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Developing a mentoring program in your school

Some important questions to ask when preparing to implement a mentoring program.

1. Why are you setting up a mentoring program?
Institutions, Faculties and Schools may choose to set up a mentoring program for a number of reasons. There may be concerns about staff performance or retention, early career progression, or a wish to give particular groups access to support to develop their career in certain ways, for example mentoring for leadership, research, etc.

Knowing why you want to set up a mentoring program will help you to identify which particular aspects will be in focus and to answer many of the questions which follow.

2. What will be the focus of your mentoring program?
This question has two parts:
Firstly which group(s) do you propose to have mentored? Will they be: probationary/early career staff; casual staff; administrators; mid-career; future leaders; a particular equity/diversity group?

Secondly, what are the target outcomes for your program? Do you want to help orient staff to a new role? Support the development of their teaching, their research, their project work, etc.? Are you hoping to support their development for promotion purposes?

No structured mentoring program can be all things to all people. The more specific the focus and goals of a program, the more likelihood there is that it will be successful. For example a mentoring program for casual staff with the goal of “developing professionalism” is far less focused than a program designed to “develop classroom teaching” or to “develop effective assessment design”.

It is also important to remember that, while there might be a number of things that you would like a mentoring program to achieve, mentors and mentees are likely to be working within a set time-frame. If there are too many set goals, these may be skimmed over, with possibly little outcome. Fewer and more specific goals will have a greater chance of resulting in effective long-term development for the mentee.

3. How formal is the program to be?
Mentoring programs can vary enormously in their levels of formality. At the least formal level an individual (mentee) may seek the support of a more experienced colleague (mentor), or an experienced individual (mentor) might approach a less experienced colleague (mentee) they feel would benefit from their support.

In other cases staff who are willing to act as mentors may put themselves forward in a more general way. A list of available mentors can then be posted (for example, on the school website), with areas of expertise. Staff seeking mentoring can then approach a potential mentor on their own and establish a mentoring pair without formal initiation.

However, most mentoring programs will involve some level of external organisation and facilitation. Within structured programs aspects of formality might include: the length of the program; the setting of goals; formality and frequency of mentor/mentee meetings; meeting records; assessment of outcomes etc.

4. How long will the program be?
Most structured programs will have a formal timeframe, although it is possible that mentoring will continue informally after this time. The standard timeframe used is twelve months, although very targeted schemes may have a shorter timeframe (say six months).

It is important to allow the mentor and mentee time to establish a relationship and to accomplish their goals. If you have too short a timeframe, pairs may not be able to establish the trust needed to work together on developmental goals.

Any program structured within a set time will probably have a distinct beginning, middle and end, and within the planning for a mentoring program the expected period of each section should be identified.

5. What types of workload implications might there be for the mentor/mentee? How might this be managed?
University staff are busy people, and mentoring adds an extra commitment to what may well be an extremely full schedule. It is important to recognise this if your program is to succeed. Factoring mentoring (for both mentors and mentees) into workload not only allows staff the time they need, but will also illustrate the importance that your school/faculty/etc. place on the mentoring process. Including mentoring as a possible criterion in promotion or substituting a mentoring commitment for a routine administrative (or other) activity are possible ways for encouraging mentoring in your school or faculty.

6. Who will make these decisions?
To some extent this question depends upon where the program is to be located. If it is a university-wide program, decisions may well be made at the centre, for example in Human Resources. If the program is based within a specific Faculty, School or Discipline, the head of that section may make these decisions or nominate another individual or group to decide the most appropriate structure and approach for their needs.

