Social Networking Mentor Programs

Benefits
A
Social Networking Mentor Program (SNMP) is a Mentor Program that is
hosted on a Social Networking website, such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
There are 2 common ways organizations can create a SNMP. The first is
to create groups on public Social Networking sites like Facebook or
LinkedIn. The second option is for an organization to develop a private
company Social Networking site. IBM has created a private SNMP website
that is available to all past and current IBMers.
Greater IBM Connection: http://greateribm.xing.com/index.html

Social
Networking Mentor Programs have greater benefits and are more
versatile, aligning well with today’s business requirements and global
needs, versus Traditional In-Person Mentor Programs. A list of these
benefits is listed below:

1. Highly Scalable: Since Social
Networking Mentor Programs are 100% Internet based, these programs are
fully scalable to any size organization, located anywhere.
2.
Speeds up On-Boarding Process: Brings them up to speed quickly and
effectively. Grooms employees to fill key roles in the company later on.
3. Decreases On-Boarding Cost: Through the utilization of the Mentor Program there is no need for New Hire EE training.
4.
Used as a Recruiting tool: Since few companies offer New Hire Mentor
Programs, Applicants will view the program as a valuable benefit.
Provides an effective career growth path to employees and therefore
reduces hiring and turnover costs.
5. Increases New Hire Time to
Productivity: Time it takes for a New Hire to reach the average
employee productivity is reduced by 25% through the utilization of a
Mentor Program.
6. Increases Existing Employee Productivity &
Engagement: By requiring an associate to successfully Mentor a Mentee
prior to advancement, the organization effectively promotes training,
teamwork, sharing of best practices and empowers its associates to lead
others. BTS Consulting, http://www.btsconsultinggroup.com/, is an example of a firm that has implemented this requirement.
7. Increases Knowledge Retention through Utilization of Wiki: An online library of information.
8.
Increases Cross-Functional Collaboration: In addition to phone and
email, EE’s/Team’s can also communicate through the Social Networking
site via their established Groups & Wiki’s.
9. Enables Global Communication through Technology: Internet based.
10.
Highly Flexible & Adaptable: While the program is housed on the
Internet, the Mentor/Mentee can either maintain a 100% virtual
relationship or include telephone, email or in-person meetings as they
see fit.
11. Requires Minimum Time of Mentor: Since the program is
housed on the Internet the Mentor and Mentee can communicate with one
another 24/7.

Innovative Mentor Program Styles
Mentor
Programs are no longer a one-size fits all solution. They can be
tailored to any size organization, culture and industry. Below is a
list of innovative ways of further enhancing the benefits of Mentor
Programs and engaging the Mentor Program participants:

1.
Short-Term, Goal-Oriented Mentoring: 1 Mentor is paired with 1 Mentee
and both parties work together to fulfill the Mentee’s short-term
goals. Short-term goals are those typically requiring less than 3
months of the Mentor’s time.
2. Peer-to-Peer Mentoring: New
Associates and underperforming Associates are paired with successful
Associates at their same level. This enables the Mentee to quickly
learn best practices and to quickly establish relationships with key
players as related to their specific job function.
3. Speed
Mentoring: Similar to Speed Dating, a group of Mentees & Mentors
meet for a period of one hour, in which time the Mentee can ask as many
questions they have of the Mentor within a 5-10 minute timeframe. This
works best when there are a 4-6 Mentors and 4-6 Mentees. As much
information is passed onto the Mentee as possible within that one-hour
time period.
4. Reverse Mentoring: Junior Level associates mentor
Senior Level associates. Example – COO requires additional training on
MS Excel to learn how to effectively create and manipulate Pivot
Tables. The Junior Level associate would mentor the COO over a period
of 1-3 months until the Executive has mastered Pivot Tables.
5. Team
Mentoring: A team of 4-6 associates working toward one common goal are
mentored by 1 Mentor. Increased cross-functional collaboration,
reduction in Mentor time, and increased team work are the benefits of
Team Mentoring. One of the primary tools offered through Social Network
sites are Groups. The Mentored Team should create a Group on the Social
Network site allowing its users and Mentor to post updates, questions,
answers, best practices, resources and promote networking opportunities
in one central location, accessible online 24/7.

Mentor & Mentee Relationship vs. Dating: Should they be Treated the Same?

Yes,
the pairing of Mentors and Mentee’s should be treated similarly to
dating. As we know there is a multitude of reasons why personal
relationships are unsuccessful some of which are differences in
Lifestyle, Personality, Age, Morals, Education, Personal Interest,
Upbringing, Work Experience/Ethic and Character are just a few. With so
many possible points of contention it is no surprise that Mentor
pairings are often times ineffective. Modern day pairings need to be
flexible and adaptable to accommodate such differences.

The best
and most effective Mentor Programs will enable both the Mentor and
Mentee, at any time, to request a change in partner. Furthermore, it is
recommended that you empower the Mentee to drive this process through
the utilization of Facilitated Self Selection. An EE Questionnaire
should be circulated capturing the work experience, career interest and
education background of each EE within the organization. Once this data
has been collected, organize the information into a database. The
database will serve as the back-end, while the Social Networking
website will serve as the front-end allowing New Employee’s to search
for possible Mentor’s that align with his/her career goals and training
needs.

Just like renting a vehicle, the Mentee is bound to nurture the relationship if it is owned versus rented or arranged via HR.

Additional Questions?
Rachelle
Handley has conducted extensive research and has consulted rapidly
growing Hi-Tech Firms to develop and implement Social Networking Mentor
Programs. The SNMP’s increase EE New Hire Time to Productivity by
20-25% within the first 3 months of implementation. If you or your
organization has additional questions regarding the development and/or
implementation requirements of Mentor Programs contact Rachelle Handley
at Rachelle.handley@gmail.com.