University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Attracting and retaining talent: improving the impact of workplace mentorship

(USC Thesis Other)

Attracting and retaining talent: improving the impact of workplace mentorship

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running head: IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 1
ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TALENT: IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF
WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP

by

Eric C. Fung

A Dissertation Proposal Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2017

Rev 20170907
Copyright 2017 Eric C. Fung
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 2
ABSTRACT
Employee turnover negatively affects work morale and organizational outcomes. Staff
mobility in the technology sector is particularly high, often impeding the growth and
expansion of engineering firms. Evidence indicates that mentorship can be an effective
means of retaining talent. This evaluation study examined the performance of a group of
seven mentors in a Hong Kong engineering services firm who had mentored seven final year
students from a vocational training institute in Spring 2016. The purpose of this study was to
understand the existing and needed knowledge, motivational and organizational assets of the
mentors in order to help improve their mentoring performance. Data were collected through
surveys and semi-structured interviews with the mentors. The responses were corroborated
by surveying the affiliated interns after they had become employees of the firm. The findings
suggested that mentors demonstrated high level of knowledge and motivation assets when
guiding the interns. Strengthening of the program framework and establishing a
comprehensive information dissemination channel would seem advantageous to allow the
mentors to stay focused on coaching. Social events and activities which could further
promote staff interactions and bonding should be encouraged. The results further suggested
that by continuing the mentorship program, with some improvements, better retainment could
be achieved. Suggestions were made for increasing the impacts of mentors and refining the
mentorship program in order to pursue the ultimate goal of attracting entry-level engineers
and increasing overall staff retention.

Keywords: engineering mentorship, internship, talent attraction, employee turnover,
staff retention, vocational training

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 9
Problem of Practice ........................................................................................................ 9
Organizational Performance Goal ................................................................................ 10
Stakeholder Groups and Ties to Performance Goals ................................................... 11
Organizational Context ................................................................................................ 13
Purpose of the Project and Inquiry Questions .............................................................. 14
Organization of the Project .......................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................. 16
Employee Turnover ...................................................................................................... 16
Negative Effects of Staff Turnover .......................................................................... 17
Staff morale .......................................................................................................... 18
Organizational outcomes ..................................................................................... 18
Financial Losses ................................................................................................... 18
Causes of Employee Turnover ................................................................................. 19
Common Solutions................................................................................................... 20
Salary and Rewards.............................................................................................. 20
Promotability........................................................................................................ 20
Job embeddedness ................................................................................................ 21
Strong leadership and supportive environment.................................................... 21
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 4
Career and professional development .................................................................. 22
Skill Shortage and Employee Turnover in Hong Kong Engineering Firm Context .... 22
Workplace Mentorship ................................................................................................. 24
Benefits of Mentorship ............................................................................................ 24
Mentoring in Generationally Diverse Workplace .................................................... 25
Issues with generational workforce. .................................................................... 25
Millennials and mentorship.................................................................................. 26
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences ............................ 27
Learning and Motivation Theory on Staff Engagement .......................................... 27
Knowledge and Skills .............................................................................................. 28
Factual and conceptual knowledge. ..................................................................... 28
Procedural knowledge. ......................................................................................... 29
Metacognitive knowledge .................................................................................... 29
Motivation ................................................................................................................ 29
Self-efficacy. ........................................................................................................ 30
Expectancy-value theory. ..................................................................................... 30
Organization ............................................................................................................. 30
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 32
Purpose of the Study and Questions ............................................................................ 32
Methodological Framework ......................................................................................... 33
Identifying Performance-based Needs for Improvement ............................................. 35
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 5
Participating Stakeholders ........................................................................................... 36
Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 38
Personal Data Protection .......................................................................................... 38
Surveys ..................................................................................................................... 39
Interviews ................................................................................................................. 40
Trustworthiness of Data ............................................................................................... 41
Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 41
Role of Investigator...................................................................................................... 42
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND FINDINGS ............................................................. 43
Results and Findings for Knowledge Assets ................................................................ 43
Mentors Established Clear and Timely Goals .......................................................... 45
Mentors Emphasized and Aimed at Quality Work ................................................... 46
Mentors Provided Timely and Appropriate Feedback ............................................. 46
Mentors Allowed Interns to Learn by Doing ........................................................... 47
Mentors’ Knowledge Needs ..................................................................................... 47
Summary .................................................................................................................. 48
Results and Findings for Motivation Assets ................................................................ 49
Enjoyment and Interest were Reflected by Strong Intrinsic Task Value .................. 50
Strong Self-Efficacy Presented Among Mentors ..................................................... 51
Signs of Attribution after Early Doubts ................................................................... 51
Summary .................................................................................................................. 52
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 6
Results and Findings for Organization Assets ............................................................. 52
Corporate Ethos that Supported and Tolerated Interns ............................................ 54
Culture which Encouraged Feedback, Recognition, and Praise .............................. 55
Mentors Established Themselves as Role Models ................................................... 56
Organization Asset Shortfalls .................................................................................. 57
Summary .................................................................................................................. 59
Results and Findings from the Intern Survey .............................................................. 60
Summary of Findings ................................................................................................... 62
CHAPTER 5: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EV ALUATION ........ 66
Deficiencies Selection and Rationale ........................................................................... 66
Solutions for Knowledge Deficiencies ........................................................................ 67
Motivation Assets and Traits for Mentor Candidates .................................................. 68
Solutions for Organization Deficiencies ...................................................................... 69
Implementation Plan .................................................................................................... 70
Solution Integration ................................................................................................. 70
Organizational Environment for Policy Implementation ......................................... 71
Implementation Action Steps and Associated Resource Requirements ................... 72
Intern development key action steps. ................................................................... 73
Mentor development key action steps .................................................................. 76
Timeline for Implementation ................................................................................... 77
Evaluation Plan ............................................................................................................ 79
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 7
Level 1 – Assessment on Reactions, Satisfaction, and Engagement ....................... 80
Level 2 – Assessment on Learning, Commitment, and Confidence ........................ 83
Level 3 – Assessment on Behavior Change and Application of Learning ............... 84
Level 4 – Assessment on Impact .............................................................................. 84
Limitations and Delimitations ...................................................................................... 87
Future Research ........................................................................................................... 88
Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 89
References .................................................................................................................... 90
Appendix A Survey Instrument for Mentor .............................................................. 100
Appendix B Survey Instrument for Intern ................................................................ 102
Appendix C 19 Assumed KMO Assets and Mapping to Survey Items .................... 104
Appendix D Interview Instrument for Mentor .......................................................... 106

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 8
List of Figure
Number Page
Figure 1 Gap Analysis Process .......................................................................................33

List of Tables
Number Page
Table 1 Organizational and Stakeholders’ Goals ..........................................................12
Table 2 Mentor’s Assumed KMO Assets and Ties to LMT ..........................................35
Table 3 Instrument Alignment ......................................................................................38
Table 4 Results from Mentor Survey (N=7) for Knowledge Asset Validation .............44
Table 5 Results from Mentor Survey (N=7) for Motivation Asset Validation ..............50
Table 6 Results from Mentor Survey (N=7) for Organization Asset Validation ...........53
Table 7 Results from Intern Survey (N=5) illustrating Presence of KMO Assets ........61
Table 8 Validation of KMO Assets ...............................................................................62
Table 9 Areas Requiring KMO Interventions ...............................................................65
Table 10 Proposed Solutions to KMO Asset Deficiencies .............................................67
Table 11 Implementation Plan with Key Actions, Stakeholders, Resource....................78
Requirement, and Timeline

Table 12 Proposed Mentorship Program Intervention with Evaluation Plan .................85

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 9
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Employee turnover is a common problem faced by many organizations. Studies have
shown that high turnover of employees can have a significant negative impact on
organizational performance across a variety of contexts (BDA, 2008; Hofaidhllaoui &
Chhinzer, 2014; Kennedy 2009; Rahman, 2012). The negative effects may include reduced
morale, workflow and performance outcomes, which can together impede the growth and
expansion of an organization. Therefore, organizations worldwide regularly seek ways to
mitigate these outcomes (Karallis & Sandelands, 2009; Kennedy 2006; Kram & Ragins 2007)
and devise more effective methods to attract and retain talent.
Employee turnover is a particularly critical issue within the technology and
engineering sector. Due to a soaring demand for knowledgeable and skilled professionals in
these fields, retention becomes a major challenge for organizations attributable to intense
competition and talent scarcities (Hofaidhllaoui & Chhinzer, 2014). Despite the growing
need for more engineers, declines in engineering graduates also lead to shortages of labor. As
a result, it becomes increasingly important for technology and engineering firms to hold on to
their new hires as long as they can (Rahman, 2012).
Problem of Practice
This study focused on a Hong Kong engineering services firm, FMC (pseudonym).
The problem FMC faced was a considerable need for qualified technical staff in entry-level
positions in an environment with fewer engineering graduates available and a highly mobile
workforce. Staffing and retention strategies had become a key priority for FMC’s Human
Resources Department (HR). The firm attempted to recruit new engineering graduates from
the Hong Kong Institute of V ocation Education (IVE). To gain early access to potential
student candidates, FMC also participated in the IVE’s Student Industrial Attachment
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 10
Program (SIAP), which offers a three-month work experience to final year IVE students to
work in a local firm as interns.
The key strategic reason for FMC’s participation in SIAP was that it allowed the firm
to identify suitable intern candidates for future job placement. In light of the competition for
job candidates in the open market, the SIAP recruitment effort became a strategic initiative
within FMC to attract students before they graduated. To ensure the success of this effort,
FMC decided to appoint internal staff to mentor the IVE students with the intention of
providing support as well as pre-screening the pool of SIAP students and selecting candidates
for the firm.
FMC’s Human Resources Department wanted the mentorship program to be a success
so that SIAP could be considered as one of the annual recruitment strategies. With the
support of FMC’s management, a pilot mentorship program was launched by HR for the
Spring 2016 cohort of SIAP interns. Although mentoring was not a novelty concept within
FMC, some FMC staff had coaching experience with junior staff, HR decided that it would
be important to evaluate how effective the program was including the performance of the
mentors, in order to increase the benefit of the program in the future. This study identified
the elements that were crucial to the success of the mentorship program and also to improve
upon any shortcomings found.
Organizational Performance Goal
FMC’s mission was to excel at the delivery of quality engineering services to their
clients with a competitive value proposition. Achieving this goal requires FMC to have
experienced and trained engineers at all skilled levels ready to be deployed at fair market
value. FMC will need to have a solid and stable pipeline of human capital to fuel this need in
a competitive marketplace. It was FMC’s goal by Summer 2018, at the conclusion of the
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 11
2018 mentorship program, FMC would be able to make job offers and retain at least half of
the qualified IVE’s SIAP student interns for permanent entry-level engineer positions.
Stakeholder Groups and Ties to Performance Goals
Four groups of stakeholders were involved in the pilot mentorship program. These
groups were: (1) the Management Team, (2) the Human Resources Department (HR), (3) the
FMC engineers who served as mentors, and (4) the IVE’s SIAP students who were selected to
join FMC’s mentorship program.
The Management Team of FMC was responsible to approve the pilot program budget
prepared by the HR Department. Without the budget, the needed resources would not be able
to funnel into the pilot program to keep it operational. Furthermore, the Management Team
would define overarching directions in the form of mission statement or organizational goals,
so staff including interns would follow.
The second stakeholder group was the Human Resources Department, which had
several key roles to fulfill for the pilot program. The HR Team would prepare the program
budget and framework. HR sets the policies and directions for the program and determine the
measurable goals, together these would form the program framework. Besides being the
interface point with the IVE, HR arranges all the logistics with the IVE SIAP Program
Coordinator. Finally, HR selects suitable engineers as mentors and pair them with the intern
candidates.
The third stakeholder group was the mentors. Mentors were engineers who had been
with the firm for at least 3 years and familiar with the firm’s culture. Prior leadership or
mentorship experience was not a pre-requisite but should be enthusiastic about being a
mentor. Age or gender of the mentors was also not a deciding factor. For the 2016 program,
HR had selected a group of engineers in their late twenties and early thirties, and some with
prior mentoring experience.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 12
Finally, the IVE’s SIAP students or interns were the fourth stakeholder group. The
interns, usually in their early twenties, wanted to broaden their industrial exposure by
participating in the SIAP during their final vocational training year at IVE. Through the
SIAP, interns would be offered a glimpse of real-world engineering practice and a low-stake
work opportunity which could benefit those who might be interested in joining the field after
graduation. SIAP requires participants to engage with an employer for 3 months and work on
a guided project with a final paper as a deliverable.
Table 1
Organizational and Stakeholders’ Goals
Organizational Mission
FMC’s mission is to excel at the delivery of quality engineering services to their clients with a
competitive value proposition. (Note: To do so, this will require FMC to have experienced and
trained engineers at all skilled levels ready to be deployed at fair market value.)

Organizational Goal
By Spring 2018, FMC will have a formal mentorship program with trained mentors ready to guide
the next intern cohort of IVE’s SIAP students. The goal is to train, attract and retain over half of the
qualified interns to become employees by Summer 2018.

Stakeholder 1
Management Team
Stakeholder 2
HR Team
Stakeholder 3
Mentors
Stakeholder 4
IVE’s SIAP Students

Actions Necessary to
Reach the Organization’s
Goal

 Provide resources
and directive/
objective to HR
Team & Mentors
to improve the
Mentorship
Program.

Actions Necessary to
Reach the Organization’s
Goal

 Provide
framework
(directions and
measurable goals)
to the Mentors to
improve the
Mentorship
Program.
 Select Mentors
and pre-screen
qualified IVE’s
SIAP students for
the Mentorship
Program.

Proficiencies/Competencies
Necessary to Reach the
Organization’s Goal

 Complete Mentor
training.
 Map out training
and learning
opportunities for
new hires.
 Provide guidance to
the new hires and
keep them motivated
to succeed in the
Mentorship
Program.

Proficiencies/Competencies
Necessary to Reach the
Organization’s Goal

 While being an
intern in the FMC’s
Mentorship
Program, grasp onto
every training
opportunity and
participate fully.
 Provide candid
feedback about the
training received.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 13
Stakeholder 1 Goals

By Oct 2017, the
Management Team
approves the budget
to support the
Program in 2018.
Stakeholder 2 Goals

By Nov 2017, HR
Team will complete
the guidelines and
measurable goals,
recruited at least 5
Mentors and 10
qualified new hires
for the upcoming
2018 Mentorship
Program.
Stakeholder 3 Goals

By Dec 2017, at least 5
trained Mentors will be
able to deliver a
structured and
measurable training
scheme for the new
cohort of IVE’s SIAP
students.
Stakeholder 4 Goals

In Summer 2018,
qualified Interns will be
given job offers by
FMC, and over half will
consider accepting the
offer made.

