Every year, when Mentoring Month rolls around, we all look for ways to celebrate it and showcase the ways mentoring helps us, our peers, communities, and society at large. It sounds like this big thing, and it is, but there are some easy ways you can join in on the celebrations within your own program! Here are our suggestions:
1. Ask participants to recognise and thank a mentor
Whether they mentor through a formal program or informal relationship – mentors are mentors and they all deserve some recognition. So encourage your mentees to send them some kudos and thanks, whether it’s their current mentor or someone who mentored them in a previous role. You can ask your people to:
- Record a quick video of themselves thanking that special mentor or write it as a message if they prefer. (See ours for inspiration!)
- Post their video or message on LinkedIn, your Slack channel, or your Teams chat!
This not only helps strengthen the culture of mentoring at your organisation, it also has the added benefit of giving visibility to the fantastic work you’re doing, and promoting your program.
So get everyone, especially your senior leaders and those with strong networks, involved! This would really bring home that feeling of community which helps strengthen your culture of mentoring.
Tip: Why not kick things off by being the first to send a thank you to a mentor who has shaped your own development? 😉
2. Remember why you started and how far you’ve come
Why did you and your organisation start a mentoring program in the first place? How many unique connections have been made as a result? Mentoring Month is a great opportunity to reconnect with the original purpose of your program and remind the rest of the organisation.
3. Celebrate your Mentoring Champions
Who are the strongest advocates for mentoring in your program and organisation? Your Mentoring Champions! Give them a big kudos and make sure to recognise them during Mentoring Month! After all, they’re the ones who keep that culture of mentoring alive.
4. Recruit more participants
Whilst recruiting people to your program isn’t the primary purpose of Mentoring Month, it’s a time when people are optimistic and looking for ways to attack the year with more purpose. So, you might as well take advantage!
If it’s applicable to your program, squeeze in a short and sweet recruitment push! Simply include the signup link to your program in all the comms you send out and you may well find yourself welcoming new mentors and mentees into your program!
5. Run a referral campaign
Mentoring Month is a good time to remind your participants to reflect on their experiences and the impact mentoring has had on their lives. Then, encourage them to think of a peer or colleague who might also benefit from mentoring and refer them to the program.
Whether you want to go big or low-key, there’s a way for you to celebrate the magic and the power of mentoring in your organisation or community, or society as a whole.
Marina is our Director of Customer Growth at Mentorloop. She loves dancing to live music, good food and contemporary art.
