This blog post is the third in a series we started to discuss what many businesses are asking us when they are considering implementing a mentoring program. The first step involved determining whether it is a mentoring program they need or if it is something else… like coaching. The second step was for folks that have decided that it is mentoring that their business needs, but are confused or are unsure about how to next proceed.
This post is for you if you know you want mentoring for your business, have decided the type of mentoring program your business needs, but now need to do some research on the mentoring vendor you want to work with and believe will be the most beneficial to your company.
How do I find the right vendor for my company’s mentoring needs?
A quality mentoring vendor should ask you the following questions about your ideal mentoring program as well as provide solutions:
- What will be the focus of your program and what strategic objective is it linked to?
- Have you developed criteria for who can or cannot be a mentor or mentoree?
- How do you anticipate doing the matching?
- What type of ongoing follow-up or support do you intend to provide to pairs during your program?
- What plans do you have to train mentors, and mentorees and to orient mentored managers?
- What ground rules will you establish for the pairs in how they should work together?
Possible solutions for you:
We obviously can’t speak for other vendors, but can tell you what Management Mentors can offer you and your company during this stage of finding the right vendor for your company’s mentoring needs:
- Download Our Mentoring Best Practices presentation for free.
- Consult with a mentoring expert with 25 years of experience to discuss the above questions.
- Schedule a demo of Mentoring complete, our online mentoring software that boasts ease-of-use, simplified set-up, precision matching and knowledge share and which comes with all the components to get you up and running quickly.