In this study, the FMC’s mentors were the key stakeholder and study focus. Mentors
could influence the outcomes of the mentorship experience more so than any other
stakeholder groups. Mentors were ambassadors and role models, especially in the eyes of the
interns. Mentors provided information and knowledge as well as reinforcing the corporate
culture. In terms of simulating interns’ personal and professional growth, mentors sought to
be attentive to where improvement would be needed, offered needed guidance, feedback, and
recognition to keep the interns focused and motivated. Quality mentoring greatly enhances
the learning experience and chances of success. Therefore, this evaluation study on
workplace mentorship examined the performance of the mentors in order to increase the
benefit of the program as a whole.
Organizational Context
A corporate culture model encompasses the values, beliefs, and attitudes that
characterize an organization and guide its practices (Rouse, 2017). Corporate cultures are
often classified by the degree of emphasis placed on a mixture of elements such as hierarchy,
process, teamwork, market, community involvement, social engagement, strategies and even
competition.
A company's culture model, to some extent, if not being articulated openly, may be
defined by details contained in the company's mission statement and/or vision statement.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 14
Organizations review and make changes to its mission and vision statement every few years
based on its strategic plan. Enterprises or conglomerates with deep hierarchies may find it
more difficult to institute widespread changes in company culture and may, instead, seek to
implement these changes at the division level. On contrary, small and mid-size companies
with relatively flat hierarchies may apply the principles of one or more models or depending
on their business needs adapt to the model they value most (Rouse, 2017).
The study subject, FMC (pseudonym), is an Asia-Pacific based integrated engineering
service company. FMC employs over 4,000 staff, over 85% of whom are engineers and
technical staff. The mission of the firm is to provide design, implementation and operation
support for their clients. One of FMC’s strengths is to provide critical engineering and
facilities management services. Through the continuous value creation and enhancement
framework, FMC seeks to achieve long-term client satisfaction.
The business unit examined in this evaluation and improvement study operates in
Hong Kong, with over 100 technical employees. According to the management team of this
business unit, the corporate culture it operates can be classified as the clan culture, which is
commonly found in small and mid-size companies throughout Asia. The clan culture is a
family-like or tribe-like type of corporate environment that emphasizes consensus and
commonality of goals and values (Rouse, 2017). Clan cultures are the most collaborative
among various types of culture model. In mentoring, employer commitment and employee
engagement are thought to promote empowerment and loyalty that will drive productivity and
business success.
Purpose of the Project and Inquiry Questions
In the past, mentorship was loosely defined within FMC, there were no company-
wide policies, guidelines or procedure. In this study, the FMC pilot mentoring program,
patterned after the program guidelines of the IVE’s SIAP, was evaluated with a focus on
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 15
mentorship effectiveness and what aspects shall be fine-tuned and improve in order to attract
and retain entry-level engineers in this particular organizational context. The analysis
focused on identifying the gaps that need to be addressed in the areas of knowledge and skill,
motivation, and organizational assets for the firm’s mentorship program and its stakeholders.
The questions that guided this study are the following:
1. What knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets are present among the
mentors that are useful for successfully supporting and attracting interns to FMC?
2. What knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions are needed to build on
the assets and address deficiencies among the mentors?
Organization of the Project
This study is organized into the following chapters: literature review, methodology,
results and findings, and lastly conclusion with recommendations and limitations. The
literature review focuses on staff turnover, its impacts and possible solutions in the Hong
Kong context. The methodology section discusses the use of Clark and Estes’ gap analysis
framework to evaluate the study of mentors and interns performance. The findings chapter
reports on the validated KMO (defined?) assets and future needs to improve the mentorship
program. Finally, the recommendations focus on an implementation plan which was devised
based on earlier findings.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 16
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter provides a general review of background and impacts of employee
turnover in the corporate context. Turnover is classified herein as an individual motivated
choice behavior (Brayfield & Crockett, 1955), and often this choice made by an employee to
terminate an association with an organization is referred to as voluntary turnover. The causes
and rationale of this unilateral decision by employees have been the interest of practitioners
and researchers for decades, and some promising solutions have been presented to try to
mitigate the outcomes in a variety of contexts.
While exploring suitable solutions to the problem of employee turnover in the
corporate environment, mentorship was identified as the topic of research interest and
pertinence to the context of this study. This chapter also reviews the learning and motivation
theory, focusing on knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational assets that associate
with mentoring efforts, and in particular, the success of mentors. This chapter then concludes
with a review of specific knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors affecting
mentors, mentorship efforts, and related organizational management and support.
Employee Turnover
Employee turnover is one of the most studied topics within the human resource
management community because of its significant impact on organizational performance
regardless of the size of the organization (Shaw, Delery, Jenkins, & Gupta, 1998). Turnover
research is dynamic and ever-changing and has been drawing the attention of scholars and
practitioners alike for a century (Hom, Lee, Shaw, & Hausknecht, 2017). Because of the
immense amount of studies conducted on turnover, thorough literature reviews exist
(Griffeth, Hom & Gaertner, 2000; Hom & Griffeth, 1995; Maertz & Campion, 1998). This
chapter only summarizes some of the theoretical and empirical contributions to the
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 17
knowledge of turnover and how these contributions helped to formulate the topic of this
research study.
Turnover research has been a vital subject of study for management and applied
psychology. Applied research on turnover dated back over 100 years ago (Diemer, 1917;
Douglas, 1918; Eberle, 1919). One of the first empirical studies (Bills, 1925) on turnover
appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology in the 1920’s (Hom et al., 2017).
Hom and Griffeth (1995) defined employee turnover as “employee’s voluntary
severance of employment ties.” Turnover can be quantified as the rate at which employees
leave an organization and are later being replaced. The turnover rate is measured by dividing
the number of employee separations in a given period by the average number of active
employees during the same period. Turnover is different than attrition in which the latter is
being referred to as the gradual reduction of a workforce due to employees leaving and not
being replaced by the employer. When turnover happens in an organization, there is an
outflow on headcounts and there is a subsequent inflow. The issues lie in how fast the
headcount replenishment will be, and also whether this is actually a one-to-one replacement
on the lost skill sets and abilities. This sort of disruptive role changing has a number of
consequences and impacts on the organization, including some that are negative and
detrimental to an organization’s survival.
Negative Effects of Staff Turnover
Employee turnover negatively affects work morale and organizational outcomes and
is a common problem, which has to be dealt with by many organizations. According to
Abbasi and Hollman (2000), “labor turnover is one of the most significant causes of declining
productivity and sagging morale in both the public and private sectors” (p. 333). Further
studies have shown that high turnover of employees can have a significant adverse impact on
organizational performance across a variety of contexts (BDA, 2008; Hausknecht, Trevor, &
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 18
Howard, 2009; Hofaidhllaoui & Chhinzer, 2014; Kennedy 2009; Rahman, 2012; Shaw,
Gupta, & Delery, 2005). To further understand the depth of the unfavorable effects on the
performance, several key impacts are highlighted below.
Staff morale. Frequent staff movements can have a negative impact on team morale
and dynamics (Sinatra, 2015). When employee turnover happens, roles and responsibilities
within an organization need to be reshuffled and delegated. Such discontinuity, whether it is
temporary or permanent, affects staff morale in an organization. This is true when there is no
replacement or a gap persists in the chain of command. Remaining employees may require
contributing more to make up for the loss of manpower. Despite the offering of monetary
compensation, the extra workload and overtime could instigate resentment.
Organizational outcomes. Employee turnover has quantifiable performance impacts
(Sinatra, 2015) to the organization. These can include: (1) the cost and time required for
rehiring, induction, and training; (2) overtime payout to existing employees for workload
reassignment and reshuffling; and (3) in the field service context, the potential to incur more
workers’ compensation due to injuries happen to inexperienced workers filling in the role.
Depending on how urgent and specialized the role is to be filled, the efforts to rehire and train
can be the most costly and consuming. It takes time for new employees to attain the required
knowledge and skills to become familiar with the tasks, and those resources spent on
induction could otherwise be focused on the different parts of the business.
Financial Losses. Turnover among employees can potentially harm their former
employers and cause losses. Hom et al. (2017) highlighted that “employees defecting to
competitors can undermine their former employer’s competitive advantage (via human or
social capital losses or trade secret theft)” (p. 530). There are other impacts such as the
disruption to clients and to the service commitment level, which can lead to potential loss of
revenue and client attrition. Overall, these financial impacts can be detrimental as they can
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 19
reduce an organization’s commercial performance (Heavey, Holwerda, & Hausknecht, 2013;
Park & Shaw, 2013) and also impede its growth and expansion, leading up to undesirable
long-term consequence like survival of the organization. Therefore, by identifying the
underlying factors that may cause employee turnover, appropriate solutions can be devised.
Causes of Employee Turnover
The organizational impact due to employee turnover is prominent, and many research
studies have been conducted in order to identify the causes (Hom et al., 2017). As a result,
many causes for turnover have been found including economic reasons (Tang, Kim, & Tang,
2000), low job satisfaction (Firth, Mello, Moore, & Loquet, 2004; Trevor, 2001) and role and
expectation ambiguity (Muchinksy, 1990; Ongori, 2007). Ongori (2007) noted that if roles
and responsibilities are not clearly defined by the manager or supervisor, the rate of employee
turnover will increase drastically. Mat (2008) and Cummings, et al. (2010) also pointed out
that leadership style and work environment can be related to employee turnover.
Level of job satisfaction also has been found to play a significant role in virtually all
turnover (Lee and Chen, 1999). Early studies found that job performance and job satisfaction
were both predictors of employee turnover intention (Lee and Mowday, 1987). Igbaria and
Greenhaus (1992) had further suggested that job satisfaction and organizational commitment
are the most immediate determinants of turnover intentions. Lee and Ashforth (1993) also
noted that job stress has an inverse relationship to job satisfaction. Severe job stress, for
example, can lead to a drop in job satisfaction, performance and productivity, and eventually
increase the likelihood of turnover (Montgomery, Blodget, & Barnes, 1996; Sager, 1994).
Knowing that there could be one or more turnover causes that exist within an organization,
finding the right solutions to entice the employees to stay becomes imminent for
organizational leaders.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 20
Common Solutions
There are a variety of approaches and studies on managing employee turnover.
According to Igbaria and Greenhaus (1992), turnover intentions can be inhibited by salary
revision and the propensity for promotion. On the other hand, Mitchell and Lee (2001) found
that job embeddedness can allow organizations to hold on to their employees longer by
establishing links. Other scholars had investigated the effects of different organizational
influences on turnover, like leadership styles (Chen & Silverthorne, 2005; Fleishman &
Harris, 1962) and the presence of supportive and understanding working environment
(Hellriegel & White, 1973; Ley, 1996). Thus, insights or solutions may be drawn from one or
more common solutions, the most significant of which will be reviewed here.
Salary and Rewards. Revising salary upward and offering rewards like bonuses and
similar perks could often be considered as a straightforward remedy to employee turnover
(Igbaria and Greenhaus, 1992). However, many organizations are unwilling to increase
wages and incentives as a sole mean for staff retention, worrying about the consequences and
the spiral effects on the company’s bottom line. There are also side effects with the
compensation approach; especially when compensation was perceived to be rewarded
unevenly, staff negativity among those who felt they are treated unfairly can intensify
(Mickel & Barron, 2008).
Promotability. The propensity for promotion can offer a clear career roadmap within
a firm (Igbaria & Greenhaus, 1992). Employees need to know where they are heading in
order to feel motivated. Employees will lose interest in performing to the best of their
abilities and be inclined to change job when they feel their career is a dead end. By offering
an upward career roadmap, employers can help employees to take charge of their career
progression and to feel like their hard work is leading somewhere, which in turn brings about
employee happiness.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 21
Job embeddedness. Mitchell and Lee (2001) argued that being able to form close
attachments to a job will result in enmeshment that makes employees less likely to leave their
post voluntary. Mitchell and Lee identified three main factors that contribute to job
embeddedness: links, fit, and sacrifice. These embeddedness factors refer to (1) the extent
which one has strong links to people or groups in the workplace and in their community; (2)
the degree of fit with their job (e.g. company culture, job duties) and community; and (3) the
level of sacrifice one would willingly to make to give up on things if they leave their job.
The bond and relationship described here would imply a certain level of commitment—there
may be co-workers for whom one serves as a mentor or supervisor, contributions which other
teams are counting on and friends whom an employee enjoys. A decision to leave would
force one to contemplate breaking these relationships, which might consider important and
valuable, and for this reason, would deter turnover.
Organizations, as a result, are trying to get staff involved in long-term projects,
forming teams to perform complex tasks and introducing mentoring systems to facilitate
experienced employees coaching new employees. The goal is to try to establish as many
fitting links as possible, creating a sense of responsibility and even enjoyment and rewards
for these links, and making these links much harder to sever.
Strong leadership and supportive environment. A lack of management
effectiveness contributes to the turnover of engineers (Hofaidhllaoui & Chhinzer 2014).
Therefore, knowing how to improve the effectiveness of management and senior-level
personnel can reduce employee turnover. As a precursor, scholars have been suggesting
organizations to take further measures to understand and map out employee’s needs. By
identifying the gaps that exist, this will allow the procedure to be in place to create a
supportive working environment; harmonized organization culture would likely yield higher
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 22
job satisfaction and happier employees (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999; Clark & Estes, 2008;
Price, 1977; Schein, 2010).
Career and professional development. Training, professional and career
development has also been found to raise self-worth and effectively improve career transition
and promotability. Within the organization, when employers create a professionally
supportive work environment, better retention of experienced individuals can be facilitated.
To increase job embeddedness as earlier described, experienced staff can help nurture less
experienced staff and new hires, establishing professional bonds and relationships.
Professional socialization activities as such can be encouraged through mentorship
experiences. As reported by ManpowerGroup (2016a), lack of hard skills (technical
competencies), lack of experience and lack of soft skills (workplace competencies) are three
of the top five reasons employers could not identify suitable candidates to fill positions. One
promising approach is to build up these skills from within and nurture employees
immediately after they are hired and continue such professional development efforts
throughout their career (ManpowerGroup, 2017). Using mentoring as a part of professional
development can enhance an employee’s career and thus may reduce turnover. When there is
a shortage of skilled labor, spending efforts to retain and develop the employees from within
can be a better strategy than hunting for new employees (ManpowerGroup, 2016a).
Skill Shortage and Employee Turnover in Hong Kong Engineering Firm Context
Hong Kong has been experiencing very low unemployment rate for the past decade.
From the data released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD, 2017), the city
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained to be flat for previous few quarters and
stood at 3.1% for May to July. The engineering talent pool was very limited due to the ten
decade-long, large-scale infrastructure projects taking place in Hong Kong (Gov’t of
HKSAR, 2010). The 2016 annual staff turnover rate for the Engineering sector and the
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 23
combined Construction-Property Development-Real Estate sector were 14.5% and 36%
respectively, versus the weighted average of 20.7% in the overall market as surveyed by the
Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management (HKIHRM, 2017). Engineering and
construction and companies with a pipeline of a significant amount of work in hand, any
outflow in engineer movement could have an impact on the organization as the job positions
are difficult to be filled again.
The global financial crises in the last decade also hit engineering and construction
companies particularly hard; many firms cut staff and have found it difficult to replace those
skills, despite an improved outlook. In the 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers Annual Global
CEO Survey of top engineering and construction industry chief executives, the construction
industry faces major skills shortages in many markets; and 72% of engineering and
construction CEOs were concerned that lack of skills could threaten growth
(PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2016). Globally, engineers are the fourth most difficult to fill
positions (ManpowerGroup, 2017). Manpower reports from Europe similarly suggested that
the labor shortage for engineers there is expected to worsen by 2020 (BDA, 2008). In the
United States, engineers have appeared on the list of hardest to fill jobs for the past nine
years. Kennedy (2006; 2009) provided evidence that engineers have lower retention rates
than other professionals.
In Hong Kong, engineers are an extremely mobile workforce as their skills can be
applied to different work environment and settings. Engineers’ analytical and mathematical
skills sometimes open to opportunities beyond the field of engineering into sectors like the
lucrative financial trading. Because there has been a serious skilled labor shortage in recent
years, engineering posts were among the top four hiring positions from 2006-2016
(Manpower Group, 2016b); it is therefore not difficult for a qualified person to find an
engineering position. Retaining engineers is a significant workforce issue as well. Junior
