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PHRPS Mentoring Program

In today’s world of high demand performance, filled with critical business decisions and actions that have to be implemented immediately, there are hardly enough hours in the week to provide the level of individual attention needed for the development of every great HR professional.

In 2001, PHRPS launched a mentoring program under the direction of its president, Wendy Axelrod, Principal of Axelrod Associates, who now chairs this effort.  The concept was to help develop a pipeline of great HR professionals to fill the senior ranks of HR in the region in the coming years.  

“We targeted what Marisa Guerin, President of Guerin Management Consulting and past Mentoring program chair, and I called ‘early careerists’ – people who had their degrees or who transferred from other places and were putting their foot into the field of HR,” Axelrod remembers.

“I think the concept of mentoring and the experience of mentoring is something that research has shown is one of the most powerful development resources,” Guerin notes.  “The accomplishments of our mentees over the last few years have certainly proven this to be true.”

Selecting Mentors

Each year, the PHRPS Mentoring committee carefully selects individuals who they believe will be effective in this unique relationship.  But being a mentor is not for everyone.     

“A good mentor is someone who is really able to focus on the mentee and can take themselves out of the equation and focus on what the mentee’s need is, like a good teacher,” says Guerin.  “The pairing process is done once each mentor and mentee has been interviewed.  Mentors are asked about their experiences and strengths.”

The mentoring relationship begins with a kick-off meeting where the mentoring pairs are introduced to each other and the program is explained.  As with any productive relationship, the establishment of clear and mutually agreed upon expectations is an important and critical first step.  Mentors and mentees establish this priority in their initial meetings. 

“What is important is that confidentiality be maintained so when a mentee comes to this program, they have confidence that they may talk about their organizational issues in their home organizations with their mentor without that being broadcasted any other way,” Guerin notes.  “They are not in the same organization as the mentee and they don’t normally have a long ongoing relationship with them, so the mentees might be free of some of the political or personal inhibitions.”

“I think for a mentee to be successful in this program means that they have learned something that is helpful to them in their career,” she adds.  “So it is really all about them.  When a mentee comes in, asks questions, is willing to share what their experience has been and what doubts they might have about a course of action, they will benefit much more from the program. 

“The advice I would give is not how we did it when we were learning the craft,” Axelrod observes.  “In fact, it is likely quite different.  So listening well to the mentee for the context in which they live is very important in any advice we give.  The mentor should allow this process to be a two-way street; know and enjoy that you will be learning from your mentee.”

Creating a Great Fit for Mentees

Mentees are asked what they are looking for in a mentor and what their goals are for the mentoring experience.

“We try to mix in what they are looking for in a mentor, what they want as next career steps, and their geography – because our geography in PHRPS is considerable - and we want to be able to set up as many face-to-face connections as possible,” Axelrod says.   

“When I first met with my mentor Robin Rodin of The Rodin Group, she asked, ‘What do you want from me?’ and I said, ‘I want a promotion,” explains LaTonya Smith, mentee and Analyst HR at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.  “So with that being my primary goal, I slowly began to realize that a promotion was something that was not going to satisfy me.  Getting a promotion was not going to make or break me.”

Sarah Rosin, mentee and HR Manager at GlaxoSmithKline, explained, “My mentor and I were very thorough in contracting with each other about what we needed to make the most of this relationship, and we committed to each other what we were going to offer.”

Producing Positive Outcomes

The mentoring program is not just about the “soft stuff.”  The program expects tangible outcomes, such as improved performance or career advancement.

“I think it not only helped with my focus on my development, but I am sure it helped me with my performance, because we certainly did talk shop too!” Rosin comments.  “It helped me figure out exactly what direction I wanted to head within the company.”

“It has helped me take more initiative here at work.  Consequently, my manager has given me a lot more autonomy with more projects,” Smith adds.

Dozens of “early in career” HR professionals from the Philadelphia region have now gone through the program and have made great strides in their careers.

The Rewards of Participation

Mentees are not the only ones who get something out of this experience.  Universally, when someone has participated as a mentor, they always say this is one of the best thing they have done in their professional association.

“It is gratifying to be able to share the benefit of a career full of experiences,” says Frank Powell, mentor and VP of Business Development, Lee Hecht Harrison.  “I feel like I’m giving back and I feel good about it.  I know that my advice has been timely, folks have followed up on it and have had good outcomes.  And it’s fun!  It feels like I am helping to grow the next generation.”

Guerin adds, “I think it meets a need for the high powered, busy, experienced HR professional – a need to be supportive of a new generation.  It becomes much more of a two-way relationship.  They are not under a microscope where they’ve got to do the things I am talking about or they are the only ones getting the lesson.  I am getting the lesson as well.  There are a lot of things about being a mentor that are rewarding.”

“I have gotten a lot back from it,” Axelrod notes.  “I have mentored five folks in five years and have kept in touch with all of them.  So those relationships have added enormously to my life.  I really enjoy that ongoing contact and those relationships have become very special.”

“I didn’t expect it, but I was very appreciative of it; it was my mentor’s attention to detail and follow up, making sure that I was going to apply some of this stuff that we talked about,” Rosin notes.

An Opportunity for You

The mentoring program is a real bonus to mentors and mentees alike.  To be an HR professional today means that one has to understand a lot of complexity and nuance.     

As Guerin explains, “companies view this as an opportunity that is rare, special and beneficial.  They often tell us they didn’t know the Philadelphia area had this kind of resource that costs them nothing and puts them in touch with really experienced people.” 

Linda Wingate, mentor and Principal, Wingate Consulting, suggests to other mentors that this is “an opportunity for your own growth and development and to have a good time.”

Axelrod advises mentees, “that you make sure you are ready to make the most of this experience.  It will probably only come once.  So, do it at a time when you are dealing with issues that are complex enough so that you can really utilize the great experience that your mentor is going to offer.”

The PHRPS Mentoring program is a great opportunity for both mentors and mentees.  If you haven’t considered participating yet, you should.  

More information on the Mentoring program and how to get involved

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