Low-cost management training is hard to come by. So when consulting firm Deloitte offered assistance to math-education nonprofit Reasoning Mind, the charity welcomed the opportunity.
Together, the organizations devised a mentoring program to match consultants at the company with managers at the nonprofit. Leaders at both hoped the program would meet two goals: to fulfill Deloitte employees’ desire to give back and to strengthen management skills at the nonprofit.
The concept appealed to Reasoning Mind because “it’s hard for us to make the same investments in training our people as for-profit entities,” says Derek Hopf, a communications specialist at the nonprofit. The program fills a void, he adds, because “we have a lot of younger managers without a whole lot of formal management experience.”
To get the effort rolling, employees at both organizations filled out applications. More than 30 managers at Reasoning Mind’s Houston headquarters were matched with mentors from Deloitte’s Houston and Dallas offices. The participants were given few instructions other than to get together monthly and discuss workplace concerns or ideas.
For Nathaniel Rounds, Reasoning Mind’s director of knowledge engineering, the opportunity to meet with a Deloitte mentor over lunch one Friday a month has been “incredibly helpful,” especially when the nonprofit official has a specific challenge to discuss.
Mr. Rounds recalls supervising a new project last summer. He was “under a lot of pressure, and frustrated.” His mentor provided encouragement and useful feedback on ideas like checking in one-on-one with his team members and hosting a party for them when the project was done. “Some of it is just reassuring or confirming that instincts I have are good,” Mr. Rounds says.
The mentor has consulted for many companies and offered the perspective that “the problems I’m facing aren’t unique,” he adds. “The depth of his experience makes it valuable.”
Having a mentor from outside Reasoning Mind is a plus, Mr. Rounds says: “I can definitely be more open.” As a middle manager with responsibilities to both superiors and team members, he says, there “are not necessarily people you can confide in” within the nonprofit. Without this mentoring program, “I wouldn’t have had any idea how to find such a person on my own.”
There can be drawbacks to having a mentor from the for-profit world, Mr. Hopf says. Some mentees have had to explain the nuances of nonprofit work to their advisers so that their input can be more relevant.
But so far, the response to the nearly year-old program has been mostly positive. In a survey of Reasoning Mind employees taken 90 days in, nine of the 14 who responded said the mentoring experience had been valuable and useful. One strongly disagreed, and the rest were neutral.
The respondents offered suggestions for fine-tuning the program, such as ensuring mentors have time and flexibility in their schedules to meet regularly with mentees and tying the mentor relationships to specific organizational goals or personal skills.
The program has led to sustained ties between the two organizations and their employees. Montshona Edwards, a manager at Deloitte who has been mentoring a Reasoning Mind director for more than a year, was not familiar with the nonprofit before becoming a mentor. She will be devoting even more time to the group by leading an employee workshop this summer.
“I always try to look for ways to give back, but it can be hard as a busy professional,” Ms. Edwards says. “I feel lucky Deloitte put forth this endeavor.”
Offering Deloitte employees a meaningful way to interact with nonprofits is a bonus, says John Levis, a senior principal at the company and a member of Reasoning Mind’s Board of Trustees. “I think it ranks as the top way in which our people enjoy giving back.”
Getting It Going
To establish a mentorship program with a company, John Levis, a senior principal at Deloitte, advises nonprofits to:
- Communicate clearly about what they hope their employees will gain through mentoring. “What are the needs your people have?” Mr. Levis says. “Management? Growth? Leadership?”
- Start small to ensure that the nonprofit’s goals and the company’s are aligned. Rather than sign all employees up for mentoring immediately, select several for a pilot program. If mentees start voluntarily abandoning the program, that’s a sure sign that it’s not meeting their needs.
- Monitor the program and make adjustments as necessary. Regularly check in on mentors and mentees to make sure the program is working as intended. Mr. Levis recommends using surveys, as Reasoning Mind has done.
Making It Work
Survey respondents from Reasoning Mind offer these tips for people starting a new relationship with a mentor:
- Trust your mentor and be open with your ideas and concerns.
- Keep an open mind about the possibilities of the relationship.
- Set up regular meeting times and places to keep the momentum going.
- Prepare specific topics to discuss at your meetings.
- Consider asking mentors for small “homework” assignments.
