Selecting mentoring participants

Summary

• Importance of selection
• Key steps in selecting participants

Selecting participants for your programme can be a challenge. Generally you will be guided by what your programme purpose is. If this is a graduate programme you will have your mentee group identified immediately. This will also aid your thinking in who you might want to approach as mentors as some criteria you might want for them is that they’ve been in the business for a certain number of years and that they are good role models for the values and culture for the business – it is good to have mentors who will set a great example to new employees.

A suggested approach to selection is detailed here.

1: What are the needs of your mentees?

A critical question here is: “What kind of help is the mentee likely to find most useful?” Do they most need emotional support and encouragement, access to specific experience, the broader perspective that comes from greater seniority in an organisation, access to networks or something else entirely; or a mixture of these? Other mentor needs may include frequency of meeting, location of meeting and ability to respect and align with the mentor.

2: What is the mentor profile?

The next question is: “Who realistically can meet those needs?” As mentees’ needs will vary, it isn’t usually possible to define an “ideal” mentor. But you can outline a rough outline that defines the kind of person, who will be suitable (a sort of job description) is helpful; perhaps alongside one of who will not be suitable (e.g. do you like the sound of your own voice?). Relevant issues here might include:

• The experience gap between mentor and mentee
• The hierarchy gap
• Interest in developing others
• Interest in developing oneself

3: The mentor pool

The key question here is: “Where are our potential pools of mentors and how large a group are they?” Your mentor profile might now limit the numbers of people who have the qualities you’ve identified. It is better to scale back on numbers at this stage than have the uncomfortable situation of having to tell potential mentees that you do not have a mentor for them. Other considerations at this point include:

• How many mentees can we assign per mentor?
• How well do the mentor and mentee groups match?

Sources of mentors may include:

• Previous participants in mentoring programmes, both mentors and mentees (as mentors themselves, but also by recommending colleagues, who haven’t participated before)
• People on leadership, or other developmental courses (people with some coaching experience), who will benefit from an opportunity to practice skills they’ve learnt

Working with a group of existing or potential mentors, who meet the profile, can stimulate ideas about where and how to reach potential new mentors.

4: The marketing plan

How will we reach potential mentors? The two key issues underpinning this are selecting the media and customising the messages, which go out through the media. Some of the media, which you can use, include:

• Articles and /or advertisements in the press (e.g. in-company newsletters or internal radio/ television)
• E-mail (e.g. to all senior managers in a company)
• Web-ads to members of societies and association
• Direct approaches – asking people in your own networks, if they would like to volunteer
• A promotional video, demonstrating the value of mentoring
• Posters
• Texting
• “Lunch & Learn” sessions – short meetings where people can gain a basic understanding of what it means to be a mentor
• Using previous participants (mentors and mentees) as ambassadors for the programme.

The messages usually tend to revolve around two themes: “What’s in it for the organisation? and “What’s in it for me?” If these messages are not clear, potential mentors may be discouraged. Some potential mentors may opt to be mentees, to experience what is involved from that perspective first.

It is helpful to use the steering group to test out messages and to identify potential barriers, which might prevent people from putting their names forward. Recognising and addressing these issues in the marketing message can substantially improve response rates.

Some of the most common reasons include:

• I don’t have time. (Answer: busy people often make the best mentors)
• I don’t feel confident. (Answer: we’ll train you in the skills, which you can use later on in other situations as well)
• I don’t think my own boss will let me do it. (Answer: it’s easier if being a mentor becomes one of your own developmental goals)

It’s also important to recognise that people often need more than one “hit” to move them from awareness to action. A pragmatic approach might be:

• Raise general awareness and interest (e.g. through an e-mail and articles)
• Create opportunities for peer discussion (e.g. briefing sessions)
• Direct personal approaches (e.g. cold calling by telephone)

Keep a record of all people, who come to briefings, or who you approach directly. Even if they say no, they are still prospects for the future. They can also be useful in referring other people as potential mentors. Keep in touch with them, send them information about programme successes and ask them again a few months later. If you can use programme ambassadors (current or previous participants) to nudge them along, so much the better!

5: Don’t compromise on who you recruit

It can be tempting, if you are struggling to find enough mentors, to accept people, who do not fit the mentor profile. In almost every case, where this has happened, it has damaged the programme. Engage the steering group, if you have one, in thinking through how to expand the recruitment drive and be creative, but don’t compromise. (One programme in this situation got back on track with a campaign that emphasised how difficult it was, for people to qualify as one of its mentors. The association with status worked as people, who had been too busy before, decided that they liked being part of an elite team!)

© 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
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