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 24
engineers, in particular, are getting harder to retain within the service sector and the discipline
at large.
Due to these conditions, staff mobility in the Hong Kong engineering service sector is
particularly high, often impeding the growth and expansion of engineering firms. For
engineering services firm, people are its assets. Large-scale project execution often requires a
combination of different knowledge and skills, and teamwork is crucial to job success.
Turnover could cause disruption to the workflow as well as how knowledge is being
transferred. Therefore, engineering firms are attempting to use various human resources
strategies to help retain their staff (Abbasi & Hollman, 2000). One approach is for senior
engineers to offer on-the-job guidance and training to the junior teammates by serving as
mentors and leaders. In the next section, workplace mentorship will be examined closely and
will include a discussion on forming mentoring relationships with the millennial new hires.
Workplace Mentorship
Employee turnover affects staff morale, disrupts workflow harmony and inhibits
organizational growth and expansion, which are issues faced by Hong Kong engineering
firms regardless of their size. To battle against turnover, mentorship has long been identified
as a promising tool to improve staff retention (Kram, 1985; Kram & Higgins, 2008).
Scholars who have studied workplace mentorship agree that when programs are executed
effectively they may produce benefits (Clutterbuck & Ragins, 2002; Ragins & Kram, 2007).
Research has also illuminated another important facet of workplace mentoring: the reality of
a generationally mixed workforce.
Benefits of Mentorship
Some key benefits of mentorship as documented by Ragins & Kram (2007) point to
the potential that mentoring has to contribute to the reduction of employee turnover. These
benefits include: (1) creating a support system for first-time and existing employees; (2)
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 25
developing knowledge, skills, and experience in a trusted and shared environment; (3)
providing professional encouragement; (4) offering role modeling of expertise, professional
values, and leadership; (5) facilitating professional and personal relationships; (6) offering
opportunities for a better career path and promotability; and (7) enhancing performance,
retention, innovation and leadership capacity. These benefits can be far-reaching for the
mentees, the mentors as well as the engineering firm itself.
Studies have also shown that as long as the goals of mentoring are clear, mentorship
programs can be implemented and produce benefits in a variety of contexts (Karallis &
Sandelands 2009). When offering a mentorship program for student interns, for example,
mentors and mentees must be supported so that the objectives remain clear and the
organization is able to meet its ultimate goal of identifying and hiring qualified intern
candidates. In the next section, a brief discussion will cover working with the millennials.
Mentoring in Generationally Diverse Workplace
A growing body of evidence shows that managing employees of several generations,
often time three or four different generations co-exist, is not a simple task, but it is the reality
of the business world today (Del Campo, 2010; Gladwell, Dorwart, Stone, & Hammond,
2010). Generational diversity in the workforce refers to the extent to which the staff of an
organization represents, or is influenced by, people of different age groups. Generational
diversity and complexities are often partial causes of staff turnover because of the intricacies
of human communications involved across the range of different age groups (Mayfield &
Keating, 2003). To mitigate the effects, the organization has to first recognize these
characteristics of its workforce and embrace the age diversity.
Issues with generational workforce. To further complicate the matter of talent
retention, nowadays, it is not uncommon for an organization to encountered generational
issues where there are different generations of employees working alongside. Dysfunctional
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 26
relationships between junior and senior employees due to generational differences sometimes
cause conflicts affecting an organization adversely (Eby, 2007). The aspiration could be quite
different among the generations, making uniform or unilateral changes might not be effective
or could be damaging. Mentoring episodes can be an effective approach toward improving
the relationship with employees, allowing them to interact and enhancing communications
and bonds among peers (Kalbfleisch, 2007).
Millennials and mentorship. Current literature refers to millennials as those born
between 1980 and 2001 (Aube, 2015). There is growing importance for understanding the
millennial turnover in the workplace, as their work ethic and aspirations are very different
than generations before them (Aube, 2015; Caruso, 2014; Gladwell et al., 2010; Singh,
Bhandarker & Rai, 2012). Mentorship can be seen as an effective approach to tackle both the
skill gap issue as well as the generational gap and therefore have a positive impact on
retention (Kram & Higgins, 2008). This is where proper guidance and mentorship can be a
good starting point in the coaching journey (Kram & Ragins, 2007). Mentoring represents an
effective strategy in the early stage of careers (Karallis & Sandelands 2009). However,
employers cannot operate with the expectation that interns will consider their host
organization as the top choice for upcoming full-time employment; that is not how the
millennials think. Mayfield and Keating (2003) explained that the millennials will take
advantage of the internship as a training ground, to explore and gain their experience, and
will move on to another organization that they believe will perhaps treat them better unless
given a reason not to leave. Therefore, Mayfield and Keating further suggested, “training,
diverse assignments, and mentoring cannot be postponed until the intern is hired; the
company must put forth the effort prior to the employment interview if it expects to have the
candidate’s interest.”
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 27
Mentorship program for these interns should be designed with flexibility and
practicality in mind, with the possibility that the mentoring relationship will remain and
continue to foster after the interns were hired. For the purpose of this study, the focus will be
on improving the positive influences of the mentorship in order to attract and retain qualified
interns. To maximize the performance outcomes of the program, it is necessary to examine
and refine current aggregate of knowledge, motivation, and organization assets, and explore
new ones as they materialize.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences
The knowledge, motivation, and organization (KMO) influences that might impact the
organization goal of improving mentorship is examined from a theoretical perspective and by
reframing specific literature previously reviewed that is relevant to the knowledge,
motivation, and organization factors.
Learning and Motivation Theory on Staff Engagement
As mentioned earlier, the Clark and Estes’ KMO framework will be used to assess the
shortfall in mentor’s performance in knowledge, motivation, and organizational dimensions.
To formulate the needed survey and interview questions for the mentorship participants, The
Gallup Workplace Audit (or Q
12
® as being referred to by The Gallup Organization, 1992-
1999) employee engagement instrument was referenced. As Buckingham and Coffman
(1999) pointed out, these twelve questions were designed to effectively measure employee
engagement as well as employee turnover. Their study showed that companies that
responded positively to the twelve question instrument, profited more, were more productive,
retained more employees, and satisfied more customers. Based on a modified set of
questions derived from The Gallup Workplace Audit (1992-1999), the research approach of
this paper is to through Clark and Estes’s framework to determine the inherited performance
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 28
gap on the mentors, attract interns for full employment and reduce the turnover of these
newly joined employees.
Knowledge and Skills
In an organization, mentorship is being defined as guidance provided by a mentor,
usually one with experience and with honed knowledge and skills. It is through mentorship,
predefined set of knowledge and skills are being transferred to the less experienced mentees.
So for the mentor, s/he must have the knowledge, skills and the expertise to deliver them to
the mentees (Krathwohl, 2001).
This paradigm of knowledge transfer or cognitive process can be considered
successful if it is being adopted by the mentees. Following Mayer’s definition (2011), the
instructional objective of the mentorship is to enhance mentee’s own knowledge and skill set
through the mentoring process. This includes to learn and synthesize contents introduced by
the mentors, learn to apply those knowledge and skills, and finally through application of
these skills successfully complete specified tasks independently.
Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) classified the above cognitive concepts and their
significance in their interpretation of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In the context of mentorship, the
revised taxonomy model highlights the pre-requisites for a mentor and the series of step
require toward achieving a viable mentorship. The three most applicable and transferable
levels of knowledge from a mentor to a mentee are factual, conceptual, and procedural. In
addition, for a mentor himself, there is a four type – it is the notion of being able to master all
these metacognitively, such that he can truly demonstrate his ability to reflect on and monitor
how the mentorship can excel.
Factual and conceptual knowledge. Following Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001)
cognitive hierarchy, mentors must first be able to remember, understand, and analyze the
knowledge they had gained. And it is through mentorship, the mentor can further evaluate
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 29
and create or synthesize the knowledge and the skills he possesses as part of the extended
cognitive process. This ability will translate into mastery and pedagogical skills, affecting the
quality of the mentorship. On the contrary, if this is done half-heartedly, it will reflect on the
mentorship.
Procedural knowledge. Application and execution are just as crucial for a mentor.
Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) stated that by incorporating the kind of knowledge to be
learned as foremost, the sequence and process used on learning are as equally important.
Following Anderson and Krathwohl’s cognitive process and steps, mentors should have clear,
focused objectives and delivery approaches, and be able to apply the knowledge they have
gained to provide a model for mentees in performing assigned tasks. The model comprises of
subject-specific skills, techniques, and criteria for determining when to use the appropriate
procedure. Mackey’s “10-60-90” Principle (1994), suggested that when mentor combines tell
and show with the mentee demonstrating what was observed, the mentee will retain
approximately 90% of the instructional effort, which demonstrated higher instructional
retention than just telling (10%) and tell-and-show combined (60%).
Metacognitive knowledge. Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) define metacognitive
knowledge as the ability to reflect and adjust as necessary including assessing demands,
planning one’s approach, modifying strategies and monitoring progress. In other words,
experience and breadth of knowledge alone are just the pre-requisites for someone to be a
mentor. More importantly and pedagogically, it is the mentor’s expertise that allows him to
skillfully and tactfully transferring these assets to the mentees. Often this expertise is being
considered as the metacognitive knowledge.
Motivation
From the KMO framework, second key influence on mentor is motivation. A mentor
must have confidence and self-efficacy in his/her execution and delivery. At the same time,
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 30
with a clear goal and objective, mentor introduces attainments to the mentees. This can be
achieved simply based on the tasks that need to be performed. Mentors should also
encourage his mentees by showing affection and offer praise when necessary.
Self-efficacy. Motivation and performance are enhanced when the subjects have
positive expectations about their own ability and role in achieving success (Bandura, 1997).
For mentors, having the right attitude and determination are essential, and both have a
positive impact toward the success of the mentorship.
Expectancy-value theory. Eccles et al. (1983) described expectancy-value theory in
terms of both expectations for a successful outcome and the value one places on that
outcome. Wigfield and Cambria (2010) postulating that interest may be the first to emerge,
followed by importance (sense of self) and utility value (usefulness of activities and ideas).
As a mentor, setting goal and mission for the mentees is essential. Harter, Schmidt, Asplund,
Killham, and Agrawal (2010) had argued that being competent at activities one thinks are
important is an important positive predictor of self-esteem. Wigfield and Cambria (2010)
stated, “There are many reasons why student self-report is a good way to measure motivation;
if one is interested in measuring individuals’ beliefs then self-report needs to be used.”
Organization
An organization needs to provide resources to support the mentorship. Gallimore and
Goldenberg (2001) discussed sufficient resources allocation, as part of the cultural settings,
can have on the improvement of schooling and teaching. Besides resources and support,
Bersin (2013) believed one of the keys to building a “smarter workforce” requires
organizations to implement a continuous learning strategy and to develop a work
environment that makes work enriching. Kram & Regains (2007) further talked about the
benefits of extending the mentorship network, to achieve a more sustainable model between
mentors and mentees.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 31
With over 100 years of research on employee turnover and retention serving as the
foundation, finding a correct approach and strategy for a particular organization context is
still no easy feat. Therefore, it is the goal of this study to examine an approach which deems
suitable and experiment with it. In next chapter, the Clark and Estes’ gap analysis framework
(2008) is used as the primary methodological framework for the evaluation study of the
FMC’s mentorship program. Presumed causes are identified and formulated as instruments
based on the Gallup’s Q12 format (1992-1999). The instruments probe the mentors and
mentees on the selected knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets, and try to validate
current and other needed assets in order to achieve the ultimate goal of positively influence
mentorship program outcomes.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 32
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Purpose of the Study and Questions
Given the strategic importance of attracting and retaining talent and the role of
mentorship as a solution to reducing staff turnover, this study sought to examine the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets necessary to yield an effective mentoring
program. It was the aim of the organization under focus in this study, FMC, to develop
mentorship as a viable solution to help mitigate staff turnover and improve long-term
company growth and ongoing staff morale.
As Buckingham and Coffman (1999) argued, employees do not leave companies, they
leave managers. In this vein, the purpose of this study was to conduct a gap analysis to
determine what needed to be improved in the firm’s mentoring practice. The analysis
focused on identifying the key assets and needs among FMC’s mentors in the areas of
knowledge and skill, motivation, and organizational support. The questions that guided this
study were:
1. What knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets are present among the
mentors that are useful for successfully supporting and attracting interns to FMC?
2. What knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions are needed to build on
the assets and address deficiencies among the mentors?
For FMC, it became salient to have a systematic approach and effective methodology
to help identify a solution to increase talent attraction. The gap analysis model by Clark and
Estes (2008) will be a pertinent tool to be applied here.
In this Chapter, details on the methodological framework, the assumed KMO needs,
and the learning and motivation theory on staff engagement will be discussed. Furthermore,
the rationale for choosing the stakeholder groups (research participants), the procedure for
data collection, data analysis, and data validation will be further illustrated. The chapter
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 33
concludes with a brief discussion of data trustworthiness as well as the role of the
investigator.
Methodological Framework
The gap analysis model (Clark & Estes, 2008) is an analytical framework which helps
an organization or its stakeholders reach their intended performance goals. The gap analysis
process encompasses seven stages: (1) identifying key organizational goals; (2) measuring
current performance; (3) identifying gaps between goals and performance; (4) analyzing
performance gaps to determine their assumed causes; (5) validating assumed causes; (6)
identifying and implementing solutions; and (7) evaluating results (see Figure 1).
First, the organization establishes key organizational goals about what they want to
accomplish. Then the organization measures their current performance and identifies
relevant and responsible stakeholder group(s) that should be targeted. The organization then
identifies the performance gap between current achievement and its desired target
performance goal levels.
Figure 1. Gap Analysis Process (Clark & Estes, 2008, p. 22)
(Clark & Estes, 2008, p.22).
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 34
The key to the gap analysis is to examine various assumed human causes, assets and
needs related to an organizational performance problem. Through a series of steps to validate
the assumed causes, the framework helps reveal the actual underlying influences and barriers.
With the targeted stakeholder group in mind, the model classifies these influences into three
categories: knowledge and skill, motivation, and organizational factors. These can be referred
to as the “KMO” factors. By studying each category in details, the focus is to uncover the
influences that cause the performance gaps. Through the application of various learning and
motivation theories against these barriers, the model provides a systematic approach to arrive
at the root causes.
When the influences have been validated, root causes can be resolved proactively. By
allocating necessary measures and resources, solutions can be developed for trial
implementation. FMC can evaluate how effective the recommendations and implemented
solutions are in achieving its targeted objectives. If the desired outcomes have not been met,
the framework allows reiterations, subsequent analyses can be applied to further narrowing of
any prevailing gaps, ultimately reaching the desired performance goals.
In this study, Clark & Estes’ (2008) methodological framework is applied to examine
a recent mentorship practice in 2016. Mentorship can have a positive impact on staff
retainment when executing properly (Kram & Ragins, 2007). FMC’s long-term objective
intended to retain over half of the qualified interns upon completion of each mentorship
program. In this evaluation and improvement study, gap analysis is used to systematically
ascertain the KMO assets in the practice of mentors and thereby validate underlying key
assets impacting intern attraction and retainment. The validation of key assets helps to
improve the effectiveness of the mentorship program.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 35
Identifying Performance-based Needs for Improvement
Performance-related needs are often assumed, but not validated. As a result of the
presumptions made at FMC, management often overlooks the real needs. As such, a proven
methodology to examine and validate existing and unaccounted needs would be imperative.
In the previous section, Clark & Estes’ (2008) methodological framework was introduced and
will be used to initiate the gap analysis. A reasonable and receptive approach to identify
presumed causes was to seek out what factors would drive the interns to detach from FMC
after the completion of the internship program or lost interest in joining FMC to become a
permanent staff. Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman from the Gallup Group identified a
list of twelve questions to help probe the level of employee engagement (1999). By
modifying these twelve questions, a list of assumed assets (Table 2) becomes available for the
investigator to examine and validate if the mentors and FMC possess these assets and
attributes to raise the level of intern engagement.
Table 2
Mentor’ s Assumed KMO Assets and Ties to Learning and Motivation Theory (LMT)
19 Mentor’s Assumed KMO Assets
LMT
Classification
Knowledge Assets

