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I hate to break it to you, but if you want to succeed at anything, you’ve got to set some goals—and this applies to creating your workplace mentoring program too.
But goal-setting is difficult, especially when it comes to getting that A in SMART goals. How do you know if your goal is achievable? Are you setting the bar too high? Or worse, too low?
Mentors and mentorship programs can help employees achieve their short- and long-term goals, but mentoring relationships themselves need goals, too. Whether you’re the mentor, mentee, or the person running the mentorship program, you have to know where you’re going if you’re ever going to get there. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time for everyone.
So we’ve rounded up 16 mentor program goals for professional development — whether you’re the mentor, mentee, or starting a mentoring program.
What is the SMART framework for mentorship program goals?
Setting clear goals is really important for making mentoring work well. The SMART framework is a handy way to make sure mentorship program goals are clear-cut and doable for both mentors, mentees, and program admins like you. Here's how to use this framework as a mentorship goals template:
- Specific: Goals need to be well-defined so everyone knows exactly what to aim for. This makes it easier to figure out how to get there.
- Measurable: You need a way to track progress. Having measurable mentorship goals helps mentors and mentees see how they're doing and if they're on track—plus helps you measure the effectiveness of your program.
- Achievable: Goals should be doable, yet still give a bit of a challenge. It's important they can be reached, so everyone stays motivated and involved.
- Relevant: The goals should tie in with bigger career plans or personal growth, making them meaningful and worth committing to.
- Time-bound: Setting a deadline keeps things moving and organized, helping both the mentor and mentee stay focused and make changes if needed.
Using the SMART framework gives mentoring goals some solid ground, making the process more productive and fulfilling. Now let’s explore goals of a mentorship program and SMART mentoring goals examples.
6 mentee goals for a mentorship program
In any mentor-mentee relationship, the mentee will benefit directly from clearly defined mentor program goals.
To set their goals, a mentee really needs to understand the purpose of their mentorship. Do they want to follow in their mentor’s footsteps? Or are they looking for advice and guidance to inform their career decisions? The answer to this key question will inform the kinds of goals a mentee sets in a mentoring relationship. Work with mentors to guide mentees through these mentorship goals examples:
1. Learn new skills
Skill sets for jobs have changed by 25% since 2015—a number that’s expected to double by 2027. So it’s not surprising that one of the most common reasons that employees look for mentorships is to develop specific skills. These skill upgrades, also known as upskilling, are one of the best ways to become better at a job.
For example, if the mentee works in sales, a mentor could help them work on their cold-calling skills. Or a team member looking to move into management might ask their mentor to help them reach their leadership development goals.
Upskilling and reskilling can also be applied to other types of mentorship as well. For example, in reverse mentorship, a more experienced employee takes on the mentee’s role and is taught something by the more junior employee.
This dynamic helps the mentor develop new skills from the mentee’s knowledge. Most often, these reverse mentorships are connected to developing technology skills and capabilities. For instance, a senior sales manager who excels at cold-calling might lack skills in using a CRM. A junior employee might have those skills and can be a reverse mentor.
SMART Suggestion: To become proficient in X skill within six months.
2. Map out a career path
Mentorships are great for crafting a long-term career plan. But careers aren’t as linear as they once were. The average American changes jobs 12 times in their life, staying at each job for less than 5 years. In 2022 alone, nearly half of workers who changed jobs changed industries too.
Experienced workers who have switched careers themselves or hold a position similar to the one a mentee is seeking make great mentors. A relationship with a mentor can help younger employees navigate a squiggly career — the term for a career path that isn't defined by climbing the corporate ladder or takes many different paths.
Mentors can help in other ways as well. According to Deloitte’s 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 50% of Gen Zs and 49% of Millennials believe it will be harder or impossible to get a promotion in the coming years.
A mentor can help a mentee identify specific goals to take their career to the next level while also adding to their own resume.
SMART Suggestion: To obtain a pay increase of X% within the next five years.
3. Grow your professional network
Mentorships are a great way for younger employees to expand their network of contacts. Their mentors are likely individuals who work in the same industry or the same company and can help connect their mentees with influential people in their field. This can open up opportunities that would be harder to come by without professional connections, including improving visibility within the company through internal networking.
Growing your network is a good goal to have in the long term, but it shouldn’t be the only goal. A mentor can feel used if they feel their only purpose is to expand their mentee’s network.
Coach mentors and mentees to consider a networking goal after the mentee has learned valuable lessons from their mentor’s experience.
SMART Suggestion: To connect with X colleagues in my field this year.
4. Learn about the business
For newer employees, a mentor can provide useful insight into corporate culture. Their short-term goal may be to become more aware of workplace routines, policies, and expectations via an onboarding mentorship program. Adjusting to a company’s culture quickly will help new hires hit the ground running and set them up for success.
A mentee may even want to set some long-term learning goals. For example, someone in marketing might want to job shadow someone in manufacturing to learn more about the company’s products. The great thing about learning-based goals is they can ladder back up to overall career goals as a key part of career planning.
