Seeking Effective Mentoring Programs: How Do You Support Your Top Performers?

Dear All,

I would really appreciate it if you could share with me some mentoring and coaching programs that have been developed and successfully implemented for top-performing employees. I have found some useful material, but it only covers the benefits and general information about assigning mentors to new hires. I am specifically looking for clear guidelines, formats, and specific details for mentoring existing high performers.

I would appreciate an early response.

Best Regards

Dear Hina,

I have given several comments earlier on mentoring. Click the following two of them: http://citehr.com#post1267775 https://www.citehr.com/315074-mentor...ml#post1430450 You can give me the assignment. I will do everything for you. By the way, mentoring is not just for high performers. Mentoring is for everybody. The objective of mentoring is to improve bonding or attachment with the organization. Mentoring reduces attrition. An average performer can become a high performer if you mentor him/her properly. On the contrary, if you leave out this group and concentrate only on high performers, it will foster attrition. In such a scenario, will you be able to calculate the cost of attrition?

Thanks, Dinesh V Divekar

Hi Hina,

I would suggest you talk to someone at Godrej. They had an interesting model a few years back called reverse mentoring, where every top official, including Adi himself, had taken a few fresh MBAs as mentors. The idea was that new ideas are best coming from 'fresh' grads.

I am involved in several mentorship programs. However, getting the commitment of the business owner is hard to be seen. In such cases, it will be a huge effort yielding little.

Dear Ms. Hina,

Recently, I was having long discussions with Mr. Dinesh about ATTITUDE and LEADERSHIP SKILLS, and I found that Mr. Dinesh tried his best to motivate and solve my various queries. We exchanged a lot of information as I have been training my employees and students on both modules for quite a long time, and I personally have seen the best results.

I respect Mr. Dinesh and treat him as my senior, besides being an ACTIVE CITEHR MEMBER. I strongly suggest you have discussions with Mr. Dinesh to conclude your requirement. I also suggest you give preference to CITEHR MEMBERS who have been participating ACTIVELY in solving my issues posted at CITEHR.

Good Luck.

With profound regards,

Hi Hina,

What is the objective of starting a mentorship program? What are the goals lined up for such a new initiative in your company? Why are you thinking of mentoring? Also, as suggested by Mr. Gurjar, Godrej's mentoring program is often talked about, but it totally depends on what your company wants to achieve from mentoring. I would need the answers to these questions then can help you with your queries.

Regards,
Archna

Hello Archna,

The objective of launching a mentoring program is to provide our employees with a source of additional support for their personal development and also for aligning their efforts with the organizational objectives. We believe that this would not only help the company in retaining these employees as it would lead to development and progression of employees which in turn would lead to company progression.

Our emphasis is on our top performers who have the potential to excel in the company. We believe that these employees, if developed and guided properly, could prove to be an asset for the company not only in the present but in the future as well.

Hope I have clarified the purpose.

Dear Hina,

You have said that "The objective of launching a mentoring program is to provide our employees with a source of additional support for their personal development and also for aligning their efforts with the organizational objectives. We believe that this would not only help the company in retaining these employees as it would lead to development and progression of employees which in turn would lead to company progression".

In addition to this, you need someone in the organization who interprets the philosophy of the organization. Managers are too busy in their day-to-day activities and they cannot do this job. Hence, it is the mentor who does this job. The mentor-mentee relationship is far more dynamic, and it is an informal relationship within the formal framework. The mentor is a guide, coach, motivator, counselor, etc. The mentor looks back at their own successes and failures and tells the mentee why they succeeded or failed. Mentors look back at others' successes and failures and explain to the mentee why they failed or succeeded.

Ask any senior professional, and you will find the person regretting for "not getting the right guidance at the right time". A mentoring program fixes this syndrome exactly.

Restricting the mentoring program to top performers only: This is your management's decision, and I am no one to challenge it. However, it is the "not so good" performers who need more mentoring than the "top performers". If the performance of the "above-average" employees is raised to the "best" level, will your company not benefit in return?

