Printer-friendly version
An Effective Mentoring Program
Franchising World, November 2005 Whenever a discussion turns to my involvement in the Money Mailer Mentoring program, one of the first questions asked is, “Do you get paid for your time?” My response was “no”. The follow up question, almost always was, “If you don’t get paid, why do you do it?” I thought about the answer and realized I was wrong in answering 'no.' I do get paid. Just not in money. From that point on I answered “Yes. I do get paid, and while initially it comes back to me in the form of satisfaction, ultimately it leads to money.” I remain troubled by the question because of the implication that there needs to be a financial reward in order to give time and effort to something I believe in. I prefer the notion that I will receive dividends tomorrow for the investment I make today. The question is a little like asking a parent if he or she gets paid for raising their child. Of course a parent is paid, in pride and happiness, watching the child mature. But it’s really not a question at all. There is little doubt that a mentoring program that works leads to increased productivity and more profit. Think about all the winners. The new franchisee, on the receiving end of mentoring, has a shortened learning curve. The veteran learns new and fresh ideas and stays sharp. The franchisor benefits by a stronger, quicker higher level of involvement from the entire system. Not a bad premise. If your system seeks to improve on or start a mentoring program, know the satisfaction to be gained is strictly inside, at least at the outset. If short-term financial goals are part of the plan or immediate return is a high priority, the franchise may be wasting its time. However, if there is patience, and a mentoring program is given a chance, a real chance to succeed, it will pay off at an enormous rate of return. A successful mentoring program is a marathon, not a sprint. Centuries ago, legend tells that Odysseus, king of Ithaca in Ancient Greece, went off on one of his long adventures. He left his son behind in the care of his trusted friend, Mentor. The king left with the knowledge that his son would be cared for by someone who had the boy’s best interests at heart and would willingly counsel him. Thus, a mentor is a trusted teacher or counselor who has his protégé’s best interests at heart and voluntarily helps him learn the ways of the world–or the ropes of a business. Mentoring is a relationship in which experienced people (mentors) share their time and knowledge with those (protégé) who are willing to perform the work required to be successful. Starting a new business can be a frightening experience, even to those who have done so before. Situations arise that can be unnerving and overwhelming. How comforting it is to know there is someone you can call for advice and counsel, and who is eager to listen. Business requires experience that can only be gained over time. A mentoring program should not attempt to replace training. Yet it does perform the task of providing the experience of one who has been in a situation that is new and unknown to the protégé. Someone a new franchisee can to turn to for help. Mentoring has been going on, in an informal setting, for many years. It exists in every company. Most everyone can think of someone who helped them…a teacher, a friend, a business colleague. Yet few companies, within or outside the world of franchising have put together a formal mentoring program. Often, what passes for a mentoring program is no more than an occasional telephone call and or casual inquiry as to whether or not the caller can be of help. That works, but doesn’t even scratch the surface of possibility of a real program. It is more than a little likely that in a company that doesn’t have a formal mentoring program it is because they either don’t want to go through the considerable start up work, or just don’t know how. Mentoring programs need not to be overly complex. Mentoring programs need not to be overly complex, nor need they require an undue amount of time for the mentor and protégé. Make no mistake; however, there is a time commitment involved. Mentoring is “The gift of time,” most of which is given in the initial development of the program. Once the program is established, someone needs to run it. That’s often the work of a mentoring committee. In each mentoring pair, both the mentor and the protégé have a time commitment. In our case, the franchise recommends the pair work together for one year. In the beginning there will probably be more phone calls and time involved. As the protégé (new franchisee) grows and learns the business, the time commitment declines. Quite often, during this year-long mentoring relationship, friendships develop. After the year of more formal relationship, they often become friends and colleagues, continuing to talk regularly. While the program is designed mainly for new franchisees, it is not limited to them. There are veteran franchisees who want to be mentored in a specific area of their business. They too, are provided a mentor. If a true program is to be achieved, it needs some of the following elements: A mentoring program needs the full support and participation of the franchisor. The franchisor has at least as much to gain as the mentor or the protégé. However, only the franchisor has the resources to provide the support of time and money to make a program succeed. Moreover, only the franchisor can establish the importance of the program to the entire system. In fact, going a step further, the franchisor is the most significant player among the three. It is the franchisor, whose blessing on the program enables it to succeed. With that blessing, and the power the franchisor can bring to bear, the program may come to be seen as a major asset of the system. It has been told on more than one occasion that our mentoring program was an important reason for buying a franchise in our system. Conversely, a lukewarm or uninvolved franchisor can, by their very indifference, scuttle a program before it ever gets off the ground. Take away the enthusiastic endorsement of the franchisor and the franchisees are left with each other, an estimable force, no doubt, but one without the teeth of the franchisor behind them. Chances are the program will have a difficult time achieving success. It will likely consist of franchisees and franchisor, working closely together. In an environment of enthusiasm and motivation, the committee becomes the heart and soul of the mentoring program. More than likely the impetus for a mentoring program often originates with the franchisor. A good way to start is to call upon one or two franchisees, whose skills and energy are known. From that beginning the committee is established. It is essential that careful consideration be given to the appointment of each member. Remember, they are the visible part, the lightning rod for anything that my go wrong. Our mentoring committee describes the work as “a labor of love.” Fortunately for us, to endure all that is involved, we mean it. The committee will perform a wide range of tasks. They will be a recruiter, a communicator, a coordinator and an evaluator. They mentor the mentors. It is their responsibility to keep everyone involved, at all levels, and to do so with an extraordinary amount of enthusiasm. The committee not only administers the program, they “sell” it. A protégé is the reason a mentoring program exists. Getting a small group of like-minded, motivated people together is no small feat. Yet, as is true throughout society, a small group of devoted, dedicated, highly-motivated people will make things happen. These people must be dedicated because they will be asked to do double duty; the mentoring program committee will work to develop the program while still running their own business. Let’s review to what it takes to be a mentor and a protégé and at the gains to be realized by each group.
