Does Mentoring Work?

Usually organizations subscribe to mentoring with the perceived end result in mind but unfortunately most of the mentoring relationships end without meeting the objective or goal. It is a huge waste if you take into account the time spent by the mentor, mentee and the HR executive who would have been made responsible for coordinating the mentoring program.

Why does this happen?

There are various reasons which cause mentoring relationships to fail:

a) Senior Sponsorship - This goes just beyond signing a corporate memo! Unless the Senior management walk the talk and extend support, the mentoring practice is bound to have a quick death.

b) Selection criteria - Lack of clear (if any) selection criteria results in a generic confusion over why a candidate has been selected. Is it recognition of ability or deficiency?

c) The need - If the mentoring relationship is not tailored to meet the mentee's needs

d) Setting Mentoring Objective - If there are no clear measurable objectives set at the start of the mentoring relationship, it is bound to fail. Neither the mentor nor the mentee will be clear about what is expected out fo the mentoring relationship.

e) Time Bound - Depending on the set objectives, define the time period by which the objectives can be achieved. If not, the mentoring relationship will not stay focused.

Different management behaviour is required in the start-up phase of a programme to that of maintenance. Getting a mentoring programme off the ground requires good communication, encouragement and active support. Once established a successful mentoring programme will create its own momentum. It certainly isn’t a numbers game; one successful mentoring relationship is better than 20 unproductive ones.