If you restrict the mentoring program only for the "top performers", it will lead to a situation in the Indian economy where the poor remain poor, but the rich have a vast chance of getting richer. Secondly, from the organizational culture point of view, it may lead to an "us and them" divide. How will you bridge this cultural divide?

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Hi Hina,

What I understand is that you are using this to 'groom assets' or some kind of 'future leaders'. In other words, these are high performers and they get that extra push.

When I was in Indian Oil, there was a system of Blue-Eyed Boys... These people were high performers and were promoted early; they were also supported well in their development and learning.

I am not sure how effective such programs are because I have seen that people have different interests from mentors. I am seeing this in several situations as I have played mentor to several people. But I am sure there are good reasons to go about it.

Maybe we let Dinesh speak on the business benefits (in hard numerical terms... objectively measured and tested): 1. Any increase in productivity that could be attributable to this program? 2. Any reduction in attrition due to such programs? 3. Any reduction in losses and wastages (due to politicking or information issues) due to such programs? 4. Any other? Please specify.

It might make sense to gain from his experience of implementing these programs to get a concrete idea (in pure business terms) so that you can strategize your position and your objectives better. After all, your initiative is answerable to the business interest as well.

Dinesh Divekar has given you sound advice. It's the top performers that should be used as mentors to not-so-good performers to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. I suggest that you kindly read Steve Roesler's "Teaching Smart People Practical Ways to Become Extraordinary" at [All Things Workplace: Coaching/Mentoring](http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/coachingmentoring/). Found by searching the web at [Google Search](http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&xhr=t&q=mentoring+in+workpl aces&cp=22&pf=p&sclient=ps y&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&o q=mentoring+in+workplaces&pbx=1&fp =6df99d2472df77d5).

Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Hi Simhan,

Most research is carried out abroad. I was interested in knowing if there were studies in the Indian industry. Dinesh Divekar has worked on these initiatives; hence, I wanted to know what the Indian experiences have been. Some numbers from the Indian context would help me put it in perspective. Forgive my engineering background for that, sir. :-)

Thank you, everyone, for replying to my post! I want to clarify one thing: we are not in any way denying other employees the right to development. We are already holding detailed sessions with employees to provide them with feedback regarding their performance and how they can work to improve their performance by recommending solutions, including developmental support.

However, for these employees who are not only exhibiting high performance but also have the potential to assume more strategic roles in the future, we want to develop a special plan. This plan ensures that we would be able to keep these employees properly engaged, offer them exceptional developmental opportunities, and provide the guidance of experienced individuals to help them make informed decisions. I believe that a balance needs to be maintained, as it is not wise to lose your star performers only because of the fear that other employees might feel demotivated. I think the biggest challenge that all HR professionals have to face is rewarding and recognizing the top performers without demotivating the rest.

At the moment, my requirement relates to the development and rolling out of such a plan, as the strategic objectives have already been defined. I would appreciate it if someone could share their first-hand experience regarding the development and implementation of such a plan.

I have gone through many articles that provide general guidelines and discuss the causes of success and failure. However, I was hoping to get in touch with an HR expert who has delivered this plan and can provide me with a clear outline and answer my questions that were posted earlier.

Dear Ms. Hina,

Synchronization is key for teamwork and solving many issues. I agree with Mr. Dinesh as I have learned something that I am implementing in my organization. I wish all HR professionals at senior levels could communicate effectively and share their company's employee-related issues to find the best solutions.

It is a fact that I am not only playing the role of a trainer but also extending my services as a behavior specialist, positive motivator, mentor, coach, psychologist, counselor. My job is:

1) To make every employee think positively on a top priority basis.

2) Equip them with various skills besides technical skills that every engineer, foreman, technician, and handyman possess.

3) Align employee KPA with organizational objectives/goals.

4) Eliminate misunderstandings between team members and team leaders at both vertical and horizontal levels.

