1. Lou Orslene, MSW, MPIA, CPDM
Mentoring: Strategy for Retaining and Advancing People with Disabilities
Melanie Whetzel, MS
JAN Lead Consultant
Lou Orslene, MSW, MPIA, CPDM
JAN Co-Director

2. Overview Mentoring – What it is and isn’t Benefits of Mentoring
Challenges of Mentoring
Strategies and Tips for Developing a Program
Elements of a Successful Program
Mentoring as an Accommodation: Examples from the Field

3. Mentoring is not… A job coach
Accommodation and Compliance Series: Job Coaching in the Workplace
A Workplace Personal Assistance Service (WPAS)
Accommodation and Compliance Series: Personal Assistance Services (WPAS) in the Workplace

4. Mentoring also is not… Workplace Coaching
Something managers must do for all their staff
Takes place within the manager-employee relationship
Focuses on developing the individual within their current job.
Arises out of the need to ensure that the individual can perform the tasks
Relationship driven by the individual’s manager.
Ends as individuals move on to work in other jobs under other line managers.
United Nations Presentation “Best Practices in Mentoring: Attracting, Developing & Retaining Your Talent” 2008

5. Mentoring is….
A mentor in the workplace is a person who provides guidance to a less-experienced employee, the mentee. A mentor may be another employee of the company or she may be a professional from outside of the company.
“Workplace Mentoring Primer” -
Mentoring is a relationship between a senior person and a junior person that enhances the junior person’s personal learning on the job and career development.
Terri A. Scandura PhD. "Mentoring – A Review of the Science and the State of the Art" Management Faculty Articles and Papers (2009).

6. Mentoring works…
When executives of Fortune 500 companies were surveyed, 96 percent said mentoring is an important developmental tool, and 75 percent said it played a key role in their personal career success.
Seventy-one percent of Fortune 500 and private companies use mentoring in their organizations.
In a survey of U.S. companies with formal mentoring programs, 77 percent indicated that mentoring improved both retention and performance of employees.

7. Why Mentoring?
In 2006, Gartner studied the financial impacts of a mentoring program in Sun Microsystems (owned by Oracle). Of the 1,000 Sun Microsystems employees mentored, 25% had a salary grade change (compared with 5% of their non-mentored co-workers), 72% of mentees were retained (compared with 49% of employees who were not mentored), and the mentored employees were promoted five times more often than those not in the program. The same study also found mentors received promotions six times more often than their peers. The retention rate of the leaders who mentored was also 20% higher than the retention rate of those who did not participate in the program.
“Workplace Loyalties Change but the Value of Mentoring Doesn’t.” Wharton. Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, 16 May 2007.

8. Why Mentoring?
"Mentoring is...an integral part of developing and retaining a diverse workforce. Federal agencies need managers and supervisors with the skills to manage and mentor diverse populations. Managing diversity within the workplace means creating an environment where everyone is empowered to contribute to the work of the unit; it requires sensitivity to and awareness of the interactions among staff and between staff and leadership, and knowing how to articulate clear expectations.
“Workplace Mentoring Primer” -

9. Benefits to the Employee
Orients the employee to the organization
Helps the employee learn about and adjust to the culture
Introduces and connects the employee to other professionals
Serves as a sounding board for and providing feedback
Encourages the employee to pursue his or her own professional goals
Assists the employee with mastering a particular skill-set to maximize job performance

10. Benefits to the Mentor Gain personal and professional satisfaction
Gain recognition from their peers and the company
Improve their interpersonal skills
Have an opportunity to focus energy outside of themselves
Gain a deeper understanding of other employees’ experiences
Are prepared for taking on greater responsibilities and leadership roles within their company
Pardini (2006)

11. Benefits to the Employer
Expands leadership abilities and understanding of diverse workers
Improves awareness of personal biases, assumptions and identifies areas for improvement
Extends collaboration among employees from different generations and cultural backgrounds
Creates a culture of acceptance and inclusion
Attracts, supports, and retains talented employees
Improves performance, motivation, and accountability

12. Challenges Providing inadequate direction
Taking advantage of greater power
Dealing with conflicting demands
Dealing with conflicting advice

13. Challenges Lacking commitment Crossing boundaries
Discovering a mismatch between mentor and mentee
Breaching confidentiality

14. Types of Mentoring Traditional One-to-One Peer Mentoring
Professional Networking
Group Mentoring
Virtual Mentoring

15. Types of Mentoring Reverse Mentoring: Flash Mentoring:
Cross-Group Mentoring
Cross-Generational Mentoring
Cross-Agency Mentoring

16. Willingness to commit time
Characteristics of a Good Mentor
Willingness to commit time
Sincere interest in helping another employee or job seeker
Strong interpersonal communication skills
Willingness and patience needed to provide guidance, coaching, and constructive feedback
Sensitivity to cultural diversity and personal differences.

17. Characteristics of a Good Mentee
Good organization
Focus on what the mentee can learn from the mentor
Willing to share strengths that they can provide to the mentor in exchange for invaluable career advice
And, business oriented with an agenda or a list of discussion points for every meeting with the mentor
This is the secret of what makes the most effective mentoring relationships work and last – it’s all about exchange.

18. Improving managerial competency Improve leadership
Goals for a Successful Mentoring Program
Improving managerial competency
Improve leadership
Improve time to proficiency for new hires
Retain and transfer knowledge
Create an inclusive, diverse culture
Retain talent through a long-term relationship

19. Gain commitment from key stakeholders
Strategies for a Successful Mentoring Program
Gain commitment from key stakeholders
Show the benefits to the organization, mentee, mentor
Identify critical success factors and possible barriers
Define roles and establish ‘learning contracts’

20. Choose mentor and mentee partnerships carefully
Strategies for a Successful Mentoring Program
Choose mentor and mentee partnerships carefully
Select key person as Program Coordinator
Market the mentoring program
Set clear goals, performance measures and evaluation processes

21. Evaluating Your Program
Metrics
Increase in number of participants
Behavior within the program
Outcomes at an organizational level

22. Evaluating Your Program
Methods:
Analytics
Reports
Surveys

23. Examples from the Field
Employee with autism
Fast food restaurant

24. Examples from the Field
Employee with an intellectual disability
Country club

25. Examples from the Field
Employee with autism
Large office setting

26. Examples from the Field
Employee with a mental health impairment
Retail department store

27. Examples from the Field
Individual with severe social anxiety
Landscape business owner

28. Additional Resources The Business Case for Workplace Mentoring
Federal Workplace Mentoring Primer EARN
The Modern Mentor In A Millennial Workplace

29. Additional Resources (cont.)
Best Practices Guide in Mentoring Youth with Disabilities
Disability Mentoring Day (DMD)
DMD is a large-scale national effort coordinated by AAPD to promote career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities. While DMD has been and continues to be officially launched the third Wednesday of each October during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), the foundation of the program has expanded from a one-day event to a year-round initiative across the country.

30. Questions?