product List). |