SMART Suggestion: To complete onboarding within my first two weeks.
5. Find a sponsor to champion your professional development
Research has shown that employees who have a mentor are more likely to be promoted throughout their careers. This also means higher compensation and increased career satisfaction. That success is even more likely if the mentee has a sponsor, that is, someone who will advocate for them as they progress in their career.
Sponsorship programs can work in tandem with a mentorship program or as a stand-alone initiative. Of course, it’s best if both are available.
6. Solve complex problems
A mentor can coach their mentee through problems or act as an advisor to learn problem-solving skills.
For example, problems or situations a mentee could ask about include:
- Task delegation: “I tried to delegate a task last week, and it did not go as well as I’d expected. Can you help me think through what to do differently next time?”
- Career concerns: “I have these two very different career path options and would like your help making a decision.”
- Job performance: “I have a performance review coming up with my manager. Could you help me prepare?”
By asking questions like these, mentors can guide their mentee and help them determine how best to address their challenges.
SMART Suggestion: To collaborate with my mentor on 3 key problems in Q3.
4 mentor goals for a mentorship program
Mentors stand to benefit from mentoring relationships just as much as their protégés. Mentors may wish to validate their leadership skills, learn better communication, increase their emotional intelligence, or learn better empathy. They can even gain a fresh perspective from a more junior employee. Here are 4 mentor goals to suggest when fleshing out your mentoring program goals.
1. Grow leadership skills
Leadership skills ranked as the top training topic for managers in LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report. Mentorships are a great way for senior employees to learn these skills as part of their own professional development.
The responsibility of guiding someone’s career and helping them to set goals requires the senior employee to teach, motivate, and provide honest feedback — skills necessary for successful leaders.
SMART Suggestion: To mentor two team members in FY 2024.
2. Develop a reputation as an advisor and guide for others
Being an advocate for a co-worker advances the mentor’s career as well.
One study revealed that 66% of sponsors are satisfied with their ability to “deliver on difficult projects.” This ability to deliver on major initiatives pays off, too, with 39% of those in mentoring roles saying they’re happy with their professional legacy.
Over time mentors become known as counselors who are willing to assist others and build up the company.
SMART Suggestion: To sponsor a junior employee with potential this year.
3. Learn soft skills
Soft skills like emotional intelligence and communication are key to career development and organizational success. But these skills are only learned through practice, which makes mentorships a great training ground.
Mentors can learn how to listen first and then respond. Additionally, coaching mentors on how to communicate sometimes difficult feedback to a mentee is a valuable part of this goal.
If a mentor’s goal is to increase emotional intelligence and become a more effective communicator, being a mentor is a great way to achieve that goal.
SMART Suggestion: To learn more about what motivates me at work by taking the Teal Work Style Assessment by EOM.
4. Gain new perspectives
While the mentor is usually transferring knowledge to their mentee, a mentee can help executives learn new skills and get different perspectives on things like technological trends or employee well-being. In one study, 32% of sponsors said they enjoyed the awareness they got from their junior colleagues.
Senior executives may lose touch with the front lines of their companies as they grow in their roles, so this could be one of the goals of a mentorship program in your organization.
SMART Suggestion: To talk to 10 junior employees each quarter to find out their major concerns at work.
How to execute ‘audacious’ goals
John Doerr is an engineer, acclaimed venture capitalist and the chairman of Kleiner Perkins. In this Ted Talk, he breaks down why the secret to success is setting the right goals. Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with "Objectives and Key Results," or OKRs—a goal-setting system employed by the likes of Google, Intel, and Bono to set and execute audacious goals. Learn more about how mentors and mentees setting the right goals can mean the difference between success and failure in your mentoring program.
6 mentorship program goals
An organization that is developing a workplace mentoring program is usually looking to fix a problem, such as a high employee turnover rate or lack of diversity. Mentor program goals not only create targeted solutions for these problems; they also measure the ROI of your mentorship program.
It's worthwhile to share what Wendy Axelrod, author of 10 Steps to Successful Mentoring, has to say about tying your goals to strategic initiatives you have in your organization. Our CEO, Matt Reeves interviewed Wendy to understand what successful mentoring programs do differently. Here's what she had to say about organizational mentoring goals:
1. Increase employee engagement
Mentorship is an effective way to enhance employee engagement because it fosters connections between employees, a key factor in workplace satisfaction and engagement.
But according to Indeed’s 2023 Workplace Wellbeing Report, only 29% of employees are thriving at work. This leads to low employee morale — increasing employee churn and decreasing productivity.
Through mentorship, new employees will better understand the corporate culture and what is expected of them. The connection employees make with a mentor will also give them a feeling of belonging and show them that they’re valuable. Employees in mentoring relationships are more intrinsically motivated and more engaged at work.
SMART Suggestion: To increase employee engagement by X% YoY.
2. Reduce employee turnover
The cost of staff turnover is high. Research has indicated hiring a new employee can cost up to 75 percent of an existing employee’s salary.
