Establishing an In-house Mentoring System for New Hires

Whether you have a new colleague who is a newcomer to Canada and could use some support, or you simply want to improve your mentoring relationships, here are some top tips for building successful mentoring relationships with everyone. 

• Listen and learn: Whether or not you’re familiar with the newcomer’s home country, successful mentors should take the time to learn about and understand their mentee’s past. Practice active listening and ask inquisitive questions. Listen to your newcomer mentee’s stories from back home — both personal and work-related stories. This practice of sharing stories will help mentors identify core strengths that their mentees hold and qualities that will help them on their career path. You can then mirror back to them the strengths you see to help them grow and succeed in Canada. 

• Check your biases: Thicker accents can sometimes feel a bit daunting if you feel like you can’t understand someone initially. You’ll find this will very quickly dissipate as you continue to converse. Mentors should be aware of stereotypes that their newcomer mentees could be facing and actively work against them. Avoid self-judgment. Rather, keep an open mind about how you can expand your own horizons in this mentoring relationship. You can learn a lot and grow personally through this process mentoring experience. 

• Mentees need reassurance: Many newcomers already have a clear idea of what steps they need to take to reach their career goals and land their first big break in Canada. They lack the confidence to navigate a new system without reassurance. They don’t want to blindly jump into things. They may want someone with more experience to advise that their decisions are sound. That reassurance can come from creating a strong mentor-mentee relationship, championing them along the mentoring process and supporting them throughout their career development journey. 

• Be proactive, and teach the sell: Most mentees feel conscious of taking up a mentor’s time. This is especially true for newcomer mentees, so it’s important for mentors to take initiative. Reach out proactively and let your mentee know you are accessible to them. Many newcomers are accustomed to expressing humbleness and humility in the workplace, especially when speaking to superiors. In contrast, hiring managers in our Canadian workplace culture often look for confidence, passion and independent thinking. They expect jobseekers to “sell” themselves differently than what newcomers are used to back home. Convey these workplace norms to your mentee and help them practise the skill sets needed to sell themselves to Canadian employers in job interviews. 

• Offer guidance outside of career advice: Sometimes, your mentee can use your help and guidance in areas you may not have expected. Examples include navigating processes to complete government paperwork and understanding everyday banking. Be open and ask questions so you can determine how you can best help your mentee. Great mentors help their mentees in all aspects of life, whether professional or personal milestones or helping them develop the competencies required to secure a job in their new country. If you are unsure how to help, connect with Local Immigration Partnership – Lanark & Renfrew for guidance.  

• Networking is everything: Do you already have a newcomer in your life that you want to support? Even if you’re in different fields, you can still create an impact. Make introductions for them to contacts within your network, social circles and communities. Look especially for people in your circles who may have ties to your mentee’s industry, then diligently follow up yourself to make sure those introductions are made. 

How to Start A Workplace Mentoring Program 

If you’re responsible for developing mentorship programs in an organization, follow these steps to create a successful one: 

1. Define your goals: Determine why starting a mentorship program is important. Whether addressing an organizational need, improving performance, or enhancing employee retention, you must understand the mentorship’s purpose. You might design a program that integrates with a company’s onboarding process and focus on helping new hires settle into their new role. Another option may be to create a mentoring program to develop future leaders and prepare supervisors for promotion. Defining your goals can help you maintain focus and create a suitable program.

Here are questions you can ask when developing a mentorship program’s goal: 

• • Who are the prospective mentees? 

  • What career levels are the target participants? 

  • What can motivate individuals to participate in the mentoring program? 

  • What value can the mentorship program offer the organization? 

2. Identify the program’s details: A mentorship program can take various forms. For example, it may involve a mentor observing a mentee, offering constructive feedback, and demonstrating a new skill. As you prepare to start one, you can create a diagram to visualize the critical steps for mentors and mentees to take. When developing a mentorship program’s structure, consider the following:

• • How would mentees apply for and participate in the program? 

  • Would the mentor-mentee relationship be project-based, group-based, or one-on-one? 

  • How long would the mentorship last? 

  • When and where would mentors and mentees meet? 

  • How would you track the program’s success? 

3. Select the program’s participants: Successful mentoring programs typically involve participants with diverse skills, backgrounds, and work experience. To make an informed selection, reflect on the program’s goal and objectives. You might accept applications from any employee interested in the program and invite mentors that might benefit from the program. Next, gather useful information about the participants, such as their skill sets, background, and strengths. Organize interviews with mentors to learn about their career goals and how they might fit into the program. You also want to ask mentors what they might want to share with mentees.

4. Pair mentors and mentees: Next, thoughtfully match mentors and mentees to balance their strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a newcomer hire has challenges settling in their new role, you can pair them with an individual with several employment years in the company. You can typically find a suitable pair by examining each individual’s application and reflecting on interview notes. Consider involving mentorship participants in the pairing and selection process. For example, you may allow a mentor to choose their mentee from a list of three suitable candidates you selected. Allowing participants to decide who they work with can offer a sense of accountability to the process. 

5. Provide mentorship training: Before the mentorship program begins, training mentors and explaining your expectations may be helpful. Help them understand how they can support mentees and describe the program’s goals. Here are questions you may discuss with mentorship participants:

• • What is a workplace mentoring program? 

  • What benefits would the mentors and mentees enjoy? 

  • How often would mentoring occur, and in what format? 

6. Create a support system: Consider assigning at least one company leader to supervise the mentorship program. This can provide an option for mentees who want to change or adapt to their mentor. For example, if a mentee has targets they can improve more quickly with a different mentor, they can speak to the company leader and mentor to facilitate a transition.

7. Gather feedback from mentees: Assess the mentoring program’s effectiveness by requesting regular feedback. You can send surveys asking participants to describe changes they hope to see or what improvements might help the program. The responses you receive can help you re-evaluate the mentorship program’s goals.

8. Recognize mentors’ and mentees’ success: As mentors and mentees build positive relationships, recognize their effort in reaching the mentoring program’s goals. For example, if a mentor helps a mentee reach their sales targets for the month, you may create a newsletter celebrating their hard work. You may also offer rewards to encourage participants and inspire others to join the mentorship program.

9. Update the mentorship program details: Implement changes from the constructive criticism you receive about the mentoring program. For example, if team members report that group-based mentorship may offer more benefits, you can restructure the mentoring program to focus on this suggestion. Doing this can also help reinforce that team members’ opinions are valuable to the company and help in strategic planning.

Sometimes businesses and organizations don’t have the capacity to create an in-house mentorship program. That’s where Local Immigration Partnership – Lanark & Renfrew can help with our community-based Learning and Connections Circle mentorship program.