Formal mentorships: examining objective-setting, event participation and experience

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate commonly recommended practices for formal mentoring programs (FMP). The authors examine how objective-setting, participating in organizational FMP events, and repeat participation in a FMP relates to how mentors and mentees perceive their relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Mentor and mentee participants in an 18-month FMP within a consumer goods organization responded to a survey. Proposed hypotheses, competing hypotheses, and exploratory research questions were tested using regression. Findings – Setting objectives was most important to the mentoring relationship when mentors were unable to attend orientation events. Veteran mentees reported learning more from the relationship when paired with a veteran mentor; novice mentees reported the same when paired with novice mentors. Research limitations/implications – The findings provide some research evidence supporting practitioner-recommended best practices. The conclusions are limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data collection and the lack of random assignment to FMP events. Future research should consider field experiments, and explore a wider range of events and activities. Practical implications – The importance of goal setting should be stressed more often in training and orientation for FMPs, and program administrators should consider using repeat participation as a factor in matching. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine relationship-quality variables and learning in relation to participation in organization-sponsored events and to repeat involvement in a program. It also answers a call in the literature for studies on the characteristics that can enhance the success of formal mentoring efforts.