National Mentoring Month: A Comprehensive Guide For Organizations

National Mentoring Month is an annual, month-long campaign celebrated every January to highlight the transformative power of mentorship. 

Launched in 2002 by MENTOR and its affiliates, the initiative aims to raise awareness about the significance of mentoring, especially youth mentoring, in the United States. Over the years, National Mentoring Month has garnered widespread support from prominent nonprofit organizations, elected officials across all levels, and even several U.S. Presidents and their administrations. 

The month has many important dates like:

• I Am A Mentor Day (January 7)
• International Mentoring Day (January 17)
• Dr. MLK Day of Service (January 15)
• Thank Your Mentor Day (January 21)

National Mentoring Month is packed with opportunities for celebration, engagement, and elevation of the mentoring movement.

(By the way—we’re celebrating National Mentoring Month throughout the month of January with free, live events—and you’re invited! Join us for expert panels and fireside chants designed to help you drive learning, retention, and engagement at your organization through mentorship programs. Register now.)

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The importance of mentorship

A structured mentoring approach addresses several organizational challenges, such as bridging skill gaps, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and ensuring effective succession planning. Besides ensurin smooth knowledge transfer between the senior and junior members of the team, mentoring also supercharges professional and personal growth, leading to increased job satisfaction and retention rates among mentors and mentees.

In today’s workplace, mentorship is more critical than ever. Here’s why.

Overcoming employee isolation

The rise of remote work, while providing flexibility, often leads to employee isolation. Physical distance and the absence of impromptu interactions can make employees feel disconnected. New employees, in particular, find it harder to build essential connections, which affects their overall engagement and integration into the company culture. Mentorship can act as a virtual water cooler, forming relationships that may last a lifetime. 

Bridging development gaps

Rapid industry changes necessitate ongoing employee skill development. Without mentorship, employees may feel unequipped to meet these new demands, resulting in low morale or professional stagnation. Mentoring can revitalize career development, offering clearer paths for growth and skill enhancement.

Rebuilding trust

Trust issues are rife in modern workplaces, exacerbated by remote work, job insecurity, and poor communication. Most employees trust their co-workers ahead of their manager, head of HR, or CEO. Transparent communication and genuine trust-building efforts can be fostered through mentoring relationships, helping to restore a positive and collaborative dynamic between employees and employers.

5 activities to do during National Mentoring Month

By championing the mentoring cause during January National Mentoring Month and beyond, you can pave the way for a more cohesive, skilled, and engaged workforce, ready to face the challenges of the future. Join the National Mentoring Month movement to:

• Educate and engage — Use internal platforms to raise awareness about the benefits of mentoring. Host webinars, workshops, and sessions throughout January.
• Celebrate existing mentorships — Acknowledge and appreciate existing mentor-mentee pairs within the organization. Share their success stories to inspire others.
• Introduce new programs — Leverage tools and resources, such as the National Mentoring Month toolkits, to introduce new or improve existing mentoring programs.
• Collaborate — Participate in events like the National Mentoring Summit to learn from industry best practices and strengthen your organization's mentorship efforts.
• Drive action — Encourage employees to take individual actions – whether it's seeking a mentor, offering mentorship, or simply sharing their mentoring stories.

Now that we have covered the general activities you can do during January Mentoring Month, let’s discuss some specific examples.

1. Participate in social media campaigns

Social media campaigns related to National Mentoring Month amplify awareness on a massive scale, encouraging mentorship and celebrating its transformative impact on individuals and organizations. Here are a couple of ideas you can try:

• #MentoringMonth campaign — Encourage employees to post on social media platforms using the hashtags #MentoringMonth and #MentorTogether. 
• Thank Your Mentor Day — On January 26, initiate a company-wide mentor appreciation day where employees can express gratitude to their mentors by uploading a post with the hashtag #ThankYourMentor.

For both campaigns, offer sample messaging and graphics to your employees to make the whole process seamless. The above campaigns will prove to be a morale booster for all official and unofficial mentors in your organization and make them feel appreciated. 

2. Attend key events

Attending mentoring events offers opportunities for networking, learning from industry leaders, and gaining insights into best practices, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of your mentorship programs.

• Register a team from your organization to attend the National Mentoring Summit. This event serves as an excellent opportunity to gain insights and network with professionals in the mentoring field.
• Participate in events organized by local mentoring organizations. Events like AFFECT by the American Finance Association and Mentoring Masterclass by the Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK can provide unique perspectives and enhance your company's mentoring initiatives.

The two examples we have provided are specific to finance and medicine respectively, so find events that are relevant for you and participate to learn from them.

3. Focus on advocacy and networking

Advocacy and networking during National Mentoring Month amplifies the importance of mentoring on a broader scale and helps you garner support from influential stakeholders to drive positive change in communities.

• Schedule meetings with local or state elected officials to discuss the importance of mentoring in community development. Mayors from multiple states have already participated in similar events in the past, so it is worth reaching out to your local or state representative.
• Highlight corporate partners who prioritize mentoring in their organizational structure. You can do this both internally and externally. Share ideas and stories of how they are making a difference through mentoring.

🧠 Want to dig deeper? Read our State of Coaching and Mentoring Report

4. Undertake educational activities

Educational activities during National Mentoring Month will empower individuals with knowledge and resources, enhancing their understanding of the mentoring process and its profound impact on their personal and professional growth.

• Organize a ‘Mentoring Week’ in your organization where employees can attend sessions, listen to podcasts, or read recommended books about mentoring. 
• Allocate a section on your company's intranet or newsletter where employees can access new resources related to mentoring.

5. Collaboration and outreach

Collaboration and outreach during National Mentoring Month fosters stronger community ties and promotes mutual growth.

