Becoming a Business Partner
Six Steps to
Starting a Business Partner Mentor Program
1. Company
Policy
Your company should
establish a company policy regarding employees volunteering, clarifying if time
spent volunteering out of the office will qualify as flex time or gift time, and
the process of getting supervisory approval. The document outlining this policy
can be as simple or complex as necessary and should be made available to all
employees and supervisors, so that expectations are understood before employees
commit to volunteering.
2.
Mentor Program Coordinator
Your company should
identify a mentor program coordinator, who will be the point of contact for
employee mentors. We will meet with the coordinator before the recruitment
event to provide necessary materials and information about policies and
procedures. A business coordinator can expect to spend approximately 10 hours
during September/October recruiting. After that initial period, the average
drops to 1-3 hours per month, following up with mentors.
3. Recruitment
The staff of
Connecting Generations will assist your company to recruit employees by setting
up a display with a Creative Mentoring® representative at a time and
location determined by your company, and by providing recruitment and
application materials.
4.
Application and Interview
All interested
employees will complete an application, which includes a criminal background
check and reference checks. The staff of Big Brothers Big Sisters will work
with mentors through this process.
5. Training
Creative Mentoring®
will plan a free, 3-hour training session on site for all interested
employees. A
second on site training session can also be planned, if needed. Any employee
can also choose to attend any of our public training sessions. All mentors will
receive a complimentary copy of our mentor manual. All private on site
trainings require a minimum of 10 confirmed attendees 3 business days before the
event.
6.
Mentoring
Once mentors have
completed training and their applications have been approved, they will be
matched with a mentee, and will continue to receive support from the staff of
Big Brothers Big Sisters.
