Finding mentors for your mentoring program isn’t quite as hard as you may think. From a distance, becoming or being a mentor can seem like an unnecessary burden and time-sap. But once you delve beyond the obvious time factor and additional work, you’ll find that most people love to help other people and find great fulfilment in playing the role of mentor.
Even with this knowledge, actually finding mentors for your mentoring program can seem daunting and difficult. So here are a few ways to inspire and engage your people to want to become mentors – which will go a long way to ensuring your mentoring program’s success.
How to Identify Ideal Mentors for Your Program
As you start thinking about how to find mentors for your mentoring program, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what kind of mentors would be an ideal fit for your mentoring program. Start by defining the specific skills, expertise, and experience you are looking for in mentors. Consider the goals and objectives of your program and identify the type of mentors who can best support these aspirations. Look for individuals who have a genuine interest in mentoring and a passion for helping others succeed.
When considering the skills and expertise of potential mentors, think about the specific areas in which your program participants require guidance. Are you running a business mentoring program? If so, you may want to seek mentors who have successfully started and scaled their own businesses. On the other hand, if your program focuses on personal development, mentors with a background in coaching or management may be more suitable.
Another factor to consider is the experience level of your program participants. Are they beginners in their respective fields, or do they have some level of experience? Matching mentors with similar experience levels can be beneficial, as it allows for a more relatable and relevant mentoring relationship. Mentors who have overcome similar challenges and obstacles can provide valuable insights and guidance to mentees. On the other hand, a more traditional setup of having a mentor be more senior than a mentee might work really well for other programs. It all depends on your program goals.
Gauging Interest from Potential Mentors
Once you have identified potential mentors, it’s essential to approach them in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Start by communicating the value you believe they can bring to your mentoring program. Clearly articulate the goals, objectives, and benefits of your program, highlighting how mentors can make a meaningful impact on the lives of the program participants in less time than they think is required.
Be specific about the time commitment required from mentors and provide flexibility options to accommodate their schedules. Show genuine interest in their expertise and ask if they would be interested in sharing their knowledge and experiences with others. Remember, approaching potential mentors with a thoughtful message will increase your chances of receiving a positive response.
Additionally, consider organizing an informational session or an event specifically for potential mentors. This can provide an opportunity for them to learn more about your program, understand the support available, and ask any questions they may have. Building a sense of community and belonging amongst potential mentors can make them more likely to commit to the program.
Crafting an Effective Pitch to Mentors
Having a well-crafted pitch when approaching potential mentors is crucial for success. Highlight the specific ways in which their expertise and experience align with your program’s goals and objectives. Emphasize how their mentorship can positively impact the personal and professional growth of the mentees.
Additionally, share success stories or testimonials from past mentors and mentees who have participated in your program. Provide concrete examples of the positive outcomes and changes that have resulted from the mentor-mentee relationships. This will instil confidence in potential mentors and demonstrate that your program has a track record of success.
Lastly, assure potential mentors that they will receive support and guidance throughout the mentoring relationship. Clearly outline the resources available to mentors. These could be in the form of training sessions, mentorship guides, as well as access to their mentoring program coordinator who can address any questions or concerns that arise.
Steps to Take to Find Mentors for Your Mentoring Program
So now that you’ve gauged interest from people in your organization and have a good pitch ready, let’s get into some steps and tips for finding mentors for your mentoring program.
1. Start by promoting your mentoring program
In order for people to become mentors, they need to be aware of the program. The first step to attempting to fill the mentor side of your mentoring program is to first promote the entire program. There are a number of ways – each with their own benefits – that you can promote your mentoring program – including via email, marketing materials, and via mentoring software.
If you’d like some more details and help in promoting your mentoring program, download our promotion guide.
2. Reverse engineer the matching process
If you have already promoted your mentoring program and had little interest or feedback from mentors, then it’s time to reverse-engineer the process and create a little more tangibility and urgency.
Instead of asking people to volunteer to mentor, find your mentees first. Then take this number of mentees and find corresponding mentors.
Go to potential mentors and tell them that you have 50,100, or 200 keen co-workers who are looking for a mentor. This creates a more urgent and tangible void for the mentors to fill.
It’s kind of like dating…
Sometimes you need to know that other person wants to spend time with you, before you care to take an interest in them.
3. Lower the barriers and expectations for being a mentor
Friction is what stops people from doing things. In the case of being a mentor, sometimes it simply sounds like a lot of work – or a big commitment.
Reducing the burden of becoming a mentor inherently increases the people who are interested. With any communication you send to potential mentors, highlight the lack of time required to make a difference to a mentee – which is often less than one hour per month.
Also, reduce the perceived barriers to being a mentor. The word mentor is loaded; it conjures ideas about years of experience and success. This simply isn’t true. Everyone has some advice and experience to share and offer. A person three years into their career is in the perfect position to mentor someone who just graduated college.
4. Provide mentor incentives
If none of this works, it’s time to use your most valuable tool: the incentive.
In order to spark some interest, offer a prize for the most engaged mentor, speak to the value of becoming a mentor in seeking a management position, or offer a mentor-mentee excursion day for those who sign up.
The type of incentive is capped by your imagination – so have fun with it.
Any incentive you do provide will be a great investment, reducing people costs (such as retention, management training etc.) and improving performance for both mentors and mentees.
5. Look beyond your walls
If all of these options fail, then you may need to look beyond the walls of your organisation.
If you have a small enough program, you can look for select mentor volunteers who align well with your program goals; you can encourage your people to connect with a mentor outside of work; or you can potentially engage in cross-company mentoring – an offering that allows you to engage mentors from non-competing organisations for a small fee.
Need more ideas? Hear from the program coordinators for the award-winning mentoring programs at nib and Arup:
Retaining Mentors Long-Term
Once you have successfully recruited mentors for your program, it’s crucial to focus on retaining them in the long run. Continuously communicate with mentors and provide ongoing support and resources to ensure they feel valued and appreciated.
Regularly check in with mentors to assess their satisfaction with the program and address any challenges they may be facing. Encourage mentees to express their appreciation for their mentors’ commitment and acknowledge the impact they are making on the lives of their mentees. Consider organizing mentor appreciation events or recognition ceremonies to celebrate their contributions.
Furthermore, create opportunities for mentors to connect with each other and share best practices. Foster a sense of community and provide platforms for mentors to engage in collaborative learning and networking. This will not only help mentors feel supported but will also strengthen the overall mentoring program by promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
Disrupting the status quo is hard
Getting people to do just about anything is hard because they know and are comfortable with (and to a certain extent enjoy) the status quo. Change is inherently difficult but working to find mentors for your mentoring program doesn’t have to be a daunting task. People might just need some friendly coercion or convincing to do something they ultimately want to do.
So, go ahead and start implementing these five easy ways to find mentors and watch your mentoring program thrive!
