LOYOLA LINKS

• February 13, 2017
• 12:32 pm
• no comments

“Mentor” the Mentor? The Q Mentorship Program is born

By Hassan Akmal, MBA, MPH (Director of Business Career Services; Chair, Career Education, Quinlan School of Business)

What does mentoring really mean? What about resources? Why is it so difficult to launch a mentor program? There are challenges from the student and mentee perspective. There are issues from the institution’s perspective, especially in terms of communication. There are also obstacles from the Mentor or “Champion” (Alumni or “friend of the university”) perspective. In short, there are expectations from many different angles. How will it work and what will motivate a mentor or mentee to participate? What about resources? Who will provide this information? Would the program be manual and should institutions select mentors for the mentees vs. self-selection?

And still, I had more concerns:

• Students don’t know what they don’t know about mentoring overall and are often hesitant to reach out. Their training often leaves them unprepared on how to approach a new mentor, things to do in preparation of the initial meeting, what questions to ask during the meeting, or how to arrange for follow-up.
• Mentors don’t have a clear strategy for how to mentor what it means other than giving advice.
• Colleges and universities need to retain and attract new students and engage with alumni. Successful collaboration doesn’t happen when two people are told “Meet three times with your mentor.” After three meetings the obligation is over and both people move on with little to show for the effort long-term.

As I began to explore these questions in early 2015, one question seemed to lead to another. I sat down with key leaders in the community and picked the brains of friends at other prestigious universities across the nation. In 2016, I leveraged our BRIDGE Connector Model initiative, Building Relationships and Interconnectedness Directed (towards) Graduation and Fulfilling Employment, and sat down with Chairs and Faculty. I began collecting their experiences and recommendations as far as best practices. I even presented the proposal to the Advisory Board. What I quickly learned is that every department and stake holder had a different take on it. Some recommended a mentor should only have one mentee, others differed on the modes of communication that should be used (i.e. Skype, whether it should be face to face, the minimum number of meetings, etc.) I kept taking notes as all of this was good material and they were asking relevant questions. My default frame of mind was to think “what’s best for the student and what’s best for the mentor?”

The Dean of Quinlan’s School of Business, Kevin Stevens, introduced our Assistant Director of Career Education at the time, Greg Costanzo, and I to a colleague of his at DePaul University. His colleague had run a successfully mentor program and we offered to take her to breakfast to learn more. We essentially wanted to know how could we “design to delight?” However, with so many variations on how it was done in the past, and with the scale of the project being so different at DePaul, I wanted a clean slate. Thus, I changed gears and began with a design thinking approach to building a mentorship platform at Quinlan that would essentially “connect” each department with a common thread. I wanted it to be something any other university could pilot, for it to be scalable, and enticing. Perhaps it was my ambitious self, but I wanted it to be “THE Mentor Program”.

This stretch project, on top of all of my other duties, was indeed daunting. But I kept telling my Assistant Director of Career Education to be positive. We could do this. Then the answer hit me, ideate! I decided to go broad, then to go narrow. I needed this new program to be human-centered, innovative, and to integrate the needs of people. I also needed to discuss the possibilities of technology and the requirements for business success. This was no easy task, but I knew deep inside that technology would be key. I needed advanced filtering, a system that was easy for users, and one that was “smart” in terms of aligning students and mentors. Could this platform be the common thread? My instinct said “yes”.

Over the years, I have learned that mentorship programs have evolved significantly in terms of what constitutes a healthy mentor relationship. How you may ask? It’s actually quite simple based on my research. It comes down to two things, 1) shared interest and 2) affiliations. I needed a system and the adequate resources to build upon these two concepts. I knew there had to me more out there, so I began looking at some of the new vendors that claimed to have a product that spoke effectively to my needs.

In 2016, the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) held their annual conference and highlighted a UCLA Case Study that explored the feasibility of building a successful mentoring program using a tool called Graduway. Before this conference, I had read about their events held at Oxford in the past, and about some of the discussion around the topic of mentor programs. The idea is that should not be like arranged marriages, as the Director of Career Services at Princeton related. This year, the discussion centered on participation, finding the right mentor, awkwardness and behavior as some of the major challenges for a mentee. The event explored the definition of mentoring (offering advice, reviewing resume, internships, etc.) as well addressed items such as clear reporting from an institution’s perspective. This conference answered many of the questions I had pending. Now it was time to get to work!