The mentor must,
1. Possess skill, knowledge and experience 2. Be willing to share these assets 3. Be willing to give the time necessary 4. Possess the ability to listen 5. Be able to identify goals 6. Possess a genuine caring and desire to help 7. Be able to offer encouragement and “be a cheerleader”
The mentor will,
1. Stay sharp 2. Enhance his or her own performance by being a role model 3. Increases his or her value to others 4. Be more creative 5. Nourish his or her soul 6. Increase his or her own focus One could make a reasonable case for the mentor receiving more than he or she gives. We often hear from our mentors that they have gained as much as the protégé. When the program works, both parties learn and grow. A protégé is the reason a mentoring program exists. It is the protégé, the novice, the beginner, who needs the steadying hand.
The protégé must,
1. Respect the mentor’s time 2. Be willing to listen and act promptly on the information learned from the mentor 3. Respect the mentor’s efforts to help 4. Know what is confidential and treat it as such 5. Bring energy to the mentoring relationship 6. Discuss problems and goals
The protégé will,
1. Receive coaching and advice for their business 2. Set goals with the mentor’s help 3. Increase productivity 4. Increase self-confidence and business satisfaction 5. Decrease the learning curve 6. Become profitable more quickly
Once a pair is made, there are steps which should be taken. The mentor and protégé should:
1. Take the time to get to know each other 2. Become familiar with each other’s business, cultural background and common interests 3. Set specific goals and expectations 4. Commit to maintain privacy and confidentiality 5. Create a positive environment that encourages openness 6. Establish a time to talk, meet and call each other 7. Try to keep meetings specific and focused 8. Track progress to see if goals are being met Other franchise companies have patterned their own mentoring programs after Money Mailer’s. Mary Thompson, president of Cookies By Design Inc. said their mentoring program has been working successfully for more than two years. They too, provide a mentor for all new franchisees. They also provide a mentor for any veteran franchisee who wants help in a specific area. There are strict guidelines for both the veteran franchisee and the new franchisee. Moran Industries President Barb Moran has a similar mentoring program. She provides a mentor for every new franchisee and also provides a mentor for any “at risk” franchisee who is struggling. Moran Industries will send a mentor to the “at risk” franchisee’s territory to work with them, believing a franchisee often responds better to a fellow franchisee than to someone from the corporate office. They set specific goals with the franchisee and work together to achieve them. Moran’s program has been working successfully for more than two years. Mentoring programs come in various sizes and shapes. They take on different sets of objectives, which range from very large to very small. Despite the disparities, differences and difficulties, mentoring is worth the effort. In the final analysis, everyone involved has a chance to be a winner as a result of a well thought out, well executed mentoring program. The franchisor benefits by having a stronger system; the mentor benefits because a larger, better, smarter system is good for him or her, and the protégé, for whom every program is developed, benefits by getting there faster because there was someone to show the way. Is a mentoring program good for every franchised system? Yes.
Linda Kaplan is a franchisee with Money Mailer. She can be reached at: b.l.kaplan@moneymailer.com.
By Linda Kaplan
Mentoring is an action
Basics of a mentoring program
An actively involved franchisor.
A mentoring committee needs to be established.
Mentoring can be as good for the mentor as for the protégé. Given the positive mind set necessary to succeed, the mentor will achieve some very tangible benefits from their involvement.
