Managing non-participants

Because mentors are a scarce resource, it’s inevitable that not everyone can be part of a formal mentoring programme at the same time. So it’s important that people who are not selected remain positive about the programme and about their personal development.

Here is an example of how you might communicate to potential mentees at the programme launch.

The mentoring programme aims to support our talented employees in making transitions that will prepare them for greater responsibility in future roles. Being considered for the programme is a recognition of your potential. Selection for the launch programme is based on perception of current need – the level of impact that mentoring may have on your development and career right now. So participation is based on a combination of potential and current need.

Mentoring provides an additional support to what any talented person should be doing anyway – taking regular stock of their career, developing their skills and knowledge, gaining feedback from colleagues, building a strong track record of achievement. Whether or not you participate in the launch mentoring programme, it’s still important to invest time, energy and thought into these activities and is committed to helping you do so.

Some of the resources available to you in maintaining your focus on your development are:

• The wide range of courses available through your HRBP
• The educational materials on the People Development Way portal
• Developmental discussions with your line manager, particularly about taking on new responsibilities in your current role
• Informal mentoring outside the programme. You will find that you gain more from a formal mentoring programme and are better prepared for it, if you have already experienced some informal mentoring. You can find more information on how to find a mentor on The People Development Way portal.

Some dos and don’ts:

Do

• Ensure that people, who are selected, understand their responsibility not to boast about it
• Make selection criteria clear and ensure that people perceive them as fair
• Hold briefings for wider talent pool, to make them aware of developmental opportunities generally and to position mentoring as just one option, suitable for some people at some times.
• Offer informal mentoring opportunities on an ad hoc basis, for people outside the programme
• Monitor how both participants and non-participants feel about the programme
• Expect participants to talk with their boss before they put themselves forward for the programme

Don’t

• Hope that people who aren’t selected, won’t notice
• Use unreliable, mechanistic tools, such as the non-box grid, to select participants
• Tell people they were “unsuccessful”
• Allow people to take away the impression that the mentoring programme is some kind of fast-track scheme
• Limit communications about the progress of the programme. People can still feel involved, if they are part of the audience.
• Rely heavily on nomination by bosses – it tends to undermine the diversity agenda

© 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