1. Mentor knew how to provide post-assessment feedback.

Procedural
2. Mentor possessed the factual information on organization’s mission and
goal and took time to share with the interns.

Factual
3. Mentor stressed on quality work.

Procedural
4. Mentor took time to explain the Value Creation Concept to the intern.

Conceptual
5. Mentor had provided clear goals so the intern knew what was expected
at work.

Procedural
6. Mentor provided opportunities to allow the intern to attempt first and
explain later.

Procedural
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 36
19 Mentor’s Assumed KMO Assets
LMT
Classification
7. Mentor was able to align learning objectives and outcomes with the
organizational goals for interns.

Conceptual
8. Mentor understood the importance of interns and their role in the
organization.

Factual

Motivation Assets

9. Mentor enjoyed being a mentor.

Intrinsic Task
Value
10. Mentor felt he was capable being an effective mentor.

Self-efficacy
11. Mentor was confident about his ability to provide guidance.

Self-efficacy
12. Mentor believed their efforts matter in the success of the intern.

Attribution

Organization Assets Cultural Setting

13. Mentor regularly gave recognition/praise to intern for good work.

Encouragement
14. Mentor established himself as a role model.

Seniority
15. Mentor regularly asked interns for his/her opinion or ideas prior a task.

Encouragement
16. Mentor regularly discussed progress with the intern.

Feedback
17. The organization had given sufficient resources such as materials and
equipment to the interns.

Resources
18. Intern was given the opportunity every day to use his / her abilities to
perform well.

Encouragement
19. Staff Orientation helped to disseminate introductory information.

Orientation

Participating Stakeholders
The participating stakeholders for the gap analysis were all members of the FMC
Facilities Management Team, who had been involved in some forms of coaching and/or
mentoring in the past. Mentors were chosen, as the primary research subjects because in the
internship program mentors dictated what knowledge was being transferred and what skill
sets were taught and learned. The interns, on the other hand, were on the receiving end of
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 37
these lessons. Mentors clearly demonstrated being in an active role of the pedagogical
relationship. Mentors were the ones who had direct learning impacts on the interns and
presumably having an indirect influence on whether an intern was likely going to stay after
the internship program and work for FMC. Nevertheless, reverse mentoring was currently
not being practiced, the effect of personal relationship building could be neglected or
reserved for future study.
The population size of the mentors at FMC was relatively small. There were seven
mentors who just finished mentoring the Spring 2016 cohort of interns (N=7). The age of
the mentor ranged from late 20’s to 30’s, and they were all male. By definition, the mentors
were directly involved in giving coaching and guidance to the interns during the internship
period. The mentors were invited to participate in both a Likert-scale survey as well as a one-
on-one interview. Due to small population size, a full sample was taken. Member checks
were conducted to ensure accuracy.
To triangulate the effectiveness of the mentors’ efforts, the mentees were invited to
participate and were treated as a validation group. The mentees were new joiners and were
interns who paired with the mentors in the Spring 2016 cohorts of the mentorship program
(Note: the terms “mentee” and “intern” will be used interchangeably but refer to the same
group of five participants). All of them were final year students from the local vocational
institute, which had just finished their industrial attachment program with FMC. With five of
the seven interns from Spring 2016 eventually joined FMC, the population size of the interns
was relatively small (N=5). The interns were all in their twenties and were mostly male. A
Likert-scale survey was given to the interns in order to validate the responses given by the
mentors above. In the intern survey, questions were posed in order to triangulate the
pedagogical and mentorship experience which ties to intern attraction and retainment.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 38
Data Collection
The research approach of this paper is to through Clark and Estes’s framework to
determine the inherited performance gap on the mentors, their influence to attract interns for
full employment and reduce the turnover of these newly joined employees. Participants
solicited were mentors and mentees (former interns) of the FMC Facilities Management
Department. Surveys and interviews were conducted by a trained and University of Southern
California’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved research assistant to collect data
based on the Clark and Estes’ (2008) KMO influences on the subjects. Prior permission from
the IRB was obtained. To validate knowledge, motivation and organizational assumed assets
and to address the research inquiry questions, paper-based surveys and in-person interviews
were conducted (Table 3). Each method will be discussed next.
Table 3
Instrument Alignment
Research Questions Surveys Interviews
1. What knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets are
present among the mentors that are useful for successfully
supporting and attracting interns to FMC?

X X
2. What knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions
are needed to build on the assets and address deficiencies
among the mentors

X X

Personal Data Protection
There were IRB guidelines on personal data protection, the data collection procedure
ensured the subject’s identity in confidence. No identifiable demographic information was
collected during the study. All data and results were maintained, tabulated and processed on
password-protected mobile devices. All data files were password protected. A copy was
made for backup purposes stored on an independent external storage device that was also
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 39
password protected. Both paper copies and data storage device were maintained in a locked
drawer. Upon completion of the data analysis, all copies of data and all recordings would be
kept for three years before being destroyed.
Surveys
The intern and mentor surveys were distributed in paper form in December 2016,
once approval from the IRB was received. The surveys were administered in English and
were distributed to current mentors and current mentees (former interns) in FMC. Because
the size of the population was no more than seven in both sample groups, it was feasible to
gather survey data in person from the participants by an IRB trained and approved
administrator. The mentors were asked to respond to a Likert scale survey instrument
consisted of 19 items (Appendix A), and for the interns, a separate Likert scale survey with
13 items was applied (Appendix B). Survey items were assessing all three aspects of the
Clark and Estes (2008) framework, focusing on knowledge and skills, motivation and
organizational assets.
To formulate the survey and interview questions for the mentorship program
participants, the Gallup Workplace Audit, also known as the Q
12
® Workplace Engagement
Survey (The Gallup Organization, 1992-1999) was referenced. The Q12 Survey was
introduced as an effective employee engagement validation instrument. Therefore, the intern
survey adapted the Q12 Survey and used a 4-point Likert scale to better represent intern’s
attitudes to engagement with FMC. The intern survey was launched prior to the mentor
survey in order to gauge the response and provide some degrees of foresight about the
attitudes of the intern cohort and the mentors.
The mentor survey was designed differently to examine the presence of assumed
KMO assets among the mentors. Some of the questions were structured such that there was a
corresponding tie to the intern survey, allowing triangulation of data. Each question was
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 40
measured using a 4-point Likert scale to better represent mentor’s attitudes to coaching.
Appendix C outlined the 19 presumed KMO assets of the mentors and the relationship
between the mentor and the intern surveys. A point worth mentioning, it was difficult to
gauge mentor’s motivation through the eyes of the interns, therefore, data validation would
also rely on the information gathered from the mentor interviews.
Interviews
Current and active mentors from the FMC Internship Program were interviewed
individually, in person in December 2016 and January 2017. Interviews consisted of 9 open-
ended questions (Appendix D) and each lasted approximately 60 minutes. The participants
were Chinese with their first language being Cantonese (a southern spoken dialect of
Chinese), the researcher believed if the interviews were conducted in the respondents’ native
tongue, the responses could be more candid and the discussions would be richer, as there
would be less distortion due to the language barrier.
The interview questions were first developed in English, then translated into
Traditional Chinese. The instrument was then translated back from Chinese to English by a
third party within FMC who had no direct involvement with the mentors and the mentees.
Through comparison of the back-translation to the original instrument, this served as a quality
check on the original translation (Brislin, 1970), see Appendix. Interviews were conducted in
Cantonese and took place inside a meeting room at FMC Head Office. Each interview began
with a standard interview protocol that included obtaining permission to record the interview
for later transcription and coding. The interview protocol could be found in Appendix D.
After the interviews were conducted, transcribing first in Chinese and then translating them
into English were performed. The transcripts were read by a few participants as member
check to ensure data accuracy and trustworthiness. The coding and analysis were performed
on the responses.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 41
Trustworthiness of Data
In order to use a valid and reliable instrument to gather meaningful data from the
participants, most of the questions used in this study were developed based on the well-
established Gallup Workplace Audit (The Gallup Organization, 1992-1999). Since the
instrument’s inception in the 1990’s, the survey has been widely-used by Gallup and other
organizations to effectively and accurately measure employee engagement in the workplace
(Buckingham & Coffman, 1999; Gallup, 1999; Harter, Schmidt, Killham, & Asplund, 1993).
Data validity was also ascertained through triangulation techniques. Besides cross-
referencing questions in both surveys and interviews, mentees were also asked to participate
in a survey to further corroborate the responses from the mentors. Furthermore, being in a
management position in FMC, the researcher was able to draw on extensive experience to
help avoid drawing spurious conclusions.
As described earlier in the Personal Data Protection section, anonymity for the survey
and confidentiality for interviews were strictly observed. There were clear protocol and steps
for the assurance of personal data privacy. Explanations were made clear at the beginning of
all data gathering to ensure the participants could engage in the study freely without being
worried about the outcome of their responses.
Finally, member checks were conducted, which helped confirm themes being found in
the data and avoid misunderstandings by the researcher (Maxwell, 2013).
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted once all survey results were collected.
Interview results were transcribed and coded into themes that mesh with the knowledge,
motivation and organization categories. Intern surveys were examined to further triangulate
mentor’s survey and interview results, providing an in-depth assessment that complemented
the respondents’ output.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 42
Role of Investigator
The principal investigator is a member of the FMC management team, who oversees
the operation of the firm. One of the roles of the management team is to ensure the firm is
able to hire, retain talented individuals to sustain its operation and to meet long- and short-
term business objectives. The Human Resources Department reports to the management
team. However, none of the subject in this study has a direct reporting role to the
management team.
As the principal investigator of this study, the role was to conduct an evaluation of the
performance and propose solutions to help FMC improve on the mentorship program via
improvement of the mentorship effectiveness, thus to positively impact the hiring of interns.
In this study, staff members were made aware of the role of the principal investigator
and steps were taken to ensure the anonymity of survey and interview respondents. As part
of the interview and survey protocols, staff members were informed that the primary purpose
of the study was to gather information for the purposes of improving the organization and
that any information obtained during this process was anonymous and utilized for that
purpose only. Staff was also informed that no identifiers were to be collected to ensure the
highest level of participant confidentiality. Staff members were reassured that participation
was voluntary and that there were no consequences for electing not to participate. FMC staff
members were also made aware that the investigator was working on this study as a doctoral
candidate and that consolidated findings would be presented to members of the management
team. Staff members were informed that it was the management team who had the authority
to decide what to do with the findings of this study.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 43
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
This chapter provides a review of findings on the knowledge and skills, motivation,
and organizational assets surrounding mentors in the FMC mentorship program. To provide
the most holistic analysis of the assumed assets present in FMC, data from the mentor survey,
the intern survey and the mentor interviews were triangulated. Almost all assets identified in
Chapter 3 were validated by the mentor and intern surveys. The survey results were
generally very strong, which might indicate that all assumed assets were present. By
examining the data from the semi-structured mentor interviews, however, there were some
possible deficiencies found, and most apparently among the organizational assets, which
indicate areas for improvement. These findings will be further discussed in this chapter. The
chapter is organized such that assets and deficiencies of knowledge, motivation and
organizational areas will be revealed and discussed in sequence.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Assets
When implementing a mentorship program, the mentors’ knowledge about key
aspects of mentoring is a major factor in determining if the program is going to be a success
or not. This section reports on the findings of the knowledge assets of the mentors in this
study. The data revealed that mentors had most of the knowledge required to perform their
duties properly. Overall, mentor responses were very high across most of the mentor survey
questions probing knowledge assets, as can be seen in Table 4, where there was an overall
mean of 3.23 on a 4-point Likert scale (SD=0.50) across all of the knowledge items. Data
from the interviews with mentors and from the intern surveys also supported the findings that
mentors generally possessed the requisite knowledge. These findings were further validated
by the very positive responses on the intern survey question about whether someone at work
“encouraged their development.”

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 44
Table 4
Results from Mentor Survey (N=7) for Knowledge Asset Validation (Instrument MTR-4LIK)
Assumed “K” Asset M SD
Affirmed /
Triangulated by Asset Validation
1. Mentor provided post-
assessment feedback.
(Q15)

3.50

0.50

Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q11; M=3.00;
SD=0)

Validated
Procedural
2. Mentor possessed the
factual information on
organization’s mission
and goal and took time
to share with the
interns. (Q7)

3.43

0.49

Interview

Validated
Factual (Asset No. 2,
4, & 5 in tandem)

3. Mentor stressed on
quality work. (Q12)

3.43

0.49

Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q9; M=3.40;
SD=0.49)

Validated
Procedural (Asset
No. 3 & 7 in tandem)
4. Mentor took time to
explain the Value
Creation Concept to the
intern. (Q9)

3.33 0.47 Interview Validated Conceptual
(Asset No. 2, 4, & 5
in tandem)

5. Mentor had provided
clear goals so intern
knew what was
expected at work. (Q6)

3.29

0.45

Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q1; M=3.00;
SD=0)
Validated
Procedural (Asset
No. 2, 4, & 5 in
tandem)
6. Mentor provided
opportunities to allow
an intern to attempt
first and explain later.
(Q16)

3.17

0.37

Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q3; M=3.40;
SD=0.49)
Validated
Procedural
7. Mentor was able to
align learning
objectives and
outcomes with the
organizational goals for
interns. (Q8)

3.00

0

Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q8; M=3.20;
SD=0.40)
Validated Conceptual
(Asset No. 3 & 7 in
tandem)

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 45
Assumed “K” Asset M SD
Affirmed /
Triangulated by Asset Validation
8. Mentor understood the
importance of interns
and their role in the
organization. (Q10)

2.71

0.45

Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q8; M=3.20;
SD=0.40)
Inconclusive
Factual (2/7 Mentors
failed to do so.)

