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Modernizing Your Mentoring Program
By Cecilia Marcano, VP of HR, TelevisaUnivision, and Elizabeth Wade, Senior Director of HR, Charter Communications
 Mentoring programs are strategic investments that foster employee development, engagement and retention while also driving business success. The 70-20-10 rule, conceptualized by Lombardo and McCall1, serves as a guideline for effective learning and development by suggesting that approximately 70% of an individual's learning occurs through on-the-job experiences, 20% through social interactions, and 10% through formal training. Mentoring programs can be part of the 70-20 dimensions of adult learning.
Recent studies present insightful data on the return on investment (ROI) of mentoring programs:
- Deloitte found that organizations with mentoring programs have higher employee retention rates, with employees staying 20% longer on average.
- Gartner found that employees participating in mentoring programs were five times more likely to be promoted than those who were not.
- Cornell University found that mentoring programs can result in a 600% ROI due to increased employee performance, retention and reduced hiring costs.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America released a 2025 study2 using 30 years of research data, conducted by Harvard University and the U.S. Department of Treasury, which showed that mentorship delivers long-lasting benefits, such as increased earnings (participants experienced a 15% boost in earnings between the ages of 20 and 25, reflecting enhanced economic mobility), higher college attendance (mentored youth are 20% more likely to attend college compared to non-mentored peers) and improved behavior (within 18 months, mentored youth reported lower absenteeism and fewer school suspensions).
- MentorcliQ found that 89% of mentees and mentors feel more valued and engaged at work.
As presented during the March 2025 C2HR Coffee & Convo session, to maximize the impact and success of mentoring programs, organizations must focus on key aspects:
- Set clear goals and objectives for the program
- Define roles & responsibilities (for both mentors and mentees)
- Effective mentor-mentee matching, which can be done through systems or even manually
- Structured program framework (guidelines on frequency, duration and expectations)
- Orientation/training for mentors and mentees
- Assessment tools, if possible, to help mentors and mentees understand strengths and opportunities to develop during the mentoring program
By focusing on these aspects, organizations can build mentoring programs that foster meaningful connections, drive employee development/engagement and deliver long-term business benefits.
When introducing mentoring programs, consider your most powerful professional relationships and how they were established. Many relationships grow organically due to proximity, commonalities, mutual respect, parallel goals and many other reasons. Mentoring programs can accelerate relationships that might take years or decades to develop.
Deliberately developing sustainable programs that reduce relationship and communication barriers offers value and ROI with minimal time and resource commitment.
Consider these alternatives to traditional mentorship programs:
Reverse Mentoring
Tap into different perspectives by introducing reverse mentorship into your organization. Whether a formal or informal program, reverse mentoring can take place when interns or less-tenured employees advise on existing products, services, strategies or organizational initiatives through surveys, direct input or focus groups.
Communities of Practice
Inverse your mentor programs by offering a one-to-many approach. Communities of Practice offer peer-to-peer mentoring by allowing a subject matter expert to meet with up to 10 employees interested in the mentor’s dominant skillset. Natural, location-agnostic networking and relationships form within the intimate groups of individuals with common interests.
Employee Pairing & New Hire Buddy Programs
Encourage employees to intentionally create space with peers and leaders informally through coffee, walk-and-talk and lunch meetings, with structured topics and thought starters to ease the discussion cadence. Employee pairing requires a minimal time commitment and can be accomplished with a simple signup sheet, virtual or physical, or you can utilize an application (discussed below) to enhance the process.
According to Gallup, “data indicate that having a best friend at work is strongly linked to business outcomes, including profitability, safety, inventory control and retention.”3 So set employees up for success by offering a “friend” on day one by providing buddy programs.
Given the positive outcomes associated with mentorship, many tools and resources already exist to make programs accessible and sustainable. Consider employee pairing programs such as randomcoffee and mentor-matching programs such as MentorcliQ. Other companies and tools to explore include Ten Thousand Coffees for networking, Guider for AI-driven mentor matching and Together for an all-encompassing approach to engagement.
Works Cited
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