Business Mentoring in the Banking Industry: A Case Study

In order to protect our client’s privacy, we’re going to use the name: Bank D, where “D” stands for diversity in the workplace–our client’s main objective.

Challenge: Minding the Diversity Gap

Bank D understood a mentoring program’s benefits, but it also knew it did not have the internal resources to create a formal mentoring program that had a strong diversity component. Internet searches kept pointing to Mentoring Complete, and a bank associate recommended Mentoring Complete’s President Rene Petrin and confirmed the quality of his work. Bank D interviewed three companies and chose Mentoring Complete because of its strong background in–and commitment to–diversity.  
 
One of Bank D’s managers stated, “Mentoring is vital to the success of our employees. You absolutely have to make these connections with others in the organization because they are not making them on their own. It is critical. Studies have proven that mentors help people get further in their careers and be more successful. Mentoring fills a gap that isn’t filled by managers or peers. You get so much more from a mentor. You can talk outside of what is politically correct.”

Solution: Creating “Buy-In” Among Diverse Groups While Listening & Acting Upon Recommendations

Under Mentoring Complete’s direction, Bank D put together an employee resource group for females and for African Americans. The goal of the group was to determine issues and challenges encountered in the workplace. It wasn’t a gripe session. The goal was to identify issues and to figure out what could be done to address these issues and challenges. Recommendations included more networking and mentoring, specifically for the African American group. Today, this program is still in use–new members are rotated in so that everyone’s voice is heard.
 
Mentoring Complete provided upper management and the employee resource groups with mentoring consultations and guidance. One Bank D management official said, “Rene brought out issues very directly and allowed them to be on the table. I don’t think we would have done that without him. The orientation program is tremendous! It helped us talk about the issues. He has a good style and gained credibility with everyone. He has an excellent resource book. He doesn’t hand hold. The mentors were primarily white males, and he got them to see things and talk about things. The resource book is a tremendous asset. You could tell that people utilized it. They spoke from it, chapter and verse.”

Results: Business Mentoring Done Right

In the words of another Bank D official, “Rene provides guidance and expertise that give us the confidence to produce a program that is ongoing and lasting.”