If you’re starting a mentoring program at your company, consider implementing a mentoring plan between each mentor and mentee.
What is a mentoring plan?
A mentoring plan is a formal agreement between a mentor and a mentee that establishes guidelines for the relationship. It’s essential to draft a mentoring plan at the beginning of the relationship so that both the mentee and the mentor are set up for success and there aren’t any major misunderstandings.
Why use a mentoring plan?
In our relationships with friends or colleagues, we tend to work out certain aspects of the relationship (such as how often we will see one another) organically and implicitly. However, in a formal mentoring program, it makes sense to formalize this process so that both the mentor and the mentee have similar expectations for the relationship.
You probably wouldn’t want to enter an employment relationship without knowing when you needed to show up for work, what you were to be paid, or what you were expected to do. Without knowing these things, both you and your employer aren’t likely to have your unspoken expectations met and be disappointed. For the same reasons, it makes sense to have a mentoring plan.
What is included in a mentoring plan?
A mentoring plan might answer the following questions for the mentor and the mentee:
How often should we meet? How long do we anticipate this mentoring relationship to last?
If a mentee wants to meet once per week while a mentor only has time for once-a-month meetings, it’s going to be difficult for the relationship to be successful. By agreeing on the frequency of meetings, both the mentor and mentee can be clear about their availability and their needs.
In addition, some mentoring relationships may have a natural endpoint, like the end of the calendar year or when the mentee graduates from business school. Other times, it might not be so clear how long the relationship will last, and it will be more important for the mentor and mentee to voice their expectations.
Where will we meet, and how will we interact?
While traditionally mentoring pairs meet face-to-face, a mentor no longer needs to be local to the mentee for the relationship to be effective. Many mentors and mentees utilize online mentoring to connect, saving time, and making possible relationships across long distances.
Also read: What are the Right Ways to Match Your Mentors and Mentees?
What specific activities will the mentor and the mentee undertake?
Most often, a mentor and mentee will simply have conversations. However, there are many more activities that the mentoring pair can engage in that can support the mentee’s career development. For example, a mentor might bring a mentee to a conference as a guest, the mentee might shadow the mentor for a day, or the pair might work on a specific project together.
What are the mentee’s goals or purpose for the relationship?
This is one of the most important questions for the mentoring plan to answer, as the role of the mentor changes due to the goals of the mentee. How is the mentee going to grow and change over the mentoring relationship?
Sometimes, mentees may be focusing broadly on developing their leadership skills, or they may be focused on developing a narrow set of skills, or they might be focused on making a critical career decision. Depending on the mentee’s goals, the mentor may be more passive and act as a sounding board for the mentee, or take a more active role and focus on providing feedback to the mentee.
How will we evaluate the success of the mentoring relationship?
While every effort should be made to pair up each mentee with the right mentor, sometimes a mentoring pair just doesn’t click. A solid mentoring plan should have opportunities for the mentee to check in and evaluate how the relationship is supporting their development goals, and opportunities for the mentor to give feedback, as well. If the stated goals of the mentoring plan aren’t being achieved, the mentor and mentee should make adjustments or consider ending the relationship.
Also read: The Value of Mentoring Women
How do you implement a mentoring plan in your company’s mentorship program?
When starting your mentorship program, one of the best things you can provide your mentor and mentee is structure. Set them up for success by asking them to complete a mentoring plan.
Some participants of your business mentoring program may not have experience putting together a mentoring plan. To get them off to the right start, provide them with a mentoring plan template. The template takes the guesswork out of making a mentoring plan by providing prompts, which allow the mentor and mentee to focus on the relationship.
Give the mentor and mentee some time to create the plan. While a formal mentoring program can help provide a structure for a mentoring relationship, it can sometimes make the relationship seem forced, unnatural, or stilted.
Asking the mentoring pair to formalize their mentoring plan too early can exacerbate these feelings. Allow time for the pair to engage, socialize, and develop a rapport before asking them to formalize different aspects of the relationship.
Want to create a solid mentoring plan for your mentoring program? We are happy to help you!
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