Overall 3.23 0.50

Overall, analysis of the survey and interview data suggested that the mentors
possessed seven of the eight assumed knowledge assets necessary for coaching interns. In
contrast, it was determined that one of the eight assumed knowledge assets represented an
area where the mentors could use further development.
Mentors Established Clear and Timely Goals
There was evidence that mentors understood and were able to set clear goals for the
interns early on in the mentoring process. These knowledge areas correspond to asset number
2, 4 and 5 in Table 4. Mentors would take time to explain to the interns what the
organization’s mission and goals were, such that the interns earlier on in the program could
know what was expected of them in the new working environment, this was a stepping stone
toward paving the way for subsequent training objectives. For instance, a mentor explained:
“Our goal here was to provide quality engineering services that exceed our client’s
expectations. To achieve that, every team member including interns would work together to
create values for the client.” The mentor established the provision of quality services to
clients as a common goal for his entire team, thus ensuring a clear level of commitment for
his intern as well. Another example, one mentor explained: “Once I had received my
assignment, I would tell my intern what we were about to do, laying out the steps so he would
be aware and able to follow closely.” For the interns, being new to an organization, having
mentors showing them the roadmap and the “to-do” list would provide clarity on the work
assignment and create an opportunity to communicate with each other. Overall, these
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 46
findings suggested that mentors had the knowledge to establish working goals with the
interns, leading to further guided practical training. Thus, asset number 2, 4 and 5 were all
validated.
Mentors Emphasized and Aimed at Quality Work
Another key aspect was the mentors’ tendency to stress the importance of doing
quality work which illustrated by asset number 3 and 7. For example, mentors were noted
saying, “it was one of our goals to deliver quality services, but in order to do so, each
member of the team was required to do quality work and that included intern.” According to
the intern survey, interns reflected positively on their team’s commitment to quality work,
where the item for commitment to quality scored a mean of 3.4 (SD=0.49) on a 4-point Likert
scale. These findings suggested that mentors had the knowledge to help interns establish
requisite procedures and set learning objective to achieve quality work and overall align them
with the organization’s mission. Asset number 3 and 7 were both validated.
Mentors Provided Timely and Appropriate Feedback
Another strong knowledge asset, asset number 1, was the mentors’ ability to know
when and how to provide feedback to further correct and enhance the intern’s understanding
of the work required. Mentors described taking time during work assessments to offer
immediate feedback and suggestions to help the interns complete the task. During
interviews, mentors were noted saying they would tell or illustrate to their interns how to do a
task properly after the interns had a failed attempt. For example, a mentor reported that he
“would remind [his intern] that the work could be done in a better way if we had considered
these precautions early on.” On the other hand, one mentor said, “I would tell [my intern] he
did good work as a way to recognize or to motivate him.” Sometimes, offering feedback
might require extra effort and time from the mentors, but one mentor acknowledged “it’s
worth it down the road.” Asset number 1 was validated.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 47
Mentors Allowed Interns to Learn by Doing
Mentors provided tasks for their interns based on learning objectives and by offering
the interns opportunities to learn through trial and error, this was demonstrated in asset
number 6. Mentors were able to demonstrate their knowledge on recognizing and creating
suitable learning opportunities. One mentor stated: “In a controlled situation, I would let my
intern try out a task first, so we could both look at the outcomes and could take corrective
action where was needed;” a good example of learning by doing. Other mentors talked about
instances toward the latter part of the program, when interns began to “grasp the trade
knowledge” and “succeeded in meeting primary learning objectives,” that the interns were
encouraged to take more control of daily tasks. To build intern’s self-efficacy, for example,
one mentor said, “I encouraged him to give this [task] a go, he hesitated, but I told him he
would need to practice this on his own and learn how to do this by himself.” And another
mentor showed how his foresight and efforts paid off by explaining: “I will let [my intern] try
it first, but the gratification that he did it correctly was rewarding for the both of us.” These
actions demonstrated the mentors’ ability to guide their interns to learn in a hands-on manner,
which is an important milestone for the mentorship program. Asset number 6 was validated.
Mentors’ Knowledge Needs
Although mentors demonstrated the possession of the seven knowledge assets
described above, deficiencies were found in their understanding of the importance of interns’
role within the organization, asset number 8 in Table 4. On the contrary, in the intern survey,
the interns responded positively to the statement about the mission or purpose of the
organization having made them feel their job was important.
There were inconclusive findings of the mentors’ understanding of the importance of
interns. The lower mentor survey score for this asset suggested that some mentors did not
take time to explain the importance of the intern’s role within the organization. Further,
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 48
interview results indicated that only a few of the mentors took time with the interns to explain
the intern’s role within the organization. For example, one mentor told his intern that
“technical training would continue for another two to three years, you would then be able to
advance to an engineer position. To the firm, you would be more valuable and qualified than
most newly hired engineers.”
Given the importance of this asset, further emphasis by the mentors on the interns’
role within the organization might strengthen interns’ self-esteem and further impact the
effectiveness of the training outcome. This finding suggested that the mentors would benefit
from further knowledge about the interns’ roles within the organization and how to match
their mentoring goals accordingly. This role alignment process could take place in
conjunction with the other knowledge asset about aligning interns’ learning objectives and
outcomes with the organization’s mission. Helping to strengthen the interns’ understanding
of their role and involvement in the organization, could bring clarity and might result in a
stronger bonding relationship between the interns and the firm.
Summary
Mentors having the right knowledge assets is a crucial first step toward establishing a
mentorship program. This section has shown that based on the survey and interview data the
mentors possessed seven of the eight assumed knowledge assets necessary for coaching
interns. This further illustrated that the mentors were able to contribute and create a value
proposition for the mentorship program with pre-existing knowledge assets. Overall, the
mentors could establish clear goals, emphasize the importance of quality work, provide post-
assessment feedback and allow the interns to learn by doing. In contrast, the data has shown
that only insufficient recognition of the intern’s role as the only knowledge assets where the
mentors could use further development. Therefore, by focusing the attention on the low-
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 49
score items and particularly this deficiency in the mentor’s orientation training would be
adequate.
Results and Findings for Motivation Assets
In addition to knowledge assets, staff motivation is an essential driver of productivity
in an organization (Dobre, 2013). When implementing a mentorship program, the mentors’
motivation is a key element in determining program success. This section reports on the
findings about the motivation assets of the mentors in this study. Overall, analysis of the
mentor survey and interview data suggested that mentors possessed all four assumed
motivation assets, essential attributes for mentoring.
Based on the survey and interview findings, the mentors clearly demonstrated their
motivation to be mentors and their intentions to offer guidance to the interns. Overall, mentor
responses were very high across all mentor survey questions probing four motivation assets,
as can be seen from asset number 9 to 12 in Table 5. For the four motivation assets
identified, there was an overall mean of 3.14 on a 4-point Likert scale (SD=0.35). Data from
the mentor interviews supported the findings that mentors generally possessed the requisite
motivation. Many positive quotes were identified from the mentor’s interviews. While there
was no intern survey question that validated mentor’s motivation asset, an overall analysis of
the mentor survey and interview data suggested that the mentors possessed all four assumed
motivation assets necessary for guiding interns. These assets could be classified into three
motivation theories: intrinsic task value, self-efficacy and attribution, and each one shall be
discussed in sequence.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 50
Table 5
Results from Mentor Survey (N=7) for Motivation Asset Validation (Instrument MTR-4LIK)
Assumed “M” Asset M SD
Affirmed /
Triangulated by Asset Validation
9. Mentor enjoyed being
a mentor. (Q3)

3.29

0.45

Interview Validated
Intrinsic Task Value
10. Mentor felt he was
capable being an
effective mentor. (Q1)

3.14 0.35

Interview Validated
Self-efficacy

11. Mentor was confident
about his ability to
provide guidance.
(Q2)

3.14 0.35

Interview Validated
Self-efficacy

12. Mentor believed their
efforts matter in the
success of the intern.
(Q5)

3.00 0 Interview Validated Attribution

Overall 3.14 0.35

Enjoyment and Interest were Reflected by Strong Intrinsic Task Value
All mentors had demonstrated that they possess positive motivation assets throughout
the mentorship period. In terms of intrinsic task value as described by Eccles & Wigfield
(2002), the enjoyment the mentor attained from carrying out the mentorship was highest
among the four examined motivation attributes. In short, mentors in the study enjoyed their
role as a mentor. Mentors expressed that they were pleased with the coaching process
especially when there were consistently positive development and signs of improved
outcomes evinced by the interns. For example, one mentor reported that “I was pleased when
I noticed my intern was able to accomplish a task and reach a predefined milestone.” A few
mentors added that they felt they had “accomplished nurturing” the interns and had
“prepared” them for a job or the role. Further, mentors confirmed in the interview they
reached an “established bond” and “friendship” with the interns. Several mentors said they
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 51
were “pleased with the process of mentoring” and “with their accomplishments.” Overall,
mentors were proud and excited about the mentorship and stated that they would appreciate
the opportunity “to be a mentor again.” Asset number 9 was validated.
Strong Self-Efficacy Presented Among Mentors
In the area of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), the survey findings were positive among
mentors – mentors felt capable and confident. Further probing through the open-ended
interviews supported this conclusion. For example, mentors were quoted saying “I think I did
pretty well in terms of guiding my intern through the program,” and “this was not the first
time I had become a mentor, I believed I was quite qualified for the job.” Another mentor
explained: “I was confident in my coaching skills and methodologies. I first set a target for
myself, then by doing what a mentor should do, I also set and monitor those targets together
with my intern.” In conclusion, all mentors in the study were found to be confident about
their ability to provide guidance to their interns. The asset number 10 and 11 were both
validated.
Signs of Attribution after Early Doubts
The third motivation asset the mentor survey checked for was attribution, an
important factor in human performance, as suggested by Weiner (1972). The goal was to
validate if mentors believed their efforts mattered in the success of their interns, and
therefore, whether they would have a tendency to spend their best efforts in guiding their
interns in hope of better outcomes. However, a mean survey score of 3.00 on a 4-point Likert
scale (SD=0) for this attribution related question (asset number 12) was the lowest in
comparison to other motivation questions. This suggested that the mentors were not as
positive about the effect of their efforts in relation to the mentoring outcomes. During the
interviews, for example, one mentor explained that “the millennials were particularly hard to
predict and work with; the interns sometimes were less enthusiastic, even a bit passive.”
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 52
Other mentors stated a similar sentiment and also noted that this was particularly concerning
in the early half of the mentorship program. However, mentors also expressed that after
giving guidance and persevering throughout the three-month period, they felt they “had made
a difference in the intern” and “had influenced the intern to join the organization [after
graduation].” Asset number 12 was validated.
Summary
This section has shown that based on the survey and interview data the mentors
possessed all four motivation assets necessary for coaching interns. Mentors were found to
be confident about their coaching abilities and had demonstrated a genuine interest in being
mentors. Their enthusiasm was further fueled by the gradual progress made by the interns.
When selecting future mentor candidates, those who demonstrate strong intrinsic task
value, self-efficacy, and attribution, would have a higher tendency to persevere and guide
their interns to succeed. Therefore, these would be part of the qualities and selection criteria
for future mentors.
Results and Findings for Organization Assets
In an organization, the working environment can also have notable influences on staff
effectiveness and productivity (Dobre, 2013). An organization’s culture governs how things
are done and the way staff act and socially interact within the organization. Organizational
assets are determinants that positively affect the culture of an organization. This section
reports on the findings about the organizational assets that supported the firm’s mentorship
program.
The data suggested that the mentors possessed and exhibited most of the
organizational assets required to successfully carry out the mentorship program. Overall
mentor responses were very high across most of the mentor survey questions probing
organization assets, as can be seen in Table 6, where there was an overall mean of 3.13 on a
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 53
4-point Likert scale (SD=0.50) for all of the organization items. Data from the mentor
interviews also supported the conclusion that the mentors generally had the organizational
assets required to nurture and support their interns effectively. Overall, analysis of the survey
and interview data suggested that the mentors possessed five of the seven assumed
organizational assets. In contrast, it was determined that two of the seven assumed
organization assets represented areas where the mentors could use further development and
receive additional support.
There were also two new deficiencies identified from the mentor interview where
mentors desired improvements in the mentorship program framework with better
administrative coordination support and more relevant social activities to facilitate bonding.
For ease of reference, in Table 6, these two deficiencies (denoted as asset number 20 and 21
respectively) were added to the list for further examination. A brief overview of the five key
validated assets will be discussed, followed by the four deficiencies.
Table 6
Results from Mentor Survey (N=7) for Organization Asset Validation (MTR-4LIK)
Assumed “O” Asset

M SD
Affirmed /
Triangulated by Asset Validation
13. Mentor regularly gave
recognition/ praise to
intern for good work.
(Q19)

3.33 0.47 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q4; M=3.20;
SD=0.40)

Validated
Cultural Setting
(Encouragement)

14. Mentor established
himself as a role
model. (Q4)

3.29 0.45 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q9; M=3.40;
SD=0.49)

Validated
Cultural Setting
(Seniority)

15. Mentor regularly
asked interns for
his/her opinion or
ideas prior a task.
(Q17)

3.17 0.37 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q7; M=3.00; SD=0)

Validated
Cultural Setting
(Encouragement)
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 54
Assumed “O” Asset

M SD
Affirmed /
Triangulated by Asset Validation
16. Mentor regularly
discussed progress
with the intern. (Q18)

3.17 0.37 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q5; M=4.00;
SD=0);
(Q11; M=3.00;
SD=0)

Validated
Cultural Setting
(Feedback)
17. The organization had
given sufficient
resources such as
materials and
equipment to the
interns. (Q13)

3.14 0.64 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q2; M=2.80;
SD=0.40)
Inconclusive Cultural
Setting (Resources)
18. Intern was given the
opportunity every day
to use his / her
abilities to perform
well. (Q11)

3.00 0.53 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q3; M=3.40;
SD=0.49)
Validated
Cultural Settings
(Encouragement)
19. Staff Orientation
helped to disseminate
introductory
information. (Q14)

2.83 0.37 Interview;
Intern’s Survey
(Q1; M=3.00;
SD=0);
(Q8; M=3.20;
SD=0.40)
Not Validated
Cultural Setting
(Orientation)
Newly Identified Organization Assets

20. A compatible and
structured mentorship
program framework to
offer timely feedback
and encourage
collaborations.

n.a. n.a. Interview Not Validated
Cultural Setting
(Program
Framework)
21. Activities that
promote bonding.

n.a. n.a. Interview Not Validated
Cultural Setting
(Social Bonding)

