How to Celebrate National Mentoring Month

What is National Mentoring Month?

National Mentoring Month is a campaign dedicated to recognizing mentoring and the impact it can have on people’s lives. Whether it’s developing employees, supporting young people, or inspiring and preparing college students, mentoring enables people to unleash their full potential by learning from others.

Established in 2002 and recognized yearly by the US president and administration, National Mentoring Month is a time to celebrate the power of mentoring and encourage others to explore how mentoring programs can enable organizations to create more productive, engaged and satisfied people.

National Mentoring Month 2023 Dates to Recognize

January 7 – I am a Mentor Day
January 17 – International Mentoring Day
January 21 – Thank Your Mentor Day

How to Engage in National Mentoring Month

1. Get Educated

Understand the benefits of mentoring for mentors, mentees and the organization – whether that’s in the workplace, academic institutions, non-profit organizations or professional associations.

2. Share Your Experience

Share about your mentoring experience with your mentor or mentee on social media using #mentoringmonth. Make a quick video, share a quote or tell a quick story about mentoring’s impact on you.

3. Connect with Your Mentoring Partner

Reach out to your mentoring partner and set up your next meeting. Prepare ahead of time what you want to talk about, the goals you want to establish and how you can support them in return. Looking for questions to ask?

4. Start a Mentoring Program

Set up a mentoring program in your organization. We know that mentoring in the workplace, academic institution and beyond helps to retain, develop and grow talented people. Get started creating your program today!

5. Promote Your Mentoring Program

Start promoting your existing mentoring program to desired participants. Use the guidelines and templates in our toolkit to make things simple and effective.

6. Become a Mentoring Champion

Talking about your mentoring experience with a friend, a colleague or in a team or company meeting can entice others to participate or seek out mentoring.

Why Mentoring is Needed Now, More Than Ever

statistics about workforce challenges facing organizations

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Employee Burnout

From nurses to tech workers, employees are feeling the heavy weight of burnout after the last few years. Prolonged, unmanageable stress has led 3 out of 4 employees to say they have experienced burnout at their current job, with more than half citing more than one occurrence, according to Deloitte. On top of this, 70% of professionals feel their employers are not doing enough to prevent or alleviate burnout within their organization. With little to no efforts to re-engage the wellbeing and development of employees, organizations are facing increasing challenges with poor quality of work, productivity, and innovation.

Lowest Productivity in Decades

The first half of 2022 saw the worst dip in productivity—“the measure of how much output in goods and services an employee can produce in an hour”—since 1947, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Organizations are under pressure to get performance back to pre-pandemic levels, amidst turnover, layoffs and wide-spread disengagement. Without improvements in productivity, companies are looking at fewer goods and services to take to market, greatly impacting their bottom lines.

Broken Trust

Between the emergence of the disruptive hybrid workplace and the subsequent eras of the Great Resignation, ‘quiet quitting’ and recent mass layoffs, it’s safe to say employers and employees have a trust problem. The pull for power and autonomy on both sides has left the other feeling let down and disengaged. If the workplace is to boost morale and reach a new balance, organizations are going to have to put time and effort into their greatest company asset – their people.

Mentoring Program Admin Resources

Promoting Your Mentoring Program

Just creating a mentoring program isn’t enough to make it succeed. You also need a diligent plan to promote and market your program.

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Mentoring for a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

Whether a failure to get the basics right or resistance to an inclusive workplace, diversity struggles to thrive in many companies.

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How to Start a High-Impact Mentoring Program

Great mentoring programs are built through thoughtful planning and sustained commitment to guiding participants through the program.

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Mentoring Benchmarks Report: Quit Navigating in the Dark

In this report, learn how to understand if your mentoring results are good, bad or average compared to other programs.

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Getting Impactful ROI Out of Mentoring

Learn important factors to consider when calculating your organization’s mentoring impact and overall return on investment.