Running a successful organisation today requires having a high-quality yet low-cost solution. And one such solution is the mentoring program that can help you capitalize on your valuable employees effectively. The program strategically develops their skills so that they can invest their talent in your company’s innovation, bottom line and growth. The perfect mentoring program will demonstrate the management’s interest, concern and support for the employees’ potential with the organization.
Generally, the mentoring program is categorized as formal and informal mentoring. You may think these two are the same, but that’s not really the case. So, what is the difference and which one is better? Keep reading to get a clear idea about this.

Understanding the difference between formal and informal mentoring

When it comes to choosing a mentoring program, most of the organizations generally go for formal mentoring. This mentoring involves a face-to-face meeting for mentees and mentors over a long period. A formal mentoring program is highly organized and well-structured.

In simple words, mentees have certain goals that they need to achieve under formal mentoring. And for this, the mentees and mentors’ thinking needs to be matched and optimized with “mentor matching” that can be done through self-matching, admin matching and preliminary matching.
On the other hand, informal mentoring is quite flexible. Under this, there may or may not be any goals, and it is valid for a shorter period. In some cases, the informal mentoring relationship may last for only one to two sessions. Here, the mentee looks out for specific information and talks to a short-term mentor.

Choosing between informal and formal mentoring

To better understand which one makes a better choice between informal and informal mentoring programs, let’s have a look at the benefits that both offer.

Benefits of Informal mentoring:

1. Informal mentoring may feel natural, and there can be a better result of chemistry between the mentors and mentees. Informal mentee-mentor pairs generally prefer to spend time together as they enjoy the companionship.
2. As there is no formal structure to begin a mentoring relationship, this form of mentoring is generally driven by the mentees. Here mentees seek out the mentors. Besides, the mentoring relationship can hit the goals the mentees have.
3. Informal mentoring allows a better level of flexibility, and this will work great when the mentees need a mentor for a short period, e.g., for one to two sessions. After developing a specific skill set, the mentoring program can be closed down.

Benefits of formal mentoring:

1. When it comes to supporting inclusion and diversity efforts, formal mentoring can work better. An employee may not get equal access to the mentors under informal mentoring. On the other hand, for organizations that try to incorporate more women in the organization’s leadership ranks, formal mentoring would work best.
2. Formal mentoring can offer a better perspective on various departments of the organization. Here, a mentee from the R&D department can pair with a mentor from the sale and marketing department to expand his/her knowledge. This is generally not possible in case of informal mentoring where the pairs are from the same department.
3. Under the informal mentoring program, the objectives are set by the mentees, and the chances are that they may not be organization-specific. However, a formal mentoring program can be roped with the organizational objectives. Here, the company will set the goals for the mentoring program.

What would be the best option?

As you can see, both the mentoring programs have their own set of pros and cons. As such, an ideal option here would be to combine both formal and informal mentoring to achieve the best results for your company. The combination will help introduce the flexibility factor while also adding the element of measurability. This can be done through setting lenient deadlines, promoting a change of scenario, altering mentor matching methods and by encouraging the participants to get connected.

Benefits of combining formal and informal mentoring programs:

• It will allow all the individuals to participate.
• It will provide instant skill development.
• Through this, you can promote self-driven learning among the employees.
• When implemented correctly, there will be minimal maintenance by the company.
• You will enjoy the option of both long-term and short-term meetings.
• The combination will promote better knowledge transfer to everyone.

Both mentoring programs are best for employee development. Implement now and enjoy higher employee retention, better productivity, employee engagement and robust company culture.