Overall 3.13 0.50

Corporate Ethos that Supported and Tolerated Interns
Findings suggested that the mentorship program was supported by an environment
which tolerated the trial and error work approach of the interns. Despite the fact that the
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 55
interns had little or no prior work experience before joining the mentorship program, after the
program was half-way through, all mentors reported that they regularly gave their interns the
opportunities to attempt and experience, also by asking their interns for their opinions or
ideas about performing a task or a job (asset number 15). A mentor explained: “when I saw
my intern was starting to get a hang of things, I would ask him what we should do, then let
him try and correct him only when necessary. I believed that helped build his confidence.” A
mentor also concurred that “the confident and communication skills of my intern were
seemingly improved over the course of the program.” These learning outcomes coincided
with the survey item that mentors gave interns the opportunities to perform well (asset
number 18).
Intern survey responses reflected positive working relationships between mentors and
interns as shown in Table 7. Results indicated that interns reported that someone at work
“encouraged their development” and “their opinions seemed to count.” Other positive
responses by interns to the survey items suggested that mentors “seemed to care about them
as a person” and that the mentors “had talked to them about progress.” Therefore, from the
surveys and interviews conducted, the presence of discussion and dialogue between mentors
and interns was evident, close communication and attention might encourage the interns to
put in extra attention and learning efforts. These findings suggested both asset numbers 15
and 18 were validated.
Culture which Encouraged Feedback, Recognition, and Praise
In an instructional and mentorship environment, providing feedback to interns is as
important as other forms of communication and exchanges (NACE, 2014). The data revealed
that mentors at FMC regularly discussed with their interns about their progress and offered
feedback (asset number 16). A mentor reported saying: “It was important that after I assessed
the work done by my intern, I gave him feedback as soon as possible. Sometimes, I would
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 56
make sure my remarks would be viewed as constructive criticism rather than negative
remarks.” Another mentor said: “When giving instructions and feedback, only when the
matters were dealing with life safety, I would be authoritative, in most cases I tried to be
friendly and less serious.” The mentoring approaches presented might suggest interns were
working under proper guidance with motivation given by the mentors to propel them forward.
Equally important in a working relationship was to know when recognition was
deserved. Mentors mentioned giving recognition and praise to their interns for doing a good
job (asset number 13). As mentors stated, “sometimes recognition could be in the form of a
pad on the shoulder” or “by simply saying ‘good job!’” From the intern survey results (Table
7), the item on “received recognition or praise for doing good work” was strongly validated
with a score of 3.20 on a 4-point Likert scale (SD=0.4), indicating that interns experienced
both recognition and praise as a form of positive reinforcement. These findings suggested
both asset numbers 13 and 16 were validated.
Mentors Established Themselves as Role Models
Mentor’s actions influence intern; when an intern sees his mentor putting in minimal
effort, the intern becomes demotivated and has little incentive to give his all. To motivate
intern to do his best, the mentor must lead by example. When a mentor is working alongside
his intern, the mentor can inspire the intern to make an effort to carry out his work and try to
contribute to his full potential.
Data from the mentor survey as well as from the interviews showed that mentors felt
able to become role models (asset number 14) who offered guidance to the interns. In order
to emphasize the proper work attitude needed for the day-to-day work routine, it was evident
that mentors demonstrated expectations through their own behavior. For example, a mentor
reported: “Early in the program, I would tell my intern, no matter how difficult a task might
seem to be, never abdicate; voice out your concerns and questions, and let’s tackle this
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 57
together.” Another example of how this role modeling manifested was the mentors always
“acted professionally” and reminded their interns about the “importance to be punctual to the
job site” and “be well prepared for everyday work”. As has been shown, in addition to
providing constructive feedback and recognition, mentors provided role models to
demonstrate the idea of quality work and to promote the firm’s values and mission. Asset
number 14 was validated.
Organization Asset Shortfalls
The survey data identified shortfalls in two of the seven assumed organization assets,
plus two other new deficiencies about the mentorship program from the interview data.
There were inconclusive findings about whether the firm had provided sufficient resources to
the interns as illustrated by asset number 17, where the item scored 3.17 on a 4-point Likert
scale (SD=0.37). However, from the intern survey, an item on resources provided (Item 2),
the score was 2.80 on a 4-point scale (SD=0.40), which was lowest among all the intern
survey items. Further probing identified one intern who explained: “There were not enough
laptop computers and hand tools allotted for the interns.” As reported by a mentor, interns
were on resource pooling, and mentors would ensure that there was sufficient equipment to
be shared among interns. And when a mentor would conduct learning by trying, he would
book the required equipment and hand tools in advance before the training was conducted so
that “interns were given the opportunities to try out various tools.” This misconception by
the intern could be resolved with better resource management and communication between
mentors and interns. Thus, asset number 17 was deemed to be inconclusive.
Unintended findings were recorded during the mentor interviews which were related
to the better use of resources but were implied on the social front (asset number 21). Some
mentors suggested the firm should organize some “social activities or events to encourage
bonding” between mentors and interns. Mentors believed to motivate the interns, after-hour
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 58
group social activities like “staff dinner” or “sports activities” could promote social
interaction; a determinant which would have positive impacts on the organization culture.
Therefore, relating to asset number 21, the lack of activities that promote staff bonding was a
newly identified organization deficiency.
The second organization asset which received low scoring was the lack of information
being disseminated at the program orientation, which was illustrated by asset number 19. For
example, one mentor was quoted saying: “HR would likely be in a better position [than
mentors] to provide rules and policies to the interns.” Another mentor had expressed that
“HR would be clear on the number of hours interns were allowed to work, and in what
situations an intern’s extra efforts would be compensated; I want to see that as encouragement
for hard work.” Mentors also believed HR could offer “counseling on matters beyond work
related.” Another mentor had suggested that to hold “morning breakfast or brown bag
lunches to invite junior engineers or management to have a career talk, to share firm’s
prospects.” Based on these findings, there was a desire expressed by the mentors to see
improvement in the operation of the mentorship program, this included rectifying the
organization deficiency on information dissemination, so asset number 19 was invalidated. It
would seem logical that further efforts and contents would be required at the mentor and
intern orientations to improve initial and subsequent information dissemination for both
groups of stakeholders.
Finally, another finding which was not part of the assumed organization assets was
identified from the mentor interviews. Besides deficiencies found in the orientations and
information dissemination, a few mentors suggested they would like to have a more
formalized program structure (asset number 20) especially when the program had reached a
certain size with many mentors and interns participating. Even though mentors and interns
were working in pairs, for example, a mentor explained that “we would try to find
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 59
opportunities among mentors to collaborate on small projects. This gave us a chance to see
how other interns were performing, sort of a friendly competition among interns.” These
mentors believed this kind of collaborations would promote learning, and such coordination
“should be administrated by higher up.” The suggestions mentioned will be similar to a
primitive form of the developmental network as described by Kram & Ragins (2007) as a
better approach toward forming mentoring relationships. There seemed to be a lacking of a
compatible and structured mentorship program framework, with the focus to offer
administrative support, provide a channel for participants to offer feedback and encourage
collaborations. Therefore, relating to asset number 20, this was a newly identified
organization deficiency.
Summary
Organization culture forms the backbone of a holistic mentorship experience. The
corporate spirit, beliefs, and aspirations can manifest itself through the scrupulous execution
by the mentors. The analysis of the survey and interview data suggested that the mentors
possessed five of the seven organization assets which suggested to contribute to the success
of the mentorship program in its initial run. The evidence further suggested that the
mentorship program was operating within a corporate ethos that was supportive of both
mentors and interns. Mentors were able to establish themselves as a role model, exercising
the organization mission and creating opportunities for the interns to learn by doing. Mentors
were observed at the right time to provide the needed feedback including recognition and
praise that helped boost the confidence of the interns. This kind of nurturing environment
formed a unique community which would help a mentorship program to foster.
In contrast, four deficiencies including two new ones were identified and represented
areas where mentors and the mentorship program itself could use further development and
support. Interview data suggested mentors desire a more structured mentorship program
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 60
framework which may include added administrative support, resources allocation, and event
coordination. From the mentor survey, conducting social and bonding activities, improved
guidelines and contents dissemination were expected by the mentors. Overall, given the
importance of the above asset shortfalls, further intervention by FMC, particularly by the
Human Resources Department, would help to further enhance the mentorship program and
empower the mentors to do a better job.
Results and Findings from the Intern Survey
The intern survey, patterned after the Gallup’s Q12 Employee Engagement Survey,
was intended to be used as a data validation tool to verify the survey and interview results
collected from the mentors. As shown in Appendix C, 14 connections were identified
between the intern and mentor surveys regarding presumed KMO assets, which made the
intern survey considerably useful for data triangulation. The intern survey contained 13 items
(see Table 7), and responses were collected from five former IVE SIAP interns who had
become FMC employees after the 2016 mentorship program. A 4-point Likert scale was
used, and almost all responses had an average of three or above, suggesting that the interns
were overall quite satisfied with the mentors.
As a tool to help triangulate findings about the mentors, intern survey items were
matched against the responses from the mentors. Whenever a possible asset deficiency was
identified, triangulation with the intern survey was used to help verify the finding. In this
way, the intern responses were helpful in identifying possible anomalies and KMO
deficiencies. As one example, the average intern response was the lowest concerning the
provision of equipment and materials to enable the interns to do their job well. While this
organizational need was considered inconclusive, based on triangulation with other data,
nonetheless, the intern response on this item warranted some attention and resulting
recommendations.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 61
The intern survey data was not without limitations. The survey data was collected six
months after the interns had joined FMC as junior engineers, and these new hires had
benefitted from continued coaching in a supportive environment. While it was interpreted
that these individuals’ responses reflected the influence of their mentorship program, it is not
possible to entirely rule out that their very positive survey results were due to the pressure to
provide socially desirable answers and not necessarily a true presentation of their experience.
Another limitation was that the intern survey provided an overall and indirect snapshot, but
was unable to directly verify any mentor’s motivation assets.
Once again, the most important takeaway from the intern survey data collected was
that it was predominantly positive, suggesting that the mentors and the mentorship program
had a positive influence on the interns and that it left them with a positive attitude toward
their joining FMC after their graduation.
Table 7
Results from Intern Survey (N=5) illustrating Presence of KMO Assets
Survey
Item Question
KMO
Category M SD
5 My supervisor, or someone at work, seems
to care about me as a person.

M 4.00 0
10 I have a best friend at work.

O 4.00 0
6 There is someone at work who encourages
my development.

O 3.60 0.49
0 I am satisfied working here at FMC.

M 3.40 0.49
3 At work, I have the opportunity to do what
I do best every day.

O 3.40 0.49
9 My associates or fellow employees are
committed to doing quality work.

O 3.40 0.49
4 In the last seven days, I have received
recognition or praise for doing good work.

O 3.20 0.40
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 62
Survey
Item Question
KMO
Category M SD
8 The mission or purpose of my company
makes me feel my job is important.

O 3.20 0.40
12 This last year, I have had opportunities at
work to learn and grow.

O 3.20 0.40
7 At work, my opinions seem to count.

O 3.00 0
1 I know what is expected of me at work.

K 3.00 0
11 In the last six months, someone at work has
talked to me about my progress.

O 3.00 0
2 I have the equipment and material I need to
do my job right.

O 2.80 0.40
Overall 3.32 0.50

Summary of Findings
This chapter discussed findings concerning the 21 knowledge, motivation and
organization assets identified in this study. It was shown that 16 assets were validated and
found to be well established among the FMC mentors, whereas five assets were found to be
deficient in some way and in need of further support from the organization. The results are
summarized in Table 8.
Table 8
Validation of KMO Assets
KMO Assets Validation
Knowledge Assets

1. Mentor knew how to provide post-assessment feedback.

Validated
2. Mentor possessed the factual information on organization’s mission
and goal and took time to share with the interns.

Validated
3. Mentor stressed on quality work.

Validated
4. Mentor took time to explain the Value Creation Concept to the
intern.

Validated
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 63
KMO Assets Validation
5. Mentor had provided clear goals so the intern knew what was
expected at work.

Validated
6. Mentor provided opportunities to allow the intern to attempt first
and explain later.

Validated
7. Mentor was able to align learning objectives and outcomes with the
organizational goals for interns.

Validated
8. Mentor understood & took time to explain the importance of the
interns and their role in the organization.

Inconclusive
Motivation Assets

9. Mentor enjoyed being a mentor.

Validated
10. Mentor felt he was capable being an effective mentor.

Validated
11. Mentor was confident about his ability to provide guidance.

Validated
12. Mentor believed their efforts matter in the success of the intern.

Validated
Organization Assets

13. Mentor regularly gave recognition/praise to intern for good work.

Validated
14. Mentor established himself as a role model.

Validated
15. Mentor regularly asked interns for his/her opinion or ideas prior a
task.

Validated
16. Mentor regularly discussed progress with the intern.

Validated
17. The organization had given sufficient resources such as materials
and equipment to the interns.

Inconclusive
18. Intern was given the opportunity every day to use his/her abilities
to perform well.

Validated
19. Staff Orientation helped to disseminate introductory information.

Not Validated
Newly Identified Organization Assets

20. A compatible and structured mentorship program framework to
offer timely feedback and encourage collaborations.

Not Validated
21. Activities that promote bonding.

Not Validated

In terms of the assumed knowledge assets, it was evident that the mentors were
capable to lead the mentorship program possessing seven of the eight knowledge assets. The
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 64
mentors could align the organizational goals with clear and established work objectives for
the interns, emphasize quality work, create different learning opportunities and provide post-
assessment feedback along the way. With regards to the motivation assets, mentors were
found to be confident about their coaching abilities and had demonstrated a genuine interest
in being mentors. Mentors’ enthusiasm was further fueled by the gradual progress made by
the interns. Mentors possessed all four assumed motivational assets exhibited a higher
tendency to persevere during the mentoring process and in guiding the interns to succeed.
For the assumed organization assets, the mentorship program operated within a supportive
corporate ethos. Mentors became the role models exercising the organization mission and
creating learning opportunities for the interns. Mentors regularly discussed progress and
provided necessary feedback including recognition and praise that helped boost the
confidence of the interns. This kind of nurturing environment formed a unique community or
culture which would help a mentorship program to foster. Overall, it is evident that qualified
mentors could create a value proposition for the mentorship program. These validated assets
would be considered useful for supporting the mentorship program and attracting interns to
join FMC after the program concluded.
Taken together, these findings in Table 9 suggest that there are five main areas for
improvement—one in the knowledge domain and four concerning organization assets. These
include (1) failure to fully explain the interns’ role within the organization; (2) undesirable
allocation of resources; (3) insufficient introductory information about the program at
orientations; (4) a mentorship program that lacks a structured framework and sufficient
administrative support and coordination; and (5) insufficient social activities that promote
staff bonding.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 65
Table 9
Areas Requiring KMO Interventions
KMO Asset Deficiencies

Knowledge Assets (Factual)

8. Mentor did not understand & take time to explain the importance of the interns and
their role in the organization.

Organization Assets (Cultural Setting)

17. The organization had given insufficient resources such as materials and equipment to
the interns.

19. Orientations disseminate insufficient introductory information.

20. Lack of a compatible and structured mentorship program framework to offer strong
administrative support, a channel for timely feedback and encourage collaborations.

21. Lack of activities that promote staff bonding.

In the next chapter, these identified areas for improvement will be addressed, and
solutions and recommendations for the FMC mentors and the mentorship program will be
developed. An implementation and evaluation plan will also be presented along with
considerations of the limitations and delimitations of the study and possible areas for future
research.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 66
CHAPTER 5: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EV ALUATION
This study examined a total of 21 possible knowledge, motivation and organization
assets among the FMC mentors. The objective was to determine which assets were present
among the mentors and which areas needed further development. Through triangulation of
survey and interview data, 16 assumed assets were found to be firmly established among the
mentors, and these assets will be reinforced through the implementation plan developed in
this chapter.
On the other hand, five KMO deficiencies were found, demanding further
organizational attention and support. These will be addressed through recommendations
provided below in order to help FMC achieve its strategic objective of improving the
mentorship program. Solutions and recommendations are organized by the knowledge,
motivation and organization needs, and the solutions are incorporated into the
implementation plan. Finally, an evaluation plan is included to assess the performance
impacts the proposed solutions will have on the mentors and the mentorship program.
Deficiencies Selection and Rationale
Among the five deficiencies found as illustrated in Table 10, the first three were
invalidated assets—one related to mentors’ factual knowledge and one related to
organizational resources, which both were found to be inconclusive from the survey data.
The third deficiency reflected inadequate information and contents were disseminated at the
mentor and intern orientations. Two other organization deficiencies were identified which
were not on the list of assumed assets. These deficiencies were related to the lack of an
orchestrated effort to operate a compatible and structured mentorship program framework.
Lastly, mentors also wanted more opportunities to interact and form social bonds with the
interns. Because of their importance toward building a successful mentorship program, all
five deficiencies are addressed in the following sections with suggested KMO solutions.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 67
Table 10
Proposed Solutions to KMO Asset Deficiencies
Asset Deficiencies Proposed Solutions
Knowledge Assets (Factual)

8. Mentor did not understand & take time to
explain the importance of the interns and
their role in the organization.

HR Department to provide guidance and
training to mentors during the induction
training.

Organization Assets (Cultural Setting)

17. The organization had given insufficient
resources such as materials and
equipment to the interns.

HR Department to provide better resource
management and guidance.

19. Orientations disseminate insufficient
introductory information.

HR Department to provide richer contents
for the mentors and create an Intern
Guidebook for the interns.

20. Lack of a compatible and structured
mentorship program framework to offer
strong administrative support, a channel
for timely feedback and encourage
collaborations.

HR Department to institutionalize the
mentorship program, formalize the format
and introduce the role of the program
coordinator to handle administrative
matters.

21. Lack of activities that promote staff
bonding.

HR Department and program coordinator
can plan appropriate activities to foster
teamwork and social bonding.