5) Make them first understand systematic procedures and then follow to ease the complete process.

With the grace of the Almighty, I have a talent to make a fool behave, act, or work like a wise man. In our terminology, "inexperienced individuals can be trained, motivated, coached, and mentored to work and deliver their responsibilities like professionals." It is 101% possible.

My goal is to make a non-performer perform to the best of his knowledge, but how to make him gain the knowledge required to perform. Top performers will always perform as they are self-motivated go-getters. It is a fact.

There should be someone to motivate employees, and it is a regular/continuous process similar to training. Please remember that every employee has unique skills, talents, preferences, abilities, and capabilities. However, there are certain factors that demotivate them irrespective of their role and level in the organization.

I am not supporting Mr. Dinesh, but I respect the knowledge he shared with me. Many others have shared their knowledge in a similar manner. I support all those who want to deliver their best as they are the best, and we have to make them the best.

It is very difficult to gain something in this world but easy to lose everything. It takes a lot to prove an individual is capable of doing something, but it doesn't take much for a mentor, trainers to make them believe they are capable.

Let's not create indifference between a performer and non-performer. Let's not create a tag of performer and non-performer. As a trainer, mentor, coach, psychologist, positive motivator, behavior specialist, I strongly believe in positive thinking and making everybody feel positive. This is the solution for almost every problem on earth.

If everything is positive, then where do the problems come from?

Please try to bridge the gap; don't create it.

Forgive me if I was wrong.

With profound regards.

Dear Hina,

I think your following question is likely to stay unanswered as it is too general.

"I would really appreciate if you could share with me some mentoring and coaching programs developed and implemented successfully for the top-performing employees."

Have you seen http://accaglobal.com? <link updated to site home> and Coaching high performers: Simply the best both found at Google

A study of these two makes me believe that we have to give more details about the scenario, as what holds good for a situation which has shortages of qualified people could be different from an area where there is no such shortage.

Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Hypothetically speaking, if I were to launch the program for the entire workforce and not limit it only to the high performers, then what would be the process flow? For example, if we take any HR activity, we define a process flow for it. In the case of PMS, first comes goal setting, then constant monitoring (informal), mid-year feedback, and then year-end appraisals. I am clear about why we are launching this and what benefits we aim to get from it, but I just need someone to answer the following questions:

Selecting a coach or mentor for existing employees? As both roles are different.

Could the line manager assume these roles? If not, then should the person selected be from the same function, or could he be from any function?

How do you initiate the process of selecting the mentors? Do you allow mentees to choose their mentors, or should the HR select the mentors on behalf of the mentees? And then ask the mentors for their willingness? What would be the sequence?

If this is to be done for all employees, irrespective of their performance level, then how do you arrange for a mentor for each employee, or would one mentor be assigned more than one mentee?

What kind of objectives are set for the mentees by the mentors? Are the goals only regarding development, or does this person help in the achievement of assigned targets as well?

What is the frequency of interactions? Preferably?

Period of mentoring?

Dear Ms. Hina,

At the outset, the TOTAL PROCESS should not be COMPLICATED as you did now.

To an extent, I was coached by Ms. Lyndel Hammond, Coaching Advisor, when I had opted for Jack Canfield Personal Coaching sessions. More or less is the screening process before someone decides to opt for getting coached by any mentor like JACK CANFIELD. Fortunately, I got answers for all my queries when Mr. JARED SHAVER, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, JACK CANFIELD PERSONAL COACHING had a telephonic discussion for 2 hours.

I was requested to provide my inputs to their queries listed below:

1. Where are you now in your personal, professional, and financial life?

2. In the next one to three years, what do you want your life to look like? In other words, what are your dreams and goals?