7. How will the program be administered/facilitated?
Sometimes those who set up a mentoring program will also be responsible for administering the formal aspects of the program and facilitating the development of mentoring pairs (including working to end unsuccessful mentoring relationships). Alternatively another person (or people) may be appointed to this role. Given that administering and facilitating a program covers a number of areas, there will often be more than one person required, particularly if there are a large number of pairs. Included in the administration/facilitation responsibilities will be:

1. Identifying mentors/mentees by:
   • calling for volunteer applications (for mentors, mentees, or both)
   • identifying and approaching potential mentors
   • identifying and approaching potential mentees (individuals or groups)
   • a combination of the above
2. Pairing mentors/mentees by:
   • Matching pairs with similar areas of needs/expertise
   • Providing mentees with a list of mentor volunteers, and allowing the mentee to select a preferred mentor
   • Providing mentors with a list of possible mentees, and allowing the mentor to select a preferred mentee.
3. Organising/running any training sessions required
   • Introduction/Orientation to mentoring
   • Skills development
   • Closing the formal mentoring period
4. Developing and disseminating any necessary materials
   • Administration
   • Work sheets (goal setting, meeting reports, peer observation materials etc.)
   • Information regarding particular mentoring skills (e.g. active listening, setting goals, etc.)
5. Facilitating and supporting pairs throughout the program by:
   • Contacting mentors and mentees at various stages of the program to ensure that mentoring is ongoing and that meetings are occurring regularly
   • Following up pairs to ensure that the needs of both are being met
   • Trouble-shooting issues that may emerge in mentoring situations
   • Providing a confidential contact for individual concerns.
6. Supporting the dissolution of mentoring pairs where the relationship does not work out by:
   • Establishing a no-blame approach to the dissolution of pairs
   • Ensuring that the pairing ends amicably
   • Following up individuals to identify reasons why a particular pairing didn’t work

8. What types of training will be needed?
Training will be important for staff entering a mentoring program. Typically training involves workshops, for both orientation and skills development. Different types of training are related to different stages in the program. For example:

• Pre-program
  • Goals of the program/context
  • Expectations and procedures
  • Goal-setting, action planning
  • Listening skills
  • Reflective practice
• Mid-program
  • Reflection on experiences to date
  • Interpersonal skills (listening, giving/receiving constructive feedback, negotiating expectations etc.)
• End of program
  • Closing formal relationship
  • Transition from mentor/mentee to colleague

Another aspect of training is the length of the workshops held. While many texts suggest holding half-day/full-day workshops, this may not be feasible in terms of other time commitments mentors and mentees might have. If you are using an external trainer, half-day/full-day sessions may be most efficient in terms of resourcing. However, the important factor is that you do not try to fit too much into the workshop timeframe chosen. Suggested focus for different lengths of workshops might be:

• One hour session
  Information sessions (little interaction except for questioning)
• Two-hour session
  Very focused on a particular skill (e.g reflective practice, peer observation). A clearly defined set of outcomes will allow for participant activities to be included
• Three-hours/half-day session
  Useful for orientation of either mentors or mentees. This amount of time allows for several very brief topics and information, plus focused participant activities
• Full-day session
  Useful for orientation, general skills development and closure in which mentors and mentees take part together. Allows for an extensive range of topics to be introduced and interaction between each pair and larger group activities.

You will also need to decide who will facilitate training sessions. You may decide to use staff from within the program/school/faculty, etc. or to opt for someone external eg a consultant from outside the university, or an internal consultant such as the CTLC or experienced member of staff from another Faculty etc.

9. What ongoing support might be needed?
While mentoring pairs will be for the most part autonomous, and their work together will be confidential to the pair, some external support should be available throughout the program. By contacting pairs a little way into the program (for example at around week 6) you will be able to ascertain that individuals are happy with the way their mentoring experience is unfolding, that pairs are developing a routine for meetings etc. and to identify areas where skills training might be helpful.

10. How (and at what stage) will the program be evaluated?
It is fairly common to have a written evaluation at the end of a particular training session. However it is important that the program as a whole be evaluated when it formally ends.

This can be done in several ways. You might administer a written questionnaire, either at a closing session, or individually soon after the end of the program. Other approaches might include running focus groups for mentors, mentees (or both together), or conducting individual interviews with participants once the program is ended.

Evaluation will provide important feedback about the success of the program, and will identify areas which might be developed to ensure even greater success for future programs.

Examples of training and program evaluations can be found in the resource section.

The University of Queensland has useful information concerning setting up mentoring programs. This document can be found at: www.tedi.uq.edu.au/mentoring/index.asp.

What does a formal mentoring program look like?

