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Best Practices11 Best Practices for University Mentoring ProgramsWhether it’s preparing students to pursue the career of their dreams or connecting alumni with students or peers to network within their chosen field, university mentoring programs are vital to the academic ecosystem. Academic mentoring can help increase student persistence, alumni connection and academic donorship. A recent survey by Inside Higher Ed found three-quarters of…
Best PracticesModern Mentoring & Millennials: Employee Development in a Shifting WorkforceWe all know the workforce is changing. According to Forbes, millennials make up 40 percent of the workforce today and are predicted to make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2026. This massive shift means it’s a must for employers to attract, develop and retain millennial talent. With this in mind, what then are…
Best PracticesWhy Workplace Friendships Are Essential to Employee EngagementI’m willing to bet you, dear reader, have come across an article (or ten) about the importance of employee engagement. We’ve been hearing a lot about this topic with people saying it’s crucial, companies that have engaged workforces see lower turnover and higher profits, and we’d all do well to invest in programs that promote…
Best PracticesHow to Measure Mentorship ProgramsOne of the most crucial factors to success with mentoring programs is measuring outcomes. After all, how do you know if your goals were accomplished if you don’t take a hard look at the results of your program? But how do you know what to measure? How do you know what questions to ask in…
Best PracticesWhat is a Career Lattice?Imagine a typical workplace scenario: Sonya has had the same job for three years. Sonya likes her company and is successful in her current role, but has recently found herself struggling to stay engaged and motivated by her daily tasks. A traditional response to Sonya’s dilemma might be that she either needs to move up…
Best PracticesHow to Build a Useful Mentorship SurveySo you’re considering starting a new mentoring program. That’s fantastic! But in order to make it truly successful, it’s important to survey and evaluate your mentoring program needs. For example, how would your organization use mentoring most effectively? How can you ensure participants get what they want out of it? You can make some reasonable guesses…
Best PracticesHow to Set & Measure Mentoring Program ObjectivesTo harness ongoing support for your program, measuring mentoring success is key. Conducting a top-down mentoring program evaluation should include organizational objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs), targets, and segments. In order to understand the true ROI of mentoring, you must plan, design and measure with intention. First, consider your mentoring initiative in the context of…
Best PracticesEmployee Development Plans: Importance and ExamplesThe landscape of today’s workplace isn’t what it was twenty years ago. It’s not even what it was twenty minutes ago – today’s environment is both fast-paced and competitive. Ninety-one percent of millennials (born between 1977 and 1997) expect to stay in a job for fewer than three years. That makes it all the more…
Best PracticesHow to Be a Good MentorMentoring can be incredibly rewarding but requires dedication, preparation and a genuine desire to help others succeed. Learning how to be a good mentor can make all the difference in providing effective guidance. Many of us can identify someone who mentored us during a pivotal time—whether at work, in school or in life. Mentorship, both…
Best PracticesHow Diversity Mentoring Programs Help OrganizationsFor many companies, a diverse workplace is an important part of encouraging business objectives such as employee engagement, improving retention and breaking down silos in the workplace. A Deloitte survey found 39 percent of respondents would leave their current organization for a more inclusive one. Diversity is important – but are HR professionals managing their…
Best PracticesModern Mentoring: Mentoring CirclesBy now, you’ve likely heard that mentoring is a big deal. Why, you ask? Well, for starters, it engages employees. Among other things, retention is 25 percent higher for employees who have engaged in company-sponsored mentoring (Deloitte Research Brief, 2012). So it’s no wonder that organizations across all industries and sizes are jumping on the…
Best PracticesHow Software Can Help Your Onboarding GoalsWhen it comes to making your onboarding program strategic and effective to meet your hr goals, you might have already added collaborative learning and extended the program time frame. Great job – you’re on your way to an improved program. But what should your next steps be? Here’s the thing – manually running your onboarding program…