Achieving the International Standards for Mentoring Programs in Employment
The ISMPE were designed to provide an international benchmark for good practice in the design and implementation of mentoring programs. They are administered as a not-for-profit company. The Standards cover six key areas:
- Clarity of purpose (what the program aims to achieve)
- Stakeholder training and briefing (preparing mentors, mentees and other stakeholders)
- Processes for selection and matching
- Processes for measurement and review
- Maintaining high standards of ethics
- Administration and support (how the program is run)
The first step is to download the standards from the website www.ismpe.org and review what the program is doing generally against these standards. You can also download a Self-Assessment Guide, which provides a lot more detailed guidance and/or seek help from an accredited ISMPE assessor.
You will almost certainly find some areas, where you will want to make improvements in policies or practice. If you find that there are areas, where you have consciously decided to do something different from the standard, that may be fine – the important thing is that you have considered these issues within the context of your program.
The ISMPE Award is given to programs scoring 85% or more against the standards, as follows:
- Bronze: 85% plus
- Silver: 90% plus
- Gold: 95% plus
When you feel you are ready to apply for the Award, you will need to gather the necessary documentation and other evidence. (Ideally, you can plan to gather this right from the start of the program, so it happens as an integral part of program management.) You then submit this to the ISMPE, which will appoint a First Assessor. They will review the evidence and send a detailed report, with comments and suggestions. This gives you an opportunity to make further adjustments to the program, if needed, before full submission.
The First Assessor will then conduct interviews with the program administration team and with participants, as a final validation. His or her report then goes to the Second Assessor, as a quality check. You then receive notification of the Award, which is valid for three years.
© David Clutterbuck, 2014
Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ
www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Company registration number : 08158710