Structured Mentorship
A form of intentional mentorship that develops mentees in an organized manner, through workshops, lesson plans, and other active learning programs.
What is Structured Mentorship?
Structured mentorship is an active way for a mentee to read, watch, or listen to learn more about the developmental goals they are trying to achieve, and then work together with their mentor to apply those theories to real scenarios. Typically, there is a lesson plan for both the mentor and mentee to follow along, which is then drawn from and referenced to when tackling the mentees’ objectives.
Structured mentorship can be either one-on-one or within a small group setting, and last any duration of time, from a couple weeks to several months, or beyond. Throughout this process, the pair may track progress and report mentee growth in set time intervals.
What Does Structured Mentorship Mean
Structured Mentorship Examples
K-12
In public and private K-12 schools, lower grade level students might be paired with higher grade mentors who can help their mentee navigate their progression at school. This would be beneficial to both the mentor and mentee, giving the mentor a sense of responsibility, while providing the mentee guidance through a role model.
College
College students might implement structured mentorship within student clubs or organizations. For instance, college students may be paired with industry professionals who can help the student build knowledge in a particular space, strengthen their interviewing skills, or review any recruiting materials.
Workplace
Employees who have a career or life mentor within their organization typically have a stronger tie to the company, their work, and their career trajectory. Companies can use structured mentorship to build a stronger sense of connection across employees and generate higher growth potential.
Why Structured Mentorship is Important
Provides accountability
After the pairing reads, watches, or listens to material together, they actively apply it to the mentee’s learning objective, immediately impacting outcomes of the selected learning objectives
Embraces various learning styles
The mentor and mentee both have a safe environment in which they can express different teaching or learning styles, and make adjustments based on their communications and feedback throughout the mentorship process.
Measures mentee growth
This allows mentors to identify strengths, areas of improvement, and level of interest in the learning topic. Throughout the mentorship process, mentors can identify concrete changes that occurred before and after digestion of the learning materials.
Structured Mentorship Statistics
Structured Mentorship led to 64% Increased summer program retention
When Close the Gap Foundation transitioned from unstructured mentorship in 2019 to structured mentorship in 2020, fellow retention increased by a total of 64%, proving structured mentorship a valuable tool.
Both mentors and mentees in workplace mentorship programs are 25% more likely to get a raise
According to Guider, studies have shown that mentorship can lead to greater career success, such as promotions, raises, and increased opportunities.
70% of Fortune 500 companies have a mentorship program for its leadership and employees
According to Harvard Business Review, however, a formulaic, one-size-fits-all mentorship program can be seen as stale and bureaucratic, ultimately causing more damage than good.
Structured Mentorship Resources
How to Build a Mentoring Program
This Mentor Toolkit talks through the step-by-step process of how to create an effective, structured mentorship program – including how to implement the program and evaluate its success. Included in the toolkit are elements that constitute a safe and effective mentoring program, what makes a successful mentoring relationship, and more.
Full Training Curriculum: 10 Core Modules
Education Northwest’s full training program covers two main areas: developing a successful mentoring program and training volunteers to be effective mentors to young people. In 10 core modules, this program is valuable to any organization building a program or revamping the training they provide mentors.
College Preparation and Career Readiness
Mentor Foundation USA ensures that students are prepared for post-secondary education, trade schools, or entry-level professional success. The curriculum includes the development of communication skills, knowledge about college application processes, and introduction into various career fields.
How To Implement Structured Mentorship
Recruit, screen, and pair mentors and mentees
Mentors and mentees should be committed to the same time frame, be interested in teaching and learning the same topics or materials, and be open to giving or receiving guidance.
Develop a curriculum with set outcomes
The mentorship curriculum can include tools and resources such as lesson plans, toolkits and handbooks, videos, or projects that the mentors can guide the mentees through completion.
Track, facilitate, and maintain the program
Ensure that the mentors and mentees participate in the curriculum together, track progress together, and eventually complete or even extend beyond the original program’s time commitment.