With organisations needing to make the most of all available resources, mentoring can be an inexpensive development tool to get the best from existing skills and experience in the workplace.
In fact, 77 per cent of respondent practitioners felt formal mentoring was necessary for their L&D offering in 2026, while in another survey of L&D professionals, 35.4 per cent highlighted limited budgets as their main challenge.
Despite this, 43.6 per cent of respondents had no intention of using social learning, while one-quarter of respondents felt social learning (including mentoring) was not used effectively.
What’s stopping organisations from using mentoring?
Time and engagement is cited by 47 per cent of practitioners as the main challenges to effectively using social learning. As mentoring is internal and voluntary, it can be an additional responsibility to add to already busy roles.
Lack of focus and structure prevents things from getting started. Alternatively, programmes that are introduced lose effectiveness without structured delivery.
While mentoring can be inexpensive, there can still be restrictions due to limited budgets, depending on the level of training envisaged for mentors and where this is sourced.
Lastly, pairing of mentors and mentees is not just about matching people based on experience and development needs, there are different personalities to consider. Sometimes, these relationships don’t work out, but many times they do.
If we recognise the benefits of using mentoring and we are aware of the challenges, how do we bridge the gap to start using it effectively?
Pilot a programme with a specific audience first to establish the structure and success measures
Tackle challenges before you start
1. Establish what the structure will look like
From initiation, through the mentoring relationship and how this comes to an end. A formal structure will help maintain momentum and accountability for those involved.
2. Tailor training to your available budget
This will also depend on what you feel mentors will need to get started. It could be delivered internally, involve a short external course or a longer qualification (eg. coaching and mentoring).
3. Consider ‘meet and greets’
To improve pairing mentors and mentees, you could consider ‘meet and greets’ or a preference system for matching. When establishing the structure and governance of your programme, include provision for ending or changing mentoring relationships, when appropriate.
Getting started
1. Start by establishing the purpose of your mentoring programme (eg. leadership development)
Your focus should support your L&D and broader corporate strategies. This will help with creating structure, gaining leadership buy-in and finding appropriate mentors and mentees.
2. What does success look like?
Identify how you will measure the success of the programme. For example, self-reported accounts of development and confidence, retention and internal progression of mentees, or relevant DEI measures. Your measures will depend on the specific focus of your programme.
3. Create structure and governance
Ensure participants understand what is expected of them, access to the programme is transparent and it can be managed effectively.
4. Establish how you will select mentors
You will want those that are not only experienced, but who demonstrate the right values and behaviours, and who will encourage the same in their mentees.
You could do this by approaching potential mentors or inviting interest across your leadership population and using a short selection process.
5. Provide training to set expectations and ensure a consistent approach with your programme
This could be an ‘off the shelf’ option or might be bespoke, including content about effective mentoring, coaching skills, communication, etc.
There are also many external mentoring courses (often with coaching included), that you could factor into your budget and timeline.
6. Source your mentees
The purpose of the programme will steer you to eligible colleagues (eg. high performers with potential to be leaders).
You could use a selection exercise again to ensure those with the right intentions are accessing mentorship. The number of available mentors will also influence how many mentorship spaces are available.
7. Pair individuals with mentors
Whether you use introductory sessions, preference systems, or trust in pairings based on mentor experience and mentee development needs. Remember some flexibility may be needed if initial pairings do not work out.
This addition to your L&D offering could set your organisation apart and be a strategic advantage
Start small but realise the possibilities
You may want to give everyone the opportunity of accessing mentoring. However, starting with an open programme could be a challenge to manage effectively.
Pilot a programme with a specific audience first to establish the structure and success measures. Learning from this will help improve the programme before expanding it to others.
As you roll it out further, you will build a group of trained mentors and success stories from mentees. You may later find you can effectively open mentorship out to anyone seeking a mentor as part of their development.
You could even flip it and realise the benefits of reverse mentoring. Mentors in more junior positions can help leaders better understand their teams, how their leadership influences their performance and take their leadership to the next level.
With many recognising mentoring and social learning as important, but not yet taking action, this addition to your L&D offering could set your organisation apart and be a strategic advantage. So, what are you waiting for?