3. What obstacles or challenges would you have to overcome to accomplish your goals?

4. How would a coach help you to reach your goals?

5. Why do this now? Why not wait any longer?

6. Why are you a great candidate to work with a coach?

I am highlighting the mentoring points covered by JACK CANFIELD:
- Discover and define your Life Purpose statement
- Understand the power of the goal achievement process
- Learn how to ask for needed resources to accelerate your results
- Learn and implement the keys of effective planning
- Tap the liberating and energizing power of delegation
- Develop key habits for continuing success
- Establish a compelling vision of success in each of the seven key areas of life
- Begin taking action and receiving measurable results
- Rewire your brain by creating powerful personal affirmations
- Develop and refine your personal time management system
- Implement reflection and evaluation processes for continuous improvement

Regarding your queries:
1. ORGANISATIONS GOALS/OBJECTIVES should be aligned with KPA & KPI - as per HIERARCHY.
2. Certain things cannot be planned as we learn from our mistakes; as such, NONE IS PERFECT IN THIS WORLD...when we try to be PERFECTIONIST or practice the same, we lose PRECIOUS TIME.
3. LEARNING IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS, and certain TRAINING PROGRAMS should be repeated at least TWICE based on their OUTPUT or POST-TRAINING ASSESSMENTS. EMAIL/TELECON FOLLOW-UPS/GUIDANCE can be done for a LIMITED PERIOD.
4. Allow SUPERIORS to play the ROLE OF MENTORS...MAYBE EXPERIENCED MANAGERS WHO BELIEVE IN TRUE MENTORING...TRANSPARENCY IS A MUST...THEY SHOULD LET MENTEES SPEAK OUT OR DISCUSS WHATEVER THEY WANT.
5. ONE-TO-ONE MENTORING PROCESS is very TEDIOUS...I suggest ONE MENTOR to handle a TEAM BUT AGAIN LIMIT IT TO 5.

Please understand that THE MENTORING PROCESS can also encourage your employees to START THEIR OWN BUSINESS SETUP, IF THEY DECIDE TO GO AHEAD FOR IT...THEY JUST NEED TO CLEAR THEIR ROADBLOCKS...THEN THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN...

You need to understand the objective of mentoring your PERFORMERS & TOP PERFORMERS...

Further, let's wait for distinguished members' suggestions to be posted...

With profound regards,

Shaik,

She has been asking about launching a program for her company, and you have already started 'mentoring' her on that :-) I appreciate your proactiveness!

Hina,

Let me step back a little. I am clueless about where the problem is. Honestly speaking, I felt Hina was trying to replicate some existing model. Now I am really not clear about where the issue is. If you have a draft plan, Hina, and you have concerns in areas A, B, or C, please let us know. We will be glad to help. But please let us know what you are looking for by sending us a draft plan and the concerns...

Reg,

Nikhil

Dear Mr. Nikil,

I was occupied with my employees' issues as we need to sort it out immediately. Moreover, I was delivering training on ATTITUDE to make them feel the FACTS because MEETING CLIENTS' REQUIREMENTS IS NOT AN EASY TASK, AND SATISFYING CLIENTS IS A BIG CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE.

In my company, I am mentoring SENIOR EMPLOYEES @ PROJECT MANAGER LEVEL, PROJECT ENGINEERS @ MID-LEVEL, FRONTLINE SUPERVISORS/FOREMEN, TECHNICIANS @ ENTRY LEVEL. For us the MAJOR ISSUE is CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, BUT THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS TO MAKE OUR TEAMS WORK FOR A COMMON GOAL. Though I am just playing a minor role in my organization, it's a challenging ASSIGNMENT for me as I understand where exactly TO TAP rather than just tapping everywhere.

We are concentrating on:

1) KNOW YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES,
2) UNLEASH YOUR SKILLS,
3) GET THINGS DONE ON TIME BY DELEGATING TASKS EFFECTIVELY,
4) TRANSPARENCY BETWEEN TEAM LEADERS & TEAM MEMBERS IS A MUST TO ACHIEVE TEAM'S GOALS ALIGNED WITH ORGANIZATION GOALS.
5) CUSTOMER (CLIENT) SATISFACTION... TO WHAT EXTENT WE CAN SATISFY OUR CLIENTS (OIL & GAS SECTOR, EDUCATION CITY, ELECTRICITY BOARD).

