Context Overview
Experienced Sales and Marketing professionals need a way to practise broader responsibilities without leaving their current roles. The Mentoring Program gives them structured assignments supporting new hires and colleagues through role transitions, while transferring proven methods, tools and field practices.
Selection, mentor preparation, manager-agreed objectives, activity tracking and closing reviews make the experience measurable. The programme is a development opportunity, not a promotion or new management layer: it reached around 20–30 participants annually for six years, and approximately 35% subsequently moved into roles with greater responsibility.
Stakeholders
Line managers; HR; Sales and Marketing leads; participating mentors; mentees and other beneficiaries.
Deployment
- Set eligibility criteria – e.g. at least two years in role, performance over the previous 24 months and motivation from both the candidate and their sponsoring manager.
- Assess candidates’ knowledge and mentoring skills, including feedback, knowledge transfer supported by storytelling, training delivery and meeting facilitation.
- Train mentors in group sessions, then agree objectives for field visits, mentoring and coaching, presentations, training events and small projects assigned by their managers.
- Track mentor-led activities and feedback from mentees and other beneficiaries.
- Build an online mentor community and Power BI reporting to give mentors, direct managers and HR visibility of activities and progress throughout the 12-month programme—not just at year-end.
- Review each mentor’s contribution and development at programme close, then share the findings with the mentor and their manager to inform the next development plan.
Metrics & Results
- The programme ran for six years in the commercial organisation, reaching approximately 20–30 participants annually.
- Approximately 35% of participants subsequently moved into roles with greater responsibility, including first-line management, more complex commercial assignments or Sales Training.
- On average, 85% of participants rate the programme as valuable for their professional and individual growth.
- Direct managers reported a positive impact; no quantified manager assessment is available.
Competencies, Frameworks and Tools
Mentoring programme design and governance; talent pipeline development; eligibility and competency assessment; experiential learning and mentor preparation; manager sponsorship; feedback and beneficiary evaluation; individual development planning; programme monitoring.
Entry competency assessment; group learning sessions; co-travel and on-the-job assignments; mentoring and coaching sessions; online mentor community; activity tracking and reporting through Power BI; beneficiary feedback; individual closing interviews and development plans.