Solutions for Knowledge Deficiencies
Earlier findings suggested mentors generally possessed strong knowledge assets
except for one deficiency which was not taking the time to explain the importance of intern’s
role within the organization. As a corrective action, HR Department can provide further
guidance and training to the mentors in the induction session. Throughout different stages of
the mentorship program, the mentors should find the opportunities to clarify and explain the
intern’s role and relate the role to the organization objectives. Successfully executing this
step will likely be beneficial to all stakeholders.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 68
For the interns, as the understanding of their role grows, the employee engagement is
expected to grow (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999). Therefore, the explanation and alignment
of intern’s role by the mentor will be crucial, and prior training shall be conducted for the
mentors in order to prepare the mentors for this task. The outcome is believed to further the
development of interns to establish and maintain a bonding relationship with the organization.
In terms of significance toward the firm-wide strategy, matching the understanding of
self and one’s role in the organization is an important step. Interns and junior engineers form
the base of the FMC organizational hierarchy, their support should not be viewed as anything
less critical and strategic. Interns and junior engineers play a vital role in securing the firm’s
long-term success in recruiting, expansion and development.
The data finding suggested that the mentors would benefit from further knowledge
about the interns’ roles within the organization and how to match their mentoring goals
accordingly. To strengthen this particular and also other knowledge assets for the mentors,
the recommendation will be to emphasize the key KMO assets in the induction training so
that mentors can further their knowledge as a coach and a role model. Through training and
mock practice, mentors will attain the needed knowledge assets to deliver the right outcomes
throughout the mentorship program. Well-trained and empowered mentors can anchor
expectations and goals, reinforce work quality, understand how and when to provide feedback
and recognition to support and motivate their interns to excel.
Motivation Assets and Traits for Mentor Candidates
From the survey and interview data, the mentors possessed all four motivation assets
necessary for coaching the interns. When faced with potentially generational (millennial)
differences with their interns, mentors would recognize these traits and fine-tune the
pedagogy. For example, mentors’ perseverance allowed them to communicate and make
progress by building a trusted relationship with their interns. Therefore, assessment markers
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 69
can be in place early on and subsequently in different stages to help provide feedback to the
mentors, so that pedagogical adjustments could be made. Mentors, who demonstrated strong
intrinsic task value, self-efficacy, and attribution, would have a higher tendency to persevere
and guide their interns to succeed. Therefore, these might be the qualities and selection
criteria for future mentors.
Solutions for Organization Deficiencies
Earlier findings suggested mentors generally possessed strong organization assets, but
there remain four organizational deficiencies where solutions are warranted. Four possible
solutions will be discussed and applied in the implementation plan.
The first organization deficiency was about not providing sufficient materials and
equipment to the interns. The findings suggested this might have been a mishandling or
wrong allocation of resources, which could be resolved by better tracking of resources and
subsequent proper allocation to different pairs of mentor and intern in a timely and systematic
manner.
The second deficiency focuses on the need for better information dissemination,
especially in the orientation session for mentors and interns. A suggestion to the HR
Department is to prepare an intern’s guidebook filled with key facts and policy governing
interns and the mentorship program. Program operation related information like intern’s
working hours, leave application, per deem and traveling allowance could be included in the
guidebook. Overall, these guidelines can provide necessary information for the interns,
relieve the mentors from addressing these administrative matters themselves. Another benefit
the guidebook might offer is to give the interns the impression that they are treated much like
an employee of the firm, enhancing the sense of discipline, professionalism, and belonging.
For example, the FMC’s vision, mission, and values statement could also be added to the
guidebook as a reminder of organizational goals (NACE, 2014), together with the mentor’s
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 70
efforts in goal alignment, the inclusion of the mission statement can enhance awareness and
reinforce direction.
The third deficiency relates to mentors’ desire to have a formalized program structure
to allow better coordination of day-to-day work assignments among mentors, monitoring of
job performance and overseeing interns’ assessment, arrange collaboration opportunities
between different mentor and intern pairs. Human Resources Department may introduce a
mentorship program coordinator to handle these administrative tasks. Furthermore, the role
of the coordinator can also be the “go to” person for the mentors and interns to resolve
personnel issues and ensure positive dynamics existing between each pair.
The fourth deficiency was related to the lack of social activities available to promote
staff and intern interactions beyond the work boundary. Suggestions for FMC Human
Resources Department to submit a budget to the management team and spearhead the
coordination efforts to introduce social events like staff dinner, sports events, team building
exercises, career talk by the management team, and so forth to promote a sense of belonging
and enrich the social aspects of the three-month mentorship program.
Implementation Plan
Solution Integration
Based on the research conducted in this study, the proposed solution to be
implemented to address the validated KMO needs is a formalized, sustainable mentorship
program that is intended to enhance the effectiveness of mentorship, for both the interns as
well as the mentors, for long-term talent attraction and retention.
This section outlines an implementation plan to deliver the solution offered. Within
the plan, there are key markers established along the three-month program period to allow
monitoring of implementation and changes taking place and to make adjustments as needed.
Toward the end of the program, assessment of the program impacts will be conducted.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 71
Organizational Environment for Policy Implementation
The current mentorship program admitted the first cohort in January 2016. In
addition to the IVE and the student interns, other stakeholders of this program include the
firm’s Human Resources (HR) Department and engineers from the Facilities Management
(FM) Department. In the first cohort, many of the first-wave of implementation decisions
and guidelines were made and disseminated from top-down by the HR Department. While
the decisions were top-down, the FM engineers have a vital role to play in the policy as they
are the mentors of the mentorship program and have a direct impact on students’ future
employment decisions.
The mentors are considered to be the “street-level bureaucrats” (Weatherley & Lipsky,
1977). Filled with passion as illustrated by the positive findings from the mentor’s survey, as
presented in Chapter 4, the mentors have the ability to positively influence the interns and
make course adjustments along the way. Feedback from the mentors and interns from the
first cohort allowed a bottom-up view to be incorporated with the intention to make positive
changes. Throughout the three-month pilot program, the organization created an environment
that allowed for a low level of ambiguity and conflict around the new mentorship program.
As described in Matland’s model (1995), some of this success is likely based on open
dialogue among all stakeholders and the subsequent hybrid approach taken by integrating
top-down and bottom-up flow processes.
The mentorship program will be in its third year. Building on the success of the first
and second cohort, the coming cohort is expected to be increased in size of final year students
from the IVE. In January 2018, the cohort of interns will be led by both first-time and
seasoned engineer mentors. New interns will be given a week-long orientation with a focus
on introductory and practical engineering training given by senior staff members. As a pre-
requisite for the interns, based on survey feedback from previous mentors, the purpose of the
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 72
orientation is to allow the interns to have some general sense of what the upcoming job duties
would be like as well as the equipment they would encounter in the field.
Implementation Action Steps and Associated Resource Requirements
To implement the proposed solution, a formal mentorship program framework to
improve upon the current mentorship program is necessary. A sequence of action steps is
suggested below to strengthen the current program structure.
After successfully converting over half the interns from Cohort 1 to permanent staff,
the firm has committed additional resources and capacities to facilitate the development of
the mentorship program for the near term, with the desire to expand from these results.
Funding will enable policies to drive the mentorship program further and receive the needed
attention. To achieve that, details for financial consideration and support will need to be
prepared and submitted for management’s approval.
The Human Resources (HR) Team will play a key role in terms of injecting initial
human capital support and administrative expertise with directions to create a formalized and
structured mentorship program framework. As described by Bolman and Deal (2013), within
the structural frame, a key objective will be to define the program goals, specialized roles of
individuals and formal relationships among them. The HR Team will develop the policies,
procedures, and programs for the interns as well as for the mentor development. To expedite
the process, the HR Team will need a dedicated program coordinator. The role of the
coordinator will be to facilitate the daily operation of the program rather than the HR Team
alone, as suggested by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE, 2014).
The program coordinator is expected to alleviate the program workload from HR, whose
current focus remains with the firm’s core operation.
The proposed action steps to implement the new mentorship program framework are
divided into two phases—intern development and mentor development (see Table 11 on
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 73
page 78). Key action steps of intern development are discussed first followed by the
discussion of key action steps for mentor development.
Intern development key action steps.
1. HR will solicit or recruit a senior staff member of the Facilities Management (FM)
Team to be the mentorship program coordinator. When considering the right
person for the role, the coordinator should be someone with the relevant
leadership experience and capacity to manage the program effectively. Making
sure the coordinator feels enthusiastic about the role and recognizing his or her
efforts and contributions will be necessary for effective implementation (Bolman
& Deal, 2013).
Once the coordinator has been identified, he or she will work closely with
the HR Team to prepare the budget, execute the program instructions and inform
program status on a routine basis. Among a list of responsibilities, the coordinator
will be the facilitator and “go-to” person for the interns as well as mentors
(NACE, 2014). The coordinator will also oversee the daily operation of the
mentorship program and plan group activities including social events for the
interns—these “rituals and ceremonies” are significant to make the interns feel
welcome and develop a sense of belonging and friendship among peers, which are
validated findings from Chapter 4 (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Buckingham &
Coffman, 1999; Schein, 2010).
One of the key roles of the coordinator will be communication with the
interns to emphasize the values of the firm, its mission, and vision (Buckingham
& Coffman, 1999; NACE, 2014; Schein, 2010). At the beginning of the program,
after the formal orientation, an introductory “getting-to-know-you” gathering will
be arranged (NACE, 2014). These types of relationship-building rituals and
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 74
activities between the mentors and the interns can be very important for
establishing the right culture and attracting the interns to the firm in the long run
(Bolman & Deal, 2013).
2. Based on the staff policies, the HR Team will prepare a relevant version of the
policies as a guidebook for interns. This guidebook will reiterate the goals of the
mentorship program and provide a clear outline of the intern pay and benefit
entitlements, intern responsibilities, compensation for work done outside of
working hours, and expense claims procedure (NACE, 2014). This guidebook
will also highlight and reinforce the firm’s vision, mission, and values as these are
essential attributes that contribute toward program success (Bolman & Deal, 2013;
Schein, 2010).
3. The HR Team will conduct a mid-course assessment to collect intern’s interim
feedback on job satisfaction. Using similar methodologies and instruments as
documented in Chapter 3, HR will be able to measure the job satisfaction level of
the interns, and this data can serve as the basis for making needed adjustments and
as an early indicator of interns’ inclination to return and work for the firm. The
modified Buckingham and Coffman Q12 Survey used for this research will be
used. The program coordinator will use the information obtained for mid-course
adjustments. If necessary, focus groups will be conducted by the program
coordinator to collect further feedback (NACE, 2014).
4. Based on the mid-course assessment, the coordinator will evaluate the need to
swap mentors and to re-assign interns to another mentor. The mentor swapping
can be seen as positively offering cross-training opportunities for both mentors
and interns. The evaluation and re-assignment shall be coordinated by the
program coordinator with the mentors’ input.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 75
5. Other mentorship activities may include hosting career and information sessions
where former Cohort 1 and 2 interns, now full-time employees, can share their
views about working in the firm, and answer questions from the current interns
(NACE, 2014). These new interns-turned-employees are “celebrated heroes”
(Bolman & Deal, 2013) whom the current interns could rely on for additional
information and support. The FM team head and/or senior management (“tribal
leaders”) may also be invited to discuss and explore various career opportunities
within the firm and offer a wider perspective on the industry trends (NACE,
2014).
6. As a demonstration of achievement, each intern will conduct a final project
presentation to showcase the work he or she had done in the three-month program.
Guidance and support will be offered by the mentors and the program coordinator
to ensure this milestone can be reached. Albeit this is a part of the IVE program
requirement, the work that leads up to the final project has a symbolic
interpretation similar to reaching a rite of passage for growth and self-
actualization (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Schein, 2010). The IVE instructors and the
firm’s senior management will be invited by HR to attend the presentation as
guests and judges. Intern assessment will be made based on the work presented
which will allow the mentors and senior management to evaluate the ability and
potential of the interns. An awards ceremony will be held which celebrates the
importance of reaching this milestone (Bolman & Deal, 2013).
7. Finally, HR will conduct interns’ exit interviews (NACE, 2014). Led by the HR
Team, exit interviews will be used to collect interns’ feedback on the program,
assess job satisfaction, and future interests with the firm. Protocols used in
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 76
Chapter 3 on Cohort 1 can be modified to be deployed here. Once results are
analyzed, adjustments can be made for the next group of interns and mentors.
Mentor development key action steps. Professional development for the mentors
can be as crucial as intern development. Identifying the role of the mentor is important.
According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (USOPM), to be a mentor, besides
having the ability to demonstrate expertise and share knowledge with the interns, the mentor
must also have refined skills in coaching, counseling, leadership, listening, and modeling.
Furthermore, because of the age gap between mentor and intern, there can be a need to
increase generational awareness by the mentor (USOPM). This is a skill often seen as
valuable in the current workplace (Dixon, Sontag & Vappie, 2012). Developing appropriate
training for the senior FM engineers will involve both the HR Team and the program
coordinator—the contents and the process should be well considered and orchestrated. Key
action steps of mentor development are outlined as follows (see also Table 11):
1. Professional development for the mentors—based on the feedback and findings
obtained from previous mentees and mentors from Cohort 1 (Chapter 4), HR will
formulate a detailed professional development course for selected mentors. This
professional development course will address the KMO gaps faced by previous
mentors when conducting the mentorship program. The goal is to help develop
future effective mentors. According to Spillane, Reiser, and Reimer (2002), the
significance of prior sense-making of these new responsibilities is crucial for the
mentors. The mentors will have to learn how to mentor, need to have buy-in to
and see the importance of their role, and not feel overwhelmed by one more
responsibility. Likely, bringing them into discussions about how they can best
support the interns and the role they would like to play would be important. Some
incentives will be considered and possibly could be offered to the mentors to
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 77
participate—a release from another responsibility, some kind of recognition for
participation, and so forth.
HR and the program coordinator will communicate with stakeholders in
advance about the influence and possible impacts mentor can make and secure
their buy-in so that the mentors will be able to form some pre-cognitive notions
during the preparation and development process. Overall, communication on the
importance and relevance of the intern conversion to the firm and the firm’s future
success and to the mentors personally will be important.
The program coordinator will work with the mentors, to remind them
about the significance of the program and the mentor’s role—to induce the right
working attitude to nurture, discover and retain high-performing interns from the
program. The three-month intern program will provide a head start to prepare the
interns to work for the firm. Once the interns have become new staff members,
they will immediately be able to work alongside other teammates, contributing to
the team and strengthening the “tribe” (Bolman & Deal, 2013). The role of the
mentor is to ensure the interns can reach this milestone.
2. Orientation for the mentors of incoming cohort. Recognizing the need to prepare
the mentors (Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2002), this is an opportunity to reiterate
key goals and requirements for being a mentor and to provide any needed support
as the program begins. Initial mentor and intern pairing will also take place at this
time.
Timeline for Implementation
The implementation timeline is targeted for fourth quarter 2017. The mentor
development will begin and the planning to screen the incoming cohort of interns will start in
late 2017. As stipulated in Table 11, the mentor development training is more in-depth with a
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 78
key focus on developing mentors’ strength and effectiveness, suggested solutions from the
research will be tested on the mentors. Secondly, to be prepared for the incoming cohort, a
mentorship program coordinated will be decided. The HR Department will be finalizing the
Intern’s Handbook for its formal release in January 2018.
Table 11
Implementation Plan with Key Actions, Stakeholders, Resource Requirement, and Timeline

Actions [KMO]

Details
Required stakeholder’s
capacities & resources

Timeline
Action Area One: Intern Development

1. Mentorship Program
Coordinator
[O]

A senior staff member
from the FM Team to be
the “go-to” person for
the interns and mentors.
HR shall identify a
suitable senior staff with
the relevant experience
to be in charge.

Fourth Quarter 2017
2. Intern Guidebook
[O]
The Guidebook will
provide key information
including Mission-
Vision-Values, intern
pay and benefits, intern
responsibilities, and
compensation for work
done outside of working
hours.

Prepared by HR and
program coordinator.

Any financial
considerations on
compensation will
require Management’s
approval and support.
Fourth Quarter 2017
3. Mid-course
Assessment
(by Firm & IVE)

Using Buckingham and
Coffman’s (B&C) Q12
to assess intern job
satisfaction. Focus
groups can be held
subsequently to collect
further feedback.

