Hire a consultant for mentoring

Enlisting the aid of a mentoring consultancy can ensure your company's mentors understand how to motivate and encourage other employees. Career mentoring consultants can work with your mentors individually, or set up a mentor training program for ongoing use.

I recommend: Find a mentoring consultant through the mentoring trainer and consultant directories at the International Mentoring Association and the Association of Mentoring Professionals.

Get mentoring advice through in-person or online mentor training

Training programs can offer your prospective mentors essential advice for mentoring. Through in-person seminars and workshops, they benefit from one-on-one interaction with mentoring advisors. With online training, they can work at their own pace, balancing the training with their existing job duties.

I recommend: Strategic Futures offers mentoring training and coaching programs with an emphasis on workforce and succession planning. Insights to Better Mentoring, from Quality Media Resources, is an educational video that spotlights four successful mentor/mentee relationships.

Consider professional mentoring software

The Internet is becoming increasingly important in mentoring relationships, keeping mentors and their mentees connected no matter where they are or what time it is. While computers are no substitute for this personal relationship, mentoring software can help guide your company's mentoring program.

I recommend: MMentPro/MentoringComplete, from Management Mentors, is designed to facilitate the mentoring process by reducing administrative time by up to 40 percent. This software manages any forms and paperwork associated with your mentoring program, and matches mentors and mentees based on their profiles. Saba Career and Competency Management software is designed for helping employees develop their career paths, and determine how they can best be served by mentoring programs.