As the questions above suggest, there is more to a successful mentoring program than deciding to have a program, finding some mentors and mentees and then leaving the rest to chance. Kathy Lacey (1999)¹ provides a straightforward structure for developing a mentoring program:

A Formal Mentoring Program in a Nutshell (Lacey, 1999: 21-22)

1. Assess organisational readiness
   1. Assess current attitudes to training and professional development
   2. Assess the organisation’s understanding of the concept of mentoring
   3. Agree on purpose, target group and mentoring options
   4. Define terms
2. Establish program goals
3. Pre-program phase
   1. Promote program
   2. Call for expressions of interest
   3. Select participants
   4. Match partners
   5. Design orientation and training program
4. Orientation and training
   1. Establish a rapport between partners
   2. Clearly articulate roles and responsibilities
   3. Establish protocols
   4. Provide skills training
   5. Provide a framework for a personal development plan
5. Evaluate
6. Relationship development
   1. Provide ongoing support
   2. Establish a periodic reporting program
   3. Facilitate meetings of all mentors
   4. Facilitate meetings of all mentees
   5. Facilitate meetings of pairs
7. Evaluate
8. Formal conclusion to the program
   

Matching mentees and mentors

Self-selection of mentoring pairs is an excellent approach where this is possible. However it is not always feasible. In some cases mentors and mentees may not feel they know any of the potential partners well enough to make a decision, or the pair may get on very well but not have the needs/expertise that best correspond. In a formal scheme, there can also be problems for those mentors and/or mentees who are not ‘picked’.

Some advantages and disadvantages of matching methods (Rolfe-Flett, 2002 p.18)

Matchmaking

Advantages	Disadvantages
It may shorten lead time before mentoring begins It may access a wider range of potential mentors It is easier for participants It can be completed prior to training Matching criteria, experience and judgment may enable better matches Coordinator plays a central role	It is time consuming Coordinator may lack information to make good matches Participant input or choice is lacking Some participants are uncomfortable establishing ‘artificial’ relationship Matching criteria may be questioned/criticised It may be viewed as paternalistic

Seek and self-select

Advantages	Disadvantages
There is ‘ownership’ of process and empowerment There is freedom of choice It encourages networking and independence Some participants have a clear idea of whom they want as a mentor	It may be difficult, frustrating and uncomfortable for participants Participants may lack experience or not know enough to make a good selection Time commitment may interfere with work

Facilitator/formal matching is used to match mentors and mentees according to specific criteria (either set by the program, or identified by the mentee or mentor). The external organiser can also use his knowledge of individuals’ personal approaches to best match pairs.

Below is an example of a possible matching matrix. A proforma is available in the resources section.

Matching Matrix (Example)

Mentee Name: Jo Smith

Criteria of interest	Mentor: PJ	Mentor: AS	Mentor: FM	Mentor: DK
Orientation	√	X	X	√
Research (intermediate)	√	√	√	X
Curriculum design	X	√	X	√
Assessment feedback	√	X	√	√
Lecturing	√	√	X	√

(Note, in this example, the facilitator/matcher would need to decide whether the program/mentee priority lay with research or curriculum design, to help make a final selection).

Training
Training for mentoring usually takes place in workshops, whether for mentors, for mentees or for mentors and mentees together.

• Timing and length of workshops
• Orientation
• Mid-program
• Closure

Toolkits
It is helpful to provide mentors and mentees with a mentoring ‘toolkit’, either during training or prior to the first meeting. The toolkit should be designed to provide information regarding the program, points of contact, relevant resources and ideas. Some things that might be included are:

• An introductory message, thanking the mentor/mentee for taking part in the program
• A list of contacts for the program
• Information concerning School/Faculty/School policies and procedures (particularly for probationary/casual staff mentoring)
• Information about other sources of support available to staff, for example, Counselling services, Medical services, Housing, School/Faculty/Institutional administration, CTLC, LAS units
• Information about (and timetables for) training workshops (for mentoring program and other professional development)
• A set of proformas for meetings, goal-setting, peer observation etc.
• Program evaluation (for the conclusion of the formal program)

 

¹ Lacey, K. (1999) Making Mentoring Happen. A simple and effective guide to implementing a successful mentoring program. Warriewood: Business & Professions Publishing Pty Limited.