Loyola University was able to secure new software gifted from an alumni entitled “LUConnect”. Essentially, it was a virtual networking platform for both students and alumni. The idea I had was to leverage this software as the thread and common ground for the mentor program. After all, the goal of LUConnect was not to be a mentor program. But I knew, if used right, it could be the platform I needed.

So I set a date, Fall 2016 and formed a committee. We wanted to pilot our mentorship program at Quinlan School of Business in a way that could lead to every undergraduate student aligning with a mentor before he/she graduates. Then it dawned on me. We have one required career development course, BSAD 220. What if we integrated the mentor program into the course? BSAD students could be targeted for this trial mentor program because (1) fewer students would create less demand on the program initially, (2) alumni have shown a strong interest in supporting the course by participating in course industry panels during in the past.

Our taskforce composed of members from the Career Development Center, Alumni Relations, Alumni Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Board and LUConnect who provided feedback/reports to help us manage the workflow. The elements of the mentor program included:

• Benefits of Mentor Programs to Stakeholders
• Mentor Recruitment, Selection and Training
• Mentee Selection and Orientation
• Matching Mentors and Mentees – Software and Process
• Program Measurement Criterion and Evaluation
• Resource Requirements and Action Steps

Goal of the Mentor Program: The goal of the program is to foster a successful mentoring relationship between Quinlan students and organizations, giving students the opportunity to:     

1. Gain exposure to the business community
2. Learn about and discuss specific career paths
3. Develop and cultivate a business network
4. Understand the relevance of their academic studies
5. See what tasks and issues professionals and leaders really face
6. Discuss attributes organizations are truly looking for in potential candidates

Our vision was becoming a reality. We named it. The “Q Mentorship Program”. Mentors would provide another voice that stresses the importance of a strong work ethic, professional attitude, and effective time management, as well as deliver invaluable insights into career choices, industry information, professional development, resume/cover letter writing, and interview skills. Participation in the mentorship program also offers an excellent networking opportunity, a critical tool not only for effective job-hunting, but also for long-term career success.

Further, as a complimentary fit with the existing pilot and program, and to give the Q Mentorship Program more structure and guidance to both the mentor and mentee, we created an interactive experience. We partnered up with Mark Carter, Founder of One80, and a Mentorship Program Expert. He has built an online mentorship crash course as a digital learning platform using the software, Edsero.  He argues that it helps everyone avoid the mentoring challenges of “What do we talk about?” and answers “How can I best help my student?” for Champions. Carter further breaks it down into benefits for champions, the opportunity, the results, and really stresses the importance of the interactive component. He states:

The primary benefits for Champions are:

• It saves them TIME: Students have prep work so they show up prepared for your meetings, knowing what to ask and how to follow up.
• Consistent communication: Champions can log in and view student’s comments and find out what he/she needs help with before and in between meetings.
• Support throughout the program: Champions have direct communication with the course instructor and the person who built the training so you can ask questions, get help with any problems you encounter and share feedback.

The importance of the interactive supplement:

• STUDENTS are craving advice and connections; ALUMNI want to be involved with their alma mater and CAREER CENTERS want to be the bridge and provide opportunities for everyone.
• The problem is there’s no vehicle for everyone to accomplish those goals together, there are no clear strategies and there are time restrictions for all three groups. This supplement solves those problems for everyone.

The opportunity:

To provide meaningful content through video and podcasting content. The students will have access to guidance that relates to their classwork and professional life anytime from virtually anywhere. The content will feature interviews with Loyola Alumni and create the final product with my team. It’s important to create engaging conversations instead of just asking canned questions.

The key points about the content and each interview are:

• Each video or podcast interview will feature a challenge the alumni faced in their career, how they overcame it and what projects they’re currently working on. This creates an easy way for alumni to get involved without leaving their office or home because interviews are recorded remotely.
• The content gives the students the real word advice they need and gives listeners an opportunity to reach out to the alumni to help them with their projects or offer connections to people they need to know.
• Each video provides guidance for students and the opportunity for listeners and alumni to collaborate which will create a stronger community and consistent communication between Loyola, students and alumni.

