2. Agenda
• Discuss the critical components of a successful mentoring
program
– Review what research reveals as best practices
– Have attendees share their insights
• Review a case study example from M&T Bank
– Mentoring program developed over two years ago
– Focus on high performing Vice Presidents
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3. Why Mentoring?
Mentees report: Mentors report:
Increased job satisfaction Satisfaction from developing
others
Increased organizational
commitment/retention
New/expanded perspectives
Improvements in career
growth options
More promotions/better Greater familiarity with talent
compensation
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4. What’s Needed for a Successful Mentoring
Program?
Evaluate the program
Implement the program
Design the program
Identify mentees and mentors
Identify program goals and gain
senior manager support
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5. Define Program Goals and Gain Support
• What organizational outcome(s) are you trying to
address?
– Knowledge transfer
– Engagement
– Productivity
– Diversity in talent pool
– Retention
– Succession planning
• Does the organization’s culture lend itself to mentoring?
• Which senior managers will you need support from and
how will you gain that support?
• What’s your budget?
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6. Identify Mentees and Mentors
• What population of mentees are you looking to serve and
in what way(s)?
• What does an ideal mentee look like?
– Willing to learn, open to feedback
– Interested in further career growth at the organization
– Willing to drive the partnership
– Maintain confidentiality
• What does an ideal mentor look like?
– Outside of mentee’s reporting hierarchy
– Accomplished role model
– Eager to help develop others
– Effective listening, feedback, and coaching skills
– Able to make a time commitment
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– Maintain confidentiality
7. Design the Program
• How long will the program last?
• Who’s responsible for designing, implementing, and
assessing the program?
– Mentoring program manager
– Steering committee
• How will you evaluate the program?
– Interview and/or survey mentors, mentees, and mentees’
managers before, during, and after the program
• How will you pair mentors and mentees?
– Use of a survey to assess preferences, needs
– Allow mentors and mentees to meet one another prior to making
selections
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8. Design the Program
• What content do you need?
– Training for mentors and mentees (roles, expectations, best
practices)
– Networking time for mentors and mentees
– Industry/organizational presentations
– Senior management guest speakers
• How will you deliver the content?
– In-person meetings (program kick-off and at least the first
mentor-mentee meeting)
– Videoconferencing
– Webex sessions
– Company intranet/file sharing medium (e.g. SharePoint)
– Mentoring program software (e.g. Insala)
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9. Design the Program
• What pre-program communications are needed?
– Identify potential mentees and mentors
– Educate mentees’ (and possibly mentors’) managers about the
program
– Invite mentees and mentors to participate
• What logistics need to be addressed?
– Facility rental
– Travel arrangements (e.g. hotel, transportation)
– Meals/snacks
– Materials (e.g. nametags, agendas, binders)
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10. Implement the Program
• What do participants need prior to program kick-off?
– Event details, agenda
– Completion of any pre-work
• What support do you need the day of?
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11. Evaluate the Program
• What should you measure?
– Base questions on the goals of the program
– Level 1: Reaction
• Did you like the event, venue, food, facilitators?
– Level 2: Learning
• Did you learn more about the organization?
• Did you meet people you didn’t know before?
– Level 3: Behavior/Application
• Are you more engaged?
• Are you more productive?
– Level 4: Results
• Are mentees more likely to stay with the organization?
• Are mentees getting promoted more quickly?
• Are mentees more successful?
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12. Evaluate the Program
• How do you measure?
– Interview/survey mentees, mentors, and mentees’ managers
before, during, and after the program
– Compare mentees’ retention and promotion rates to those of a
control group
• What happens with the results?