HR will take the lead to
conduct and analyze the
survey data. The
Program Coordinator
will use the information
for mid-course
adjustments.

End of February / Early
March 2018 (by Firm)
& Mid-March (by IVE).
4. Mentor Swapping
[K, O]
Allow swapping mentors
and cross-training.

Program Coordinator
will coordinate with
mentors.
March 2018
5. Career Sessions
[K, M, O]

Host breakfast
discussions to explore
career opportunities in
the firm and the field.

Led by Program
Coordinator with
participation from
former interns and senior
management.

Late March 2018
6. Final Project
Presentation & IVE
Assessment
[K, M, O]

Presented by Interns
under the guidance of
mentors.

Invite senior staff or
management to be guest
judges.

Final Week of April
2018
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 79
Actions [KMO]

Details
Required stakeholder’s
capacities & resources

Timeline
7. Exit Interview Using B&C Q12 and
interview protocol to
assess job satisfaction at
the end of the program
and make adjustments
for the next group of
interns.

Led by HR. Final Week of April
2018
Action Area Two: Mentor Development

1. Mentor Professional
Development
[K, M, O]

Conduct in-depth
training on how to be a
mentor.
Develop by HR and
Program Coordinator.
October-November
2017 for all Mentors.
2. Mentor Orientation

Briefing or information
session for Mentors in
preparation for the
incoming cohort.
Conducted by Program
Coordinator and to
provide any needed
support as the program
begins.

December 2017

Evaluation Plan
The findings of the validated KMO needs from the previous chapter will be adopted
and implemented immediately as proposed solutions for the next cohort of interns. The
findings from the research will help HR Team to develop the required training materials for
mentors. The intention is to allow HR to gauge these solutions, to track changes taking place,
and to achieve further positive outcomes. There are two instances where feedback from the
current cohort will be collected for performance analyses. The data will be collected from the
interns during mid-course assessment and at the interns’ exit interviews. These findings can
provide additional insights for the development of a training program for the mentors and
allow HR to make needed adjustments.
The effectiveness of the mentorship program relies heavily on the outcomes of the
assessments. To meet the organizational goal to identify high-caliber interns, a group of
candidates will be assessed using an established framework for training evaluation developed
by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2006). The assessment approach will be formulated based
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 80
on the four levels recommended, namely, reaction, learning, transfer, and impact, each level
will be further explained in following sections. Within the mentorship program
implementation plan to deliver the solution offered, key assessment markers are established
along the three-month program period to allow monitoring of implementation and changes
taking place and to make adjustments as needed (see Table 12). Toward the end of the
program, assessment of the program impacts will be conducted to fulfill one of the
organizational goals which is to attract and retain high caliber interns and convert them to
staff.
Assessment plays an important role in different stages of the intern development;
before the commencement of the mentorship program and progressively rises up in levels as
described by the Kirkpatrick’s framework (2006). In order to select the appropriate IVE
intern applicants for the mentorship program, a screening process will be conducted by
Human Resources Department (HR). Applications will be shortlisted by HR follows by
group interviews. The interns who get selected will enroll in the three-month mentorship
program. The hands-on practical training will be led by both first-time and seasoned engineer
mentors. While interns are fulfilling their learning objective to prepare for their final year
IVE project, the firm can closely monitor and assess individual’s performance. This can be
accomplished by setting assessment points at different monthly stages as outlined in Table 12.
These assessment points allow monitoring of the interns’ learning progress and
implementation of corrective action when it is needed.
Level 1 – Assessment on Reactions, Satisfaction, and Engagement
Before the commencement of the mentorship training, interns will be given a week-
long orientation. The firm’s mentorship program coordinator and management staff will
introduce the organization to the interns, then follows a series of introductory engineering
training which will be taught by senior staff members. One purpose of the orientation is to
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 81
introduce the mentorship program guidelines as well as the firm’s values, mission, and vision,
as suggested by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE, 2014). The
second purpose of the orientation is to allow the interns to build up some general sense of
what the upcoming job duties will be like as well as the equipment they will encounter in the
field. After the orientation, an informal satisfaction survey will be used to gather immediate
feedback for evaluation, this helps to quantify early reactions (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2006).
There are other instances where interns’ reactions are collected, analyzed and shared
by different staff members to improve the mentorship experience. Throughout the course of
the three-month period, the program coordinator will be the facilitator and “go-to” person for
the interns as well as the mentors (NACE, 2014). The program coordinator will monitor
interns’ attendance and conduct informal “check-ins” in order to show someone within the
firm cares about the interns (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999). The coordinator will also
oversee the daily operation of the mentorship program and plan group activities including
social events for the interns—these “rituals and ceremonies” are significant to make the
interns feel welcome and develop a sense of belonging and friendship among peers, which
are validated findings from Chapter 4 (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Buckingham & Coffman,
1999; Schein, 2010).
As mentioned earlier, one of the key roles of the program coordinator will be to
communicate with the interns, to emphasize the values of the firm, its mission, and vision
(Buckingham & Coffman, 1999; NACE, 2014; Schein, 2010). At the beginning of the
program, after the formal orientation, an introductory “getting-to-know-you” gathering will
be arranged (NACE, 2014). These types of relationship-building rituals and activities
between the mentors and the interns can be very important for establishing the right culture
and attracting the interns to the firm in the long run (Bolman & Deal, 2013). The program
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 82
coordinator will observe the level of discussion and engagement in these team social
activities for further analyses (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006).
In terms of engagement and confidence in doing assigned tasks, mentors will assess
these areas mainly through observation in various hands-on activities. It is the mentor’s role
to assign tasks which are appropriate to the intern’s skill level. As the interns’ knowledge and
confidence level increase over time, mentors will be providing further training and assigning
more difficult tasks to keep up with the program objective. To encourage interns’
development, to allow them to see the relationship between training and practice, and to build
confidence to conduct tasks on their own, the level of mentors’ supervision will be adjusted
accordingly. The goal is to allow the interns to progressively develop their skills and
confidence (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999). The program coordinator will host routine
individual meetings or with the entire group of mentors to discuss the findings from these
observations (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006).
Finally, for more formal data analysis, the Buckingham and Coffman Q12 job
satisfaction survey (1999) will be used in the mid-course assessment as well as in the exit
interview conducted by the HR Department. The mid-course assessment will collect intern’s
interim feedback on job satisfaction, this will form a baseline for subsequent data analysis
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Using similar methodologies and a modified Buckingham
and Coffman Q12 Survey as documented in Chapter 3, HR will be able to measure the job
satisfaction level of the interns, and this data can serve as the basis for making needed
adjustments and as an early indicator of interns’ inclination to return and work for the firm.
The program coordinator will use the mid-course survey data obtained by HR as a
point of reference. Since this is a self-reporting survey, if necessary, focus groups will be
conducted by the program coordinator to collect further feedback (NACE, 2014). Based on
the mid-course assessment, the coordinator will evaluate the need to swap mentors and to re-
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 83
assign interns to another mentor. The mentor swapping can be seen positively in offering
cross-training opportunities for both mentors and interns. The evaluation and re-assignment
shall be coordinated by the program coordinator with the mentors’ input.
For the final comparison, the Q12 Survey will be used again by HR in the exit
interview. The Q12 Survey will enable the firm to quantify interns’ attitude and their level of
satisfaction with their mentors, the program and overall the organization.
Level 2 – Assessment on Learning, Commitment, and Confidence
In addition to the satisfaction surveys aim at collecting reaction feedback, a skill-level
knowledge assessment will be conducted to evaluate intern’s ability to understand and
interpret new concepts and techniques being introduced after orientation training, during the
first half and the second half of the mentorship program. Under the Kirkpatrick’s framework,
these exercise to measure against learning objectives would be considered as part of the
learning level assessment (2016).
After orientation training, basic technical concepts would be introduced, and interns
will be asked to propose a topic of interest for their final year project. From that point on,
guidance will be given by mentors and program coordinator to help interns fine-tune their
topic, arranging relevant field training and hands-on practice to scaffold the learning
outcomes.
For the mid-course assessment during week 6 of the mentorship program, each intern
will be given 15 minutes to formally present the topic of interest in front of the IVE instructor
and the mentorship program coordinator. Together with the mentors, the group will jointly
conduct the mid-course evaluation as part of the IVE program requirements. The field
observation from the mentors can provide further insight into the interns’ learning
performance, attitude, and commitment (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Afterward,
mentors will provide feedback to the interns and set corrective course if necessary. At the
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 84
end of the evaluation, the mentors will be given feedback as well from the intern assessment
to allow them to fine-tune the training methodology for the second half of the program.
Level 3 – Assessment on Behavior Change and Application of Learning
As a demonstration of achievement, each intern will conduct a final project
presentation to showcase the work he or she had done in the three-month program. Guidance
and support will be offered by the mentors and the program coordinator to ensure this
milestone can be reached. Albeit this is a part of the IVE program requirement, the work that
leads up to the final project has a symbolic interpretation similar to reaching a rite of passage
for growth and self-actualization (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Schein, 2010). The IVE instructors
and the firm’s senior management will be invited by HR to attend the presentation as guests
and judges. Intern assessment will be made based on the work presented which will allow
the mentors and senior management to evaluate the ability and potential of the interns. By
comparing the level of work presented in the mid-course and final project, the firm can assess
changes in performance skills and level of knowledge transfer from the mentors to the interns
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). An awards ceremony will be held which celebrates the
importance of reaching this milestone (Bolman & Deal, 2013).
Level 4 – Assessment on Impact
Finally, HR will conduct interns’ exit interviews (NACE, 2014). Led by the HR
Team, exit interviews will be used to collect interns’ feedback on the program, assess job
satisfaction, record changes in attitude and aspiration, and observe future interests with the
firm. Protocols used in Chapter 3 on Cohort 1 can be modified to be deployed here. Once
results are analyzed, HR will make job offers to potential candidates. The mentorship
program effectiveness will be based on the number of offers made and the number of
acceptance received in return, a high percentage implies that the mentorship program has met
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 85
the objective of talent attraction and retention. Furthermore, feedback gathered can be used
to make adjustments to the next group of interns and mentors.
Table 12
Proposed Mentorship Program Intervention with Evaluation Plan
Intervention
proposed
Assessment on
satisfaction and
engagement
(Level 1)
Assessment on
learning,
commitment, and
confidence
(Level 2)
Assessment on
behavior change
and application of
learning
(Level 3)
Assessment on
impact
(Level 4)

Mentorship Program Orientation (7 days)

At the beginning of
the mentorship
program, give
interns a week-long
orientation.
 Provide written
program
guidelines.
 Introduce
organization
background
(values, mission,
and vision)
 Conduct
introductory and
practical
engineering
training by senior
staff members.
 Monitor
attendance rates.
 Observe the
level of
engagement and
discussion in the
training – are
interns all active
during small
group activities?
 Use “smile”
sheets at the end
of the training
session.

Pairing interns with mentors and conduct hands-on training for 3 months

First Month
In two week time,
ask the interns to
submit their initial
topic(s) of interest
for their final
project.

Mentors start basic
hands-on training.

 Monitor
attendance rates.
 Mentors will
monitor the
level of
engagement.
 Program
Coordinator will
conduct
informal “check-
ins” with
interns.

 Assess confidence
and understanding
of job nature.
 Determine the
guidance level
needed by
individual based
on collected
responses.

Second Month
Mentors will give
interns chances to
conduct tasks on
 Monitor
attendance rates.
 Mentors will
monitor the
 Through the
presentation,
assess the ability
to interpret basic
 Discuss with
mentors, compare
against the first-
month

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 86
Intervention
proposed
Assessment on
satisfaction and
engagement
(Level 1)
Assessment on
learning,
commitment, and
confidence
(Level 2)
Assessment on
behavior change
and application of
learning
(Level 3)
Assessment on
impact
(Level 4)
their own under
close supervision.

By Week 6, interns
will conduct a mid-
course presentation
to introduce their
topic of interest to
their IVE instructor
and the firm’s
Mentorship
Program
Coordinator.

level of
engagement.
 Conduct mid-
course job
satisfaction
survey using the
Buckingham and
Coffman Q12
Survey to assess
satisfaction and
commitment.
This is to
establish a
baseline.
 If necessary,
Program
Coordinator will
conduct a focus
group to collect
further feedback
from selected
interns.
 Based on
feedback,
determine if
mentor
switching is
needed.

concepts,
knowledge, and
skills.
 Share results with
mentors and
compare them
against mentors’
observation.
Assess intern’s
attitude,
commitment, and
progress in
meeting learning
objectives.
 Program
Coordinator and
mentor will jointly
submit a mid-
course evaluation
to IVE.
performance, and
assess behavior
change in
learning attitude.
Third Month
After the mid-
course assessment,
provide guidance
to fine-tune project
topic. Conduct
relevant hands-on
practice to meet
final project
objectives.

Mentors will give
interns chances to
conduct more
difficult tasks on
their own under
supervision.

On Week 12,
interns will present
their final project
to their IVE
instructor, the
 Monitor
attendance rates.
 Mentors will
monitor the
level of
engagement.
 Program
Coordinator will
conduct
informal “check-
ins” with
interns.
 Through the final
project
presentation,
assess intern’s
ability to present a
pre-determined
concept based on
the combination of
background
research and
practical training.

 Discuss with
mentors, compare
against second-
month
performance, and
assess behavior
change in
learning attitude.
 From mentor’s
observation,
assess the
knowledge and
skills learned
during practical
training.
 Program
Coordinator &
mentor will
jointly submit a
final evaluation
to IVE.
 Identify a list of
possible
candidates for
potential
employment
offer.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 87
Intervention
proposed
Assessment on
satisfaction and
engagement
(Level 1)
Assessment on
learning,
commitment, and
confidence
(Level 2)
Assessment on
behavior change
and application of
learning
(Level 3)
Assessment on
impact
(Level 4)
Program
Coordinator, and
firm’s senior
management.

Conclusion of Mentorship Program

HR will conduct
satisfaction survey
and an exit
interview with
interns.

Conduct interview
with mentors
 Conduct final
program job
satisfaction
survey using the
Buckingham and
Coffman Q12
Survey to assess
confidence,
satisfaction, and
commitment.

 Conduct exit
interview to assess
confidence,
attitude and
intention to return
and work for the
firm.

 Interview
mentors to
discuss their
observation and
their preference
for hiring
selected
individuals.
 Shortlist
potential
candidates and
make a
permanent
employment
offer to high-
caliber intern
candidates first.
 Keep contacts
with waitlist
candidates for
possible new
openings.

Limitations and Delimitations
The focus of this study was to conduct evaluation study to examine the assets needed
to improve the effectiveness and impact of the FMC mentorship program. Some limitations
resulted from the design of this study. First, the study was undoubtedly limited by social
desirability bias resulting in participants providing answers they believed to be socially
desirable and not a true presentation of their experience. This could be the case both in the
survey and interview contexts. Best efforts were applied to minimize the response bias from
the mentors by further probing for evidence during the interview sessions. Triangulation was
also applied by cross-referencing mentor survey against intern survey responses. Second, the
study was limited by the fact that it assumed that all participants understood and interpreted
the interview questions (both English and Chinese versions) and survey items in the manner
intended. Lastly, careful considerations were observed when running the descriptive analyses
on a small sample size.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 88
The primary delimitation of the study was that it was context specific to a particular
organization’s mission and organizational goal and cannot be generalized. However, other
FMC departments, branch offices, and institutions of similar nature might benefit from the
application of this study’s use of Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis process and
methodology to bring about performance improvement.
The study was also delimited to examining two key stakeholder group’s (mentor’s and
intern’s) experiences that might or might not be representative of that of other stakeholder
groups. While other stakeholder groups’ experiences and contributions are important to the
organization, