• Why mentorship programs are critical to your organization's success in changing times
• How to create an effective mentorship plan, tied to your organizational goals and objectives, that is informed by proven methods and studies used by leading organizations
• How to foster support for the plan at every level of the organization though selling the program to organizational leaders
• About leading technologies that can support excellence in mentorship and enable your program to thrive
• How to develop a mentoring culture by incorporating mentorship into your orientation program and performance review programs

Much like any other type of relationship, from professional partnerships to high school romances, there will be times when a relationship between a mentor and mentee must come to a close. And, much like any other type of relationship, those endings have the potential to be messy or hurtful if they aren’t handled with care.

“Closure to a formal mentoring relationship is important,” says Kerry Woodland, Director of Service Delivery at Boys and Girls Clubs / Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton. Kerry has spent over 20 years cultivating supportive mentorships and while her expertise is focused on youth, her insights translate directly to MentorCity connections. “But how the closure is handled is important to not negate any of the benefits that the mentoring relationship had for both mentor and mentee over the time they were together.”

While most mentoring relationships have an anticipated end, any number of external elements can alter the course of a mentoring relationship, from a geographic move or new professional opportunity to an illness or family crisis. External influences aside, a mentoring relationship may come to an end simply because of a mismatch on an interpersonal level, or a miscommunication between mentor and mentee. Not everyone is a good fit and, Kerry says, that’s okay.

“The hardest closures are the ones where there is no conversation or communication about why,” says Kerry, adding it is key to keep the lines of honest communication wide open from start to finish.

Ideally, the ending of a mentoring relationship is anticipated and even planned for by agreeing to a timeline in advance. Have a well-defined closing moment in mind, but also acknowledge the possibility that the relationship could end sooner than initially planned. Those early conversations go a long way toward normalizing the eventual closure.

Even in cases of incompatibility or any other type of unanticipated closure, it’s helpful to plan a moment of reflection or even celebration at the close of the mentoring relationship. Find value in the learning and growth, reflect on the experience, and ensure that both of you are comfortable with the change in the relationship.

The most important thing is not to make promises you don’t intend to keep. Doing so can lead to significant disappointment, especially if it’s a mentor who fails to keep in touch after promising to do so. There is comfort in the simple honesty of just closing and ending the relationship.

Remember, while the ending might bring some feelings of sadness, it doesn’t undo all the learning and positives that came out of the time spent together. Some people simply come into your life for a very specific reason or a short period of time. “Relationships don’t have to be lifelong, nor is that realistic.” 

Article by Canadian Society for Civil Engineering's Peter Calcetas.




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Charity Village article written by Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf with quotes from MentorCity's president Shawn Mintz and one of our partners TalentC's president Doug Lawrence.

Copyright: citalliance">https://www.123rf.com/profile_citalliance'>citalliance / 123RF Stock Photo

Finding a mentor or a mentee is easy on the MentorCity platform. We’ve created this quick step-by-step guide to walk you through the process.

1) Conduct a search based on the criteria that are important to you, such as specialized skills/development areas, industries, job functions, languages and/or meeting cities.

Tip: Select only one or two criteria when starting your search and then refine your search by adding other necessary criteria as you go along.

Note: In some mentoring programs the administrator will match you with a mentor/mentee. If this is the case, please skip to step number 5.

 

2) Review the mentor or mentee profiles that return from your search criteria to determine which one would be a good fit.

Tip: Look at the symbol at the top right corner of each profile. It indicates your compatibility with the other person based on the strengths you list in your profile.

3) Invite your selected mentor or mentee to an initial meeting by sending a message explaining why you would like to establish a mentoring relationship with them and then wait for a response.

Tip: For ideas on what to say in your invitation, read 3 ways to get your mentor to say “Yes” to a meeting.

4) If you have received an email notification from a potential mentor or mentee, click on the link to view the invitation, review the invitation as well as the person’s profile and then accept or decline the invitation.

Tip: If you don’t believe the other person is a good mentoring fit, read How to say ‘no’ to a mentoring request.

5) Once your mentoring relationship is established, schedule meetings by syncing your calendars or by using the ‘Send Message’ section on the MentorCity platform.

Tip: The mentoring relationship page can also be used throughout your mentoring relationship to: complete a mentoring agreement outlining the expectations of the relationship, post agendas, set goals, ask/respond to questions in-between meetings, record time spent, upload files, have in-person meetings or video and audio calls through Skype, take notes, review content on how to have successful mentoring relationships, and fill in a program evaluation at the end of the mentoring relationship detailing how you benefited from the relationship.