– Use to make changes to the program
– Use to make decisions about future participants
– Share with senior managers
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13. M&T’s Senior Leadership Development
Program (SLDP) Mentoring Program
• Alumni from a senior leadership development program
started the mentoring program
• Goals included increasing employee engagement,
productivity, and retention
• Senior manager support obtained easily
– SLDP alumni driven
– Comfort level with mentoring (M&T culture and some research)
• Key program features
– 10-month mentoring partnership
– Opportunities to network
– Ability to learn about the bank’s divisions, culture, strategy, and
initiatives
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14. SLDP Mentoring Program: Identifying
Mentees and Mentors
• Mentors:
– SLDP alumni (50)
– Senior managers with tenure of 15 to 20 years
– Voluntary participation
• Mentees:
– Vice Presidents (50 out of 2700)
– High-potentials identified through divisional talent review
meetings
– Representation from all geographies and divisions
– Voluntary participation
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15. SLDP Mentoring Program: Design the Program
• Two-step process for pairing mentees and mentors
– Speed mentoring
• Surveyed mentees prior to program kick-off to determine what they
were looking for in a mentor, which specific mentors they’d like to
meet at the program kick-off
• Used 75-minute session to enable mentees to meet with seven
different mentors
– Mentor selection
• Surveyed mentees after the program kick-off to identify their top
seven mentor choices
• Surveyed the mentors to determine their preferences
• Program manager makes pairings to accommodate as many
preferences as possible (mentee preferences took priority)
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16. SLDP Mentoring Program: Design the Program
• September: Two-day program kick-off event with all
mentors and mentees
– Division/initiative updates from senior managers
– Training for mentors and mentees
– Speed mentoring
– Dinner the first night and lunch the second day
• October through May: Mentee-mentor interactions
– One on one meetings
– Shadow day(s)
• June: Two-day program wrap-up event with all mentors
and mentees
– Division/initiative updates from senior managers
– Dinner the first night and lunch the second day
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– Next steps discussion for mentors and mentees
17. SLDP Mentoring Program: Design the Program
• Mentoring Program Manager
– Member of HR
– Facilitate mentee training session
– Pair mentors and mentees
– Available as confidential resource for both mentors and mentees
– Facilitate “next step” conversation at wrap-up meeting
• Steering Committee
– Five SLDP alumni, one administrative person
– Design and facilitate the kick-off and wrap-up meetings (e.g.
create the agenda, invite speakers)
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18. SLDP Mentoring Program: Design the Program
• Pre-program communications
– Emailed managers of potential mentees
– Emailed mentees an invitation to participate
– Creation of a “bio book” that included mentors and mentees
• Corporate title, functional title
• Division, department
• State, city
• Tenure at M&T
• M&T work history
• Interests, activities, fun facts
• Headshot
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19. SLDP Mentoring Program: Implement the
Program
• Program kick-off meeting in Buffalo, NY (Hotel @
Lafayette)
• Program wrap-up meeting in Baltimore, MD (TBD)
• Use of internal Travel Department
• Magnetic nametags – name, department, location, and
special flag indicating “mentor” or “mentee”
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20. SLDP Mentoring Program: Evaluate the
Program
• Program costs (100 participants)
– $25,000 for each two-day meeting (facility rental, hotel rooms,
lunch, cocktail dinner, and materials)
– $15,000 for each two-day meeting for attendees’ travel costs
(flights, trains, cabs, airport parking, travel meals)
– 40 hours of work for Program Manager
– 20 hours of work per Steering Committee member
• Results
– Surveyed mentees, mentees’ managers, and mentors at the
conclusion of each in-person meeting and at the end of the
program
– Tracking mentees in order to evaluate retention and career
progression/promotions
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21. SLDP Mentoring Program: Evaluate the
Program – Mentee Results
64%
52%
96% learned more about 60%
are more engaged
broadened their divisions, projects, have a new/
and more willing to
network culture, and enhanced skill
stay with the bank
strategy
48% are more
80% met a
effective because
person that can
they know how
act as an
to operate within
advocate
the culture
44% identified
64% are more
career path(s)
efficient because
they want to
they know more
pursue at the
people to contact
bank
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22. SLDP Mentoring Program: Evaluate the
Program – Mentees’ Managers Observations of
Mentees
69%
62%
are more effective 46%
69% are more efficient
because they know identified career
Have a new/enhanced because they know
how to operate in path(s) they want to
skill more people to contact
alignment with the pursue at the bank
for assistance
culture and strategy
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23. SLDP Mentoring Program: Evaluate the
Program – Mentor Results
100%
have the satisfaction 68% 47%
37%
of knowing they broadened their developed new
are more engaged
helped develop network perspectives
someone
58% identified a
person(s) they
can recommend
for
current/future
job opportunities
42% are more
efficient because
they know more
people to contact
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24. References
• Designing Workplace Mentoring Programs: An Evidence
Based Approach by Tammy Allen, Lisa Finklestein, and
Mark Poteet (March 2009)
• The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring: A Multiple
Perspectives Approach by Tammy Allen and Lillian Eby
(May 2010)
• “The link between career plateauing and mentoring”, a
thesis by Elizabeth Lentz (April 2004)
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