Mentoring Programs

Mentoring programs are as varied as the organizations that sponsor them, but there are generally four different ways of organizing a mentoring program.

One-to-One Matching Programs

One-to-one matching programs are popular within professions where there is a specific achievement level for the members of the profession. Within higher education these programs are common for untenured faculty (including librarians with faculty status) or within a profession (practicing professional mentoring students in areas such as education or social welfare). Within the corporate sector, such programs are common at the initial entry of an employee into the organization.

Examples of one-to-one matching programs within higher education include:

• University of California, Riverside Staff Mentoring Program
• University of Missouri, St. Louis (they use the term protégé)
• University of Dayton Mentoring Program

Examples of one-to-one matching programs for librarians include:

•  The J. Willard Marriott Library Librarian Mentoring Program at the University of Utah
• The Yale University Library Program

Examples of one-to-one matching program for IT professionals include:

• University of Memphis Information Technology Division
• The Center for Women & Information Technology Mentoring Program

An example of a program that includes role modeling is the Georgia Tech Professional Leaders Program, described in the program brochure [522 KB PDF] and in an EDUCAUSE Quarterly article on professional development by Linda A. Cabot.

For a good outline on developing a one-to-one matching program, see Tips for Developing a Mentoring Program, by Judith G. Lindenberger and Lois J. Zachary.

Group Mentoring Programs

Group mentoring is another way to provide for formal mentoring of employees. Group mentoring has the advantage of enabling an organization to provide mentoring to more mentees than can be accommodated in a one-to-one matching program programs. In group mentoring, one or two mentors normally work with a group of mentees that have something in common (for example, new middle managers) or wish to pursue a common need (for example, those interested in advancing a career in management).

An example of a higher education IT group mentoring program is the Women's Mentoring Program at the University of Kansas. Information about the program can be found the ECAR research bulletin IT Leadership Development: The University of Kansas Mentoring Programby Judith A. Pirani and on the University of Kansas Web site.

Reverse Mentoring Programs

Some organizations have started using what is called reverse matching programs, where senior executives are paired with new employees, most often from a different generation. The senior person gains a new perspective about the future generation and access to junior staffers within the organization, and the junior person gains career advice and the opportunity to interact with senior administrators. IBM is one example of a corporation that has a reverse mentoring program. For more information, see E. A. Ensher and Susan Elaine Murphy, Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Protégés Get the Most Out of Their Relationships (San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Informal Matching Programs

Some organizations take the approach of promoting mentoring within the organization but not establishing a formal matching program. These organizations focus instead on awareness of the benefits of mentoring, training mentors and encouraging supervisors to take responsibility for their employees' career growth. An example of a program that provides opportunity for individuals to find each other within the organization can be found at the University of Georgia Libraries.