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Trouver un mentor ou un mentoré dans MentorCity

1) Trouver un mentor ou un mentoré est facile grâce à la plate-forme MentorCity. Nous avons créé ce guide étape par étape rapide pour vous aider à franchir les étapes du processus.

Effectuez une recherche en vous basant sur les critères qui importent pour vous, comme les compétences spécialisées ou les secteurs de perfectionnement, les industries, les fonctions professionnelles, les langues ou les villes de réunion.

Suggestion : Ne sélectionnez qu’un ou deux critères lorsque vous commencez votre recherche, puis précisez-la en ajoutant d’autres critères nécessaires en cours de route.

2) Examinez les profils des mentors ou des mentorés générés par vos critères de recherche pour déterminer lequel vous conviendrait.

Suggestion : Regardez le symbole dans le coin supérieur droit de chaque profil. Il indique votre compatibilité avec l’autre personne d’après les points forts que vous énumérez dans votre profil.

3) Invitez votre mentor ou mentoré désigné à une rencontre initiale en envoyant un message expliquant pourquoi vous voudriez établir une relation de mentorat avec lui ou elle et attendez sa réponse.

Suggestion : Pour des idées sur le contenu de votre invitation, lisez 3 façons de convaincre un mentor de dire « Oui » à une rencontre.

4) Si vous avez reçu une invitation, examinez l’invitation et le profil de la personne, puis acceptez ou refusez l’invitation.

Suggestion : Si vous ne pensez pas que l’autre personne soit la bonne pour cette relation de mentorat, lisez Comment dire « non » à une demande de mentorat.

5) Une fois votre relation de mentorat établie, organisez des rencontres en synchronisant vos calendriers ou en utilisant la section « Envoyer le message » sur la plate-forme MentorCity. 

Suggestion : La page consacrée aux relations de mentorat peut aussi être utilisée tout au long de votre relation de mentorat pour conclure une entente de mentorat décrivant les attentes de la relation; publier les ordres du jour; fixer des objectifs; poser des questions ou y répondre entre les rencontres; consigner le temps consacré aux rencontres; télécharger des fichiers; organiser des rencontres en personne ou des vidéoconférences/audioconférences avec Skype; prendre des notes; examiner le contenu sur la façon d’établir des relations de mentorat fructueuses; et remplir une évaluation du programme, à la fin de la relation de mentorat, pour indiquer comment vous avez tiré parti de la relation.


 

For graduating students, the next step is often a difficult one. Where to find a job? How to find a job? How to apply the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom to a professional role? These are all common concerns that the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) wanted to address by piloting a MentorCity program.

Funded by the Status of Women Canada, more than 170 people have been active in the mentoring community over a two-year period, and more than 90 mentoring relationships have been established between new female engineering graduates and current professional engineers.

“We created this program because we wanted to build a community that could connect with each other, start conversations and give young people a helping hand as they set off in their new careers,” says Aarthi Vig, OSPE Program Development Manager.

Aarthi personally matched each new grad with a mentor. And, she has been staying actively involved in the community to help build excitement and engagement, and to monitor the progress of each relationship. It’s an effort that has paid off —at least 14 of the mentees have found relevant employment since participating in the mentoring program.

“Being actively involved in the activities of the community has been a great way for me to communicate with the members. I can see what’s going on in every mentoring relationship and tailor my comments and feedback to encourage greater activity and engagement,” says Aarthi.

She has also supported the mentoring community by hosting webinars, having one-on-one conversations with everyone who expressed interest in joining the community and creating a tool kit that includes instructions on using the MentorCity platform as well as articles on conversation starters and mentoring best practices.

Aside from fostering engagement and supporting the community, Aarthi advises program managers that the other secret to a successful program is to put the necessary time and effort into the initial software set up process. The platform is seamless and easy to use, she says, if you’re meticulous in customizing MentorCity to meet your organization’s needs.

“The MentorCity platform is simple for program managers to navigate and customize and the resources it provides offers access and insight into our mentoring community that I wouldn’t otherwise have,” says Aarthi, adding that she can easily assess things like specific mentoring relationship goals and individual time tracking logs as well as overall program evaluations so that she can tailor her feedback and advice to meet each person’s needs.

The most surprising feedback Aarthi has received from participants has not been from the mentees, but from some of the mentors. Because while the focus of the program has been on providing new grads with support and job search strategies, many mentors have commented on how they have benefited from the experience as well.

“A lot of our mentors said that taking on this role reminded them of what it was like when they first entered the profession. And many have said that their mentee’s unique insights and ideas have helped them improve their skills in their current roles.”