Over the course of a career, we face challenges that stretch our knowledge and skills to their limits. During these times, the advice of a more seasoned professional can be invaluable, especially as we encounter unfamiliar trials or struggle to understand the nuances of how things get done in our organizations.

Many successful executives point to the guidance of a mentor as essential to their development. Over 75% of executives said mentoring was one of the key factors in their business success, according to survey by The American Society for Training and Development.

What’s more, firms that establish effective mentoring programs find that turnover and employee loyalty improve because talented employees appreciate this type of training and development. According to Business Finance Magazine, 77% of companies surveyed credited mentoring with increasing employee retention and performance.

Mentors get something out of these relationships too—a better understanding of the more junior people that they work with. Since these people are the potential future owners of the firm, it’s certainly beneficial for older hands to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to the up-and-comers. Being a mentor also allows seasoned professionals to keep a fresh perspective on the industry and often times can learn from the experience as much as the mentee.

Occasionally, mentoring relationships develop organically—a seasoned pro takes a promising younger worker under his wing. These relationships are beneficial, but they only arise in a happenstance way. Firms that develop formal mentoring programs create a better opportunity to ensure that the mentoring relationships foster individual career development to support the firm’s goals.

Here are some key points to remember when launching a formal mentoring program:

Commitment
A mentoring program, done properly, can be time consuming for an organization. Beyond the time taken by facilitators to develop, organize and institute the program, participants will be taking time our of their work day. Lost billable hours will directly effect the short term, but a committed firm will recognize the long term gains.

Participation should always be voluntary. Anybody that finds the program burdensome, or just isn’t interested, is unlikely to get anything out of it. In addition, everyone should buy into the specific purpose of the program and understand that it is meant to benefit the firm as a whole.

Define firm goals and choose participants
Take a look at the big picture. A mentoring program should take the firm’s needs into consideration. Anticipate future needs. After firm goals have been identified, survey employees to find out their goals, interests, and expectations. This information will be helpful in choosing participants as well as making mentor/protégé matches.

An ideal mentor should be someone with a good reputation at the firm, and who understands its ways. Every firm has unwritten rules about how clients should be handled, how to approach management for procedural reforms, and many other sensitive subjects. These matters are typically learned through experience. A veteran can help a junior employee to shorten the learning curve in these areas as well as gain a sense of connection and belonging to the firm.

The mentor also needs to be willing to invest the time, and should genuinely want to help others. Some firms offer mentors rewards such as extra pay or vacation time for participating, but the opportunity to give back their industry can be reward enough to the right person.

Matchmaking
It’s crucial to match the skills and experience of mentors with the needs of protégés. Prospective managers should be matched with those who excel at managing people, for example.

Besides being a professional match, it is also important to ensure that the personalities of the mentor and mentee are compatible. When personalities don’t mesh, it might be necessary to occasionally reassign some mentors and protégés. These reassignments should be viewed as a normal part of the process, not as failures on anyone’s part. Chemistry is an important factor in any relationship.

Offer training
Providing mentors and protégés with training at the beginning of the program will help make it go more smoothly. A day of workshops with some examples of role-playing can be a valuable learning experience for all participants. Mentors should brush up on their active listening skills and learn ways to provide constructive, honest feedback while maintaining a supportive environment.

Protégés should learn that they will ultimately be responsible to seek out what they need from the mentor and will be accountable for their career decisions. The protégé will learn to be open to constructive criticism and respectful of advice without becoming defensive. Identifying specific issues that are important to their career development and researching discussion topics to bring to the table will be key factors to be covered as well.

Define parameters and objectives for each relationship
A formal mentoring relationship begins with the two parties coming to an agreement that spells out how often they are to meet. Meetings scheduled should never be broken. The mentor/mentee relationship is a commitment and should be treated accordingly. It is also important to define a date for the relationship to end and plan objectives accordingly. The typical mentor/protégé relationship lasts about six months or a year.

Goals to be accomplished by the protégé should be clearly defined at the beginning of the relationship as well. The mentor will help ensure focus on the goals by helping to establish smaller objectives through the established time period.

Close the loop
When the mentoring relationships wind up, the mentor and protégé meet to assess what has been learned in relation to the protégé’s goals, and what the protégé should concentrate on to continue to improve his or her skills. The pair may agree to keep in touch periodically to keep the protégé on the right course.

Survey and refine
After a mentoring program has been underway for several months, survey participants to find out how things are going, and how the arrangements can be improved. Share insight on ways to make mentoring more successful. In time, these arrangements should be a net gain for the entire firm.

What do you think? Let us know.