How Effective is Informal Mentoring in the Workplace?

Mentorship programs have long been proven to improve employee retention, satisfaction, and productivity. When implemented successfully, both employees and organisations reap long-term benefits. In fact, mentorship has been shown to help 87% of individuals feel more empowered in their careers.

As a program coordinator, it’s essential to continuously improve your mentorship program. You need to develop a well-structured program that creates a lasting impact on participants. To build meaningful employee connections, here are some informal mentoring program ideas worth exploring.

At the end of this article, we’ll also share tips for mentoring success from our inaugural roundtable discussion. These tried-and-tested tips are invaluable for shaping your program.

6 Effective Informal Mentoring Program Ideas 

Some of these mentoring ideas may already be practised informally within your organisation:

1. Book Discussions

A great mentoring idea is to incorporate book discussions. Choose books that can make a significant impact on an individual’s career or personal life—useful as a conversation starter.

You can create a small library of these books in your organisation so mentees can read them in their spare time. When ready, they can schedule a session with a mentor who has also read the book and learned from it.

These sessions allow for discussion on the insights gained and how they can be applied to the mentee’s professional or personal development.

2. Job Shadowing

Job shadowing involves the mentee following the mentor through their day-to-day tasks, providing an immersive experience and a first-hand view of the job. This method is also effective in reverse mentoring, giving senior employees a fresh perspective on the role.

Some ways to practise job shadowing include:

• Allowing mentees to join online meetings as silent observers
• Providing access to resources
• Scheduling shadowing sessions on different days to showcase various tasks

3. Professional Development Courses

Encourage continuous learning in the workplace by pairing employees for classes or workshops. This not only promotes professional development but also helps build stronger mentoring relationships.

4. Conferences and Networking Events

Attending conferences, networking events, or workshops together is another beneficial mentoring approach. It offers opportunities to network with others in the industry and learn from experienced speakers.

5. Informal Conversations

Mentoring can also happen in a more relaxed environment, such as over coffee or lunch outside of work. Informal conversations allow for deeper connections and more fluid discussions, as participants feel less constrained by the formalities of the office setting.

Benefits of informal conversations include:

• Encouraging a relaxed environment
• Enabling participants to get to know each other on a personal level
• Facilitating more natural discussions

6. Team Building Activities

Many organisations use team-building exercises to improve workplace dynamics. These activities involve challenges and collaborative tasks, fostering engagement among team members.

The benefits of team building include:

• Improved communication
• Boosted morale and motivation
• Enhanced trust and collaboration
• Strengthened problem-solving skills
• Promotion of diversity and inclusion
• Encouragement of leadership development
• Improved workplace culture

The Problem With an Informal Mentoring Program

While informal mentoring programs can work, they aren’t always the best solution for organisations. Here’s why:

• Lack of Structure: Informal mentoring often lacks clear objectives, timelines, or accountability. Without these, relationships may lose focus, resulting in inconsistent guidance or mismatched expectations.
• Unequal Access: Informal mentoring tends to depend on personal networks, meaning not everyone will have equal opportunities. Introverted employees or those less connected within the organisation may struggle to find a mentor.
• Unclear Goals: Without defined goals, mentees may not receive the support needed to advance in their careers. They may not know what to ask for, leading to vague or unproductive outcomes.
• Unbalanced Relationships: Informal mentoring can sometimes lead to favouritism or unequal mentoring, where some individuals receive more support than others, resulting in uneven career development.
• Lack of Formal Recognition: Since informal mentoring is not always acknowledged by organisations, mentors may lack the motivation to invest significant time and effort into the relationship. Without support from leadership, informal mentoring may have less impact than formal programs.
• Inconsistent Experiences: The absence of a standardised approach means the quality and effectiveness of informal mentoring can vary greatly. One employee might have a productive relationship, while another might receive little benefit.

How to Succeed with a Formal Mentoring Program

While informal mentoring can be effective in fostering relationships and providing flexible, personalised guidance, its lack of structure can make it inconsistent, unbalanced, and inaccessible to some employees. A blend of formal and informal mentoring offers the best of both worlds—ensuring equitable access and structured support while allowing natural relationships to develop.

If you’re seeking a reliable solution, a formal mentoring program is your best bet. Brancher offers proven tools to help make your mentorship program a success. You’ll soon be able to explore these solutions in our upcoming White Paper, which will feature lessons learned from our past customers on why formal mentoring works in organisational settings.

Call us today to learn more about how Brancher’s mentoring tools can benefit your organisation.