Developing Leaders, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership & Management, Training & Development
Learn the four ways the technology firm develops and engages employees of all backgrounds.
The C-suite is increasingly interested in . But, the roles companies need to fill aren鈥檛 getting less complicated.
That鈥檚 why many companies see learning and development as the answer, with are having a profound impact on workplace culture.
More than . Women and people of color in leadership than other tactics such as diversity training and hiring tests.
4 keys to success
1. Listen to employees.
Don鈥檛 launch a mentorship program at your organization without first asking your employees for input.
That鈥檚 the top tip from Jerome Goyhenetche, group director, culture and talent development, and Tina Jones, senior vice president of global human resources at Cadence, who spoke about the global tech firm鈥檚 mentorship program at the 2022 For All鈩� Summit held by 逸遊娛樂城庐.
Cadence began by listening to employees, and used its employee resource groups (ERGs) to identify how a mentorship program could help improve the employee experience.
It found that what employees most valued wasn鈥檛 necessarily something that required a big budget.
鈥淐adence has a number of more expensive leadership programs,鈥� explained Goyhenetche. 鈥淏ut the one thing we always hear from those learning and development programs, what's everyone's favorite thing: networking with the other leaders.鈥�
To help employees connect, Cadence invested in software called Chronus that would help pair employees to build valuable mentor/mentee relationships across the organization.
鈥淲e targeted these mentorship programs,鈥� explains Goyhenetche, 鈥渁llowed all of our Black, Latinx, and women [employees] globally to sign up for a mentor 鈥� and then targeted more mid-level and senior-level management to be a mentor.鈥�
Pairings are highly intentional, and the team has adjusted how it selects the appropriate mentor based on employee feedback.
鈥淲e might say, 鈥楲et's drop it down a level. Maybe employees just want to mentor who's one level ahead versus three, four levels ahead,鈥欌�� Goyhenetche gave as an example.
The result? Career advancement and professional development for underrepresented groups in the workforce and learning opportunities for managers acting as mentors, some having their first experience working with an employee of a different background than their own.
2. Involve middle managers.
If you build a mentorship program, will employees take advantage of the resource? Not necessarily.
That鈥檚 why you have to make sure managers are involved and supportive, Goyhenetche said.
鈥淟et鈥檚 also make sure the managers are aware, 鈥榊our employee is being invited to this鈥� 鈥� and not just going straight to the employee,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o, the manager can say, 鈥業 heard you're being invited. Are you going to consider taking a mentor?鈥欌��
It also helps to have the stamp of the CEO.
鈥淲e鈥檙e at that great place with a new CEO who wants to leave his mark and understands the importance of DE&I,鈥� Jones shared. 鈥淗e wants that $100 billion marquee company status, and he thinks this is critical to getting there 鈥� not only is it also the right thing to do and something he cares about, but he sees it as a business imperative.鈥�
3. Set clear expectations and goals for mentors and mentees.
鈥淚f you just say, 鈥楤e a mentor,鈥� that's a little bit too open,鈥� Goyhenetche said. 鈥淎nd some people will know exactly what that means and others will say, 鈥業 have no idea what that means.鈥欌��
Help mentees understand how to make the most of the program.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just wait for the mentor to do all the work and to provide all the wisdom.鈥� Goyhenetche said.
The key is to deliver tailored, timely information to make participation simple and easy.
鈥淲e鈥檙e giving guidance and sending separate communications with all that information to both groups to make it feel easy and quick to engage and jump in,鈥� Goyhenetche said. Done right, people will realize that you don鈥檛 need experience. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something you need to have done before. Anybody can be a really good mentor.鈥�
4. Define a time limit for the mentorship program.
鈥淲e make it a finite amount of time, and I think that makes it less scary for both [mentor and mentee],鈥� Jones said. 鈥淎nd then as the mentee, you do have to come prepared. The work is really on the mentee, to be honest. So come prepared, do your homework, make the most out of it.鈥�
Measuring success
How will you know if your mentorship program is having the desired impact? Cadence uses benchmarks that it gets from the software it uses to pair mentors and mentees, as well as survey check-ins throughout the program.
However, the biggest indicator for Cadence that the program is valuable to employees is when participants sign up to be part the program a second time.
鈥淎 lot of them come back and they say, 鈥業 want to receive another mentor. I would like an opportunity to meet with another employee or another leader,鈥欌�� Goyhenetche said.
Jones recommended starting small, and using your metrics to prove that your concept has value. 鈥淕et money for a three-to-six-month pilot,鈥� she said. 鈥淪how some success 鈥� generally the funding will continue with some success.鈥�
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