The results:

The supplement to the Q Mentorship Program is designed to:

• Build communities of engaged alumni to support programs and create resources for Quinlan.
• Attract new students and retain current students by helping them advance their careers.
• Get more press and community awareness about what Quinlan is doing to help its students.

The solution: A supplemental coaching platform that will provide a system that gives:

• Students a framework to use for mentoring that walks them through the mentoring process from before meeting to following up after meetings.
• Mentors a framework to ask the right questions and offer actionable advice instead of just stories about their lives.
• Quinlan faculty and stakeholders a way to check in online with everyone in the program, measure their progress and offer advice when needed.

Once we had this very important layer added,we were ready. We launched it! Sure, there were bumps in the road, but we overcame them. We realized that self-selection (with some oversight by the instructor and mentorship coordinator) was the preferable course of action based on our student culture. Mentees:

• Submit top three choices for mentors by the second week of the semester (first week for summer session)

• Initiate conversation with mentor after instructor has made assignments. Note: Each student is expected to drive this program – meaning the student takes an active role in contacting his/her mentor and planning meeting times

• Meet at least twice with the mentor during the semester, in-person (preferably), over the phone, or via Skype (other contact with your mentor will be determined based on mutual agreement)

The Students were charged with creating a 5-minute presentation based on the following points:

• Summarize the content of the mentorship sessions and specify the nature of your meetings, such as an informational interview or externship.
• Reflect on the discussions you had and how these discussions will inform your own career choices.
• Clarify the role that ethical behavior, social responsibility, and reflective practice play in your mentor’s career(s).

So what makes a good mentor? Mentors that:

• Are willing to assist with the personal and professional development of a student and provide feedback to the Quinlan School of Business
• Are able to meet individually (in-person, phone, or Skype) with a student at least twice during the semester; in-person is preferred
• Are skilled at interpersonal communication
• Are highly regarded within their field for their integrity and professionalism

The mentor decides how many mentees he/she could manage.

Matching Process

• Students will self-select their preferred mentors and submit a ranked list of their top three choices. The course instructor then goes through all submissions and notifies students who their mentors will be, trying his/her best to assign them their top choices. Keep in mind the instructor must manage the distribution of mentors to students in order to create a sustainable case load for the mentors.

The Q Mentorship Program, a supplement to Loyola’s BSAD 220 Career Preparation course, provides an excellent opportunity for Quinlan students to learn about the world of business from experienced professionals. Mentors are Loyola University Chicago alumni and friends of Loyola who are business professionals in the Chicago area.

After one semester of this pilot, 100 percent of students aligned with a mentor and both the mentee and mentor had an overall 90 percent or higher satisfaction rate. 97 percent of students reported positive outcomes during pendency of presentations given in class and 14% of students were offered an internship as a result of the program. 50 percent of students received a tour of the Champion’s place of work and/or an externship job shadowing experience.

Though not a required part of the presentation, all students reported that their mentors believed Loyola’s Jesuit values figure prominently into daily work and life.

So this bring us to today. We are now rolling it out to multiple career education sections. Before expanding the program at the graduate level, we are also exploring the differences of the program for undergraduate students vs. graduate students. Currently it is available at the graduate level, but it is largely self-directed. We are exploring questions such as how can alumni mentor other alumni? May alumni post career opportunities, and if technology is limited in this respect, what other platforms can, if any? What about international students? So many questions still remain!

The future of mentorship programs is exciting. One must think of mentoring not just short term, but long term as well. What happens beyond the program? I would like to see these relationships continue beyond a course or program. The opportunities and return on investment is endless. Students attend universities not just for degrees, education and experience, but for social capital. This social capital, organically, can be more worthwhile than anything else they obtain.

To “network” is exactly that, “net” and “work”, it takes work. It is not supposed to be easy. Thus, everything we do to help facilitate that experience is what it’s all about. Demystifying the mentorship relationship is the end goal. Teaching students to manage themselves and their relationships are the means.

To learn more about the Q Mentorship Program, click here.

Interested in participating as a Mentee or Mentor (Champion)? Click here.