Find out how much employee turnover is costing your organization.
A workplace mentoring program can make employees feel valued and a part of an organization, which will ultimately help with employee retention. Additionally, a happy engaged employee is almost twice as likely as an unhappy employee to effectively prioritize work and put more time and energy into tasks. The sense of accomplishment that comes from this level of commitment keeps employees at the company longer. In fact, 89% of workers with a strong sense of well-being say they’ll stay with their employer for the next year. Knowing this, one of the goals of a mentorship program in your organization could be around improving retention and reducing the impact of staff turnover.
SMART Suggestion: To decrease employee churn by X% YoY.
3. Build a talent pipeline
A study in Frontiers in Psychology suggested that organizations looking to motivate employees need to prioritize staff promotions. By providing job opportunities and inclusive leadership, organizations can motivate employees and build a talent pipeline.
A mentor-mentee relationship allows a senior employee to pass along their knowledge to the younger employee so they are equipped to take over when the senior employee retires. The senior manager can successfully give new managers the tools for success in their role. So one of the goals for a mentorship program could be around improving knowledge transfer and creating a talent pipeline or leadership succession planning.
SMART Suggestion: To create an internal knowledge base to encourage knowledge transfer.
4. Improve diversity and inclusion
Research has shown that companies with a diversity of race and gender in leadership roles have higher productivity and earnings.
But employees from marginalized groups face challenges and obstacles that other employees don’t. For example, at non-diverse companies, people of color may not have many sponsorship offers or built-in mentors.
A mentoring program can help close this gap and help your organization become more diverse and inclusive by creating opportunities for workers who were historically left out of leadership functions, like women and people of color. In turn, these employees bring a wider range of experiences and insights to the organization that help overcome marketplace hurdles, improve productivity, and increase earnings. Goals of mentorship programs should have a focus on improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in your organization.
SMART Suggestion: To implement a diverse mentoring program in the next fiscal year.
5. Attract and retain top talent
Mentorship is a cost-effective method for attracting and retaining talent. In our experience, Randstad employees were 49% less likely to leave the company if they participated in a mentoring program.
Companies that know how to run a mentorship program are bound to have a good reputation in their industry and among job seekers. Statistics show that younger workers value organizations that invest in them and offer growth opportunities. And LinkedIn has identified mentorship programs as the top area of focus in L&D for 2023.
For organizations that want to attract top talent, a mentoring program that promises access to growth and development can be a key selling point for candidates and is one of the top mentoring goal examples you should include in your planning.
SMART Suggestion: To offer custom development plans for employees all by 2025.
6. Nurture high-potential employees
Organizations have a hard enough time attracting high-potential talent to their companies. When they have them, however, they need to groom them for leadership positions. Mentorship is an effective way to prepare high-potential employees for successful careers within your organization.
Mentors will direct high-performers toward opportunities for growth within the company rather than outside it.
To learn how to keep your top talent engaged while leading them into meaningful roles where they can make the most impact see our white paper “The Definitive Guide to High Potential Talent Programs.”
SMART Suggestion: To identify 20 high-potential employees by EoY.
Measure your mentorship program goals
Measuring your mentorship program goals is super important to make sure the program is going in the direction your organization needs. This is where the M in the SMART mentoring goals examples we shared above come into play. Let's explore how you can measure the goals of a mentorship program:
- Build a Customizable Framework: Use the frameworks we talked about above or explore Together’s mentoring framework and tweak them to fit your needs. Build your foundation and allow mentors and mentees the flexibility to adjust them for their relationship.
- Embrace Technology: Using a mentoring platform can make tracking a breeze. These tools can help you set your mentorship program goals, measure progress, and manage mentor and mentee participation.
- Establish Clear Goals: You need to know how the program will benefit the mentors, mentees, and your organization so you can set clear mentoring program goals. Define what success looks like for everyone involved.
- Regular Check-ins and Feedback: Plan regular check-ins with mentors and mentees to see how things are going and coach them on adjusting mentoring goals as needed. These check-ins can give you excellent insights to help you keep the program running smoothly.
- Measure Success with Data: Gathering information like surveys and goal achievement stats can show you how the program is going. This data helps you refine the program and demonstrate the value of it to others.
By keeping these steps in mind, you can keep a close eye on your mentoring program goals and ensure the program is successful and impactful.
Take on your mentoring program goals with Together
Setting goals as a mentor, mentee, or as a program administrator is critical, but you need to write them down to ensure the action follows commitment.
In her research, Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University, found that we’re 42% more likely to achieve personal goals if they’re written down—we can’t argue with science. So take inspiration from these mentoring goal examples, and guide your mentors and mentees through setting and achieving them.
Mentoring software is a valuable tool to have when creating and executing your mentoring program. Together makes mentor matching easier, tracks vital metrics, and cuts down on the administrative burden. We at Together are here to help you develop your mentoring program that meets the goals of mentors, mentees, and your organization overall.
Ready to achieve mentoring goals? Book a demo with one of our experts.