I had corrected certain mistakes in my previous post.

With profound regards.

An example of how Mr. Dinesh mentored and corrected my mistake. In fact, Mr. Dinesh is my mentor for which I am thankful to ALMIGHTY. Mentoring is not just about motivating or guiding people but also correcting one's mistakes.

1) A mentor can also play the role of a teacher.
2) A father can also be a mentor.
3) Senior successful/experienced employees (broad-minded, true leaders, transparent) of an organization can also deliver the same.
4) All those trainers having wide experience can also be considered for mentoring mentees.

Below is the email which I had received from Mr. Dinesh:

Dear Khadir,

I take reference to your following reply on the subject above:

https://www.citehr.com/326530-develo...ml#post1496384

While your suggestions are good, my comments on a few of your statements are as below:

4) Allow superiors to play the role of mentors, whoever down the line (hierarchy).

It appears that you have not studied books on mentoring. A mentor should preferably be a manager because a mentor is supposed to be a mature person. How far supervisors are mature is a matter of surmise. I recommend a manager because by and large, it is assumed that managers are mature. However, if the person is not mature, he may not be given this assignment.

A mentor's primary job is to interpret the organization's values, philosophy, etc., and not setting goals or targets. Setting goals and targets is their manager's job. In the course of work, youngsters have a lot of questions in their minds. They cannot open up with their managers and seek clarification. They can seek clarification on these issues from their mentor. When the youngsters don't get the answers, they get demotivated and resign. Therefore, the mentor is a buffer between the departmental manager and the youngster. At times, the mentor has to teach the mentee how to handle organizational politics, but it is in the best interest of the organization!

5) One-to-one mentoring process is very tedious. I suggest one mentor to handle a team.

Again, it appears that you have made this opinion without reading books on mentoring. A mentor can never handle a team of mentees. Yes, one-to-one mentoring is a tedious process, but then, to get long-term benefits, you cannot have shortcuts. For this very purpose, not many well-established companies have a mentoring program in their organization. When organizations opt for CMM certification, CMM level 4 demands instituting a mentoring program. Thus, these organizations make a virtue of necessity and go for a mentoring program because of CMM and not as a willing introduction of some intervention on organizational development.

Mentoring is a secondary duty and not primary. Against this backdrop, if you wish to remain true to the spirit of mentoring, then a mentor can be assigned with one mentee or two or a maximum of three. Any assignments more than this would certainly dilute the spirit behind the mentoring program.

For Ms. Hina KQ: - On the above topic, you have raised certain questions on Citehr several times. It appears that you too have several misconceptions about mentoring. When you read books on mentoring, all your questions or misconceptions will get removed. A prominent book on this subject is "The Mentoring Manager" by Mr. Gareth Lewis, Pitman Publishing.

Dinesh V Divekar

With profound regards

Thank you, Shaik Abdul Khadir, for posting the private message from Dinesh Divekar. As is his norm, Dinesh gives sound advice based on research and reading.

Here are a couple of websites that I found useful:

- [Mentee to Mentor](http://the-aps.org) ( [Search On Cite](https://www.citehr.com/results.php?q=Mentee to Mentor) | [Search On Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=Mentee to Mentor) )

- [Mentoring Can Improve a Company's Culture](http://manpower.com)

Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Dear Ms. Hina,

I hope we acquired relevant information from this thread. I am still learning because there is a lot more for one to learn until his death. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said, "acquire knowledge from cradle to grave."

Mentoring is a tough process, and sometimes it creates indifference between mentor and mentee as well. Understanding mentees is another tough job. Happy learning.

Dear Mr. Simhan,

Your links have served the purpose. A mentor, when mentoring, will get a chance to learn from his mentees because learning is a continuous process.

With profound regards.