• Establish collaborations with local mentoring organizations and host joint events, share resources, or even initiate mentor-mentee programs that benefit both entities.
• Host forums or discussion panels where experienced mentors and their mentees share their journey, insights, and the positive impacts of their mentoring relationships.

Where mentorship programs come in

Mentorship might already be happening within your company, so why not formalize it with a workplace mentoring program?

A mentorship program can yield the following benefits for you:

• Talent development and retention — Employees who feel supported and guided through mentorship are more likely to stay with you and contribute positively over the long term.
• Knowledge transfer — Mentorship ensures that crucial institutional knowledge is passed down from senior members of the team to their junior counterparts. This continuity is essential in preserving your organization's culture and history while innovating for the future.
• Skill enhancement — Mentors help mentees develop and refine specific skill sets, ranging from technical prowess to leadership qualities and interpersonal skills. This continuous learning environment promotes agility and adaptability.
• Positive work culture — Mentorship fosters a culture of growth, support, and collaboration. When employees feel that they have avenues for guidance and growth, it creates a positive work environment, boosting morale and productivity.
• Diverse perspectives — Mentor-mentee relationships often cross generational, gender, and racial lines, leading to a confluence of diverse perspectives. Such interactions spur innovative ideas, solutions, and strategies.
• Leadership pipeline — By mentoring their subordinates, senior leaders can identify and prepare potential future leaders. This succession planning is vital for the long-term success and sustainability of any enterprise.

Mentorship is not merely a developmental tool, it can prove to be an integral component of your organization's strategy, culture, and growth. By prioritizing mentorship, you empower your workforce and set them up for sustained success.

Download our guide to build a mentorship program at your organization👇

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Address employee and organizational challenges through mentorship

Despite its evident benefits, many organizations do not have mentoring programs in place or underutilize them. That’s because of challenges in establishing meaningful mentor-mentee connections, limited resources on available mentoring programs, and the absence of a structured mentorship framework.

Here’s how you can overcome these challenges:

• Establishing mentor-mentee connections — Encourage mentees to communicate their specific needs, goals, and aspirations, and pair them up with mentors that have similar interests. Implementing a mentorship matching system to achieve the best results.
• Navigating limited resources on mentoring programs — Partner with mentoring organizations, like Together, to gain access to resources on mentoring.
• Creating a structured mentorship framework — Establish a formal mentorship program complete with guidelines, milestones, and feedback mechanisms to ensure consistency, effectiveness, and scalability in your mentorship endeavors.
• Bridging the skill gaps within the organization — Conduct periodic skill audits and then organize mentorship programs around identified gaps to develop a more skilled and versatile workforce. This will also help you in addressing specific industry challenges or shifts.
• Combatting lack of awareness on mentoring benefits —  Host mentoring success stories and sessions where seasoned mentors and mentees share their experiences.

Implementing and enhancing mentorship programs at your organization

Whether you're just embarking on the journey or have an existing mentorship program that could use refining, here are some strategies that’ll help you do just that:

Recognize the need for structured pairings

Pairing the right mentor with the right mentee is the backbone of a successful mentorship program. A structured, purpose-driven approach to mentor-mentee pairing will help you get the most out of your mentorship program. Together offers automated pairing based on your specific needs and wants, ensuring a customized experience. Our partnership with Avison Young is a good example of structured pairing, done at scale, to transform a mentoring program.

Focus on scalability

As organizations grow, their mentorship programs should seamlessly scale with them without becoming an administrative burden. Whether you're a tech company like Cruise Automation with over a thousand engineers or a bank with hundreds of branches like First Horizon, Together provides a platform that can manage and scale your mentorship program effectively.

Address diversity and inclusion

Diverse organizations can face challenges in ensuring that every group feels adequately represented and has equal growth opportunities. Mentorship programs can be a tool to democratize these opportunities.

Activision Blizzard King leveraged mentorship to provide non-male employees with equal opportunities for advancement. They used Together to facilitate one-on-one training with executives, promoting a more inclusive work environment.

Streamline the administrative process

Manual mentorship programs can quickly become overwhelming, especially when matching mentors and mentees or tracking the program's progress. The Forum, which aimed to support female entrepreneurs, realized the administrative burden of manual pairing. By employing Together, they were able to scale their efforts and fulfill their mission more effectively.

Emphasize employee onboarding

Mentorship isn't just for long-term development. It can play a crucial role in onboarding, helping new hires adjust more efficiently. Law firm Cooley uses this to perfection. They emphasize mentorship during the onboarding process, allowing new hires to understand their roles faster and more thoroughly.

Measure the impact

Understanding the ROI of your mentorship program is essential. This goes beyond just anecdotal feedback. By quantifying the program's impact, organizations can make informed decisions and continuous improvements.

Randstad, another company that partnered with Together, measured the ROI on their mentorship program. They found that employees in their mentoring program were 49% less likely to leave. Utilizing a platform like Together allows organizations to gather such data, emphasizing the tangible benefits of mentorship.

Get started celebrating National Mentoring Month

National Mentoring Month offers a powerful opportunity to celebrate the impact of mentorship and integrate it into your organization’s culture. By leveraging January mentoring month’s activities, you can enhance employee engagement, address critical challenges, and build a robust mentoring program. Whether you’re launching new initiatives or refining existing ones, mentorship fosters personal growth, boosts retention, and strengthens your organization’s future. Start now to create a workplace where mentoring thrives and positively impacts every level of your organization. 

Looking for more inspiration on how to celebrate January National Mentoring Month at your organization? We’re hosting live events all January long featuring industry experts and thought leaders. We’ll be diving into the latest trends, real-world success stories, and actionable strategies for impactful mentorship programs. Register now to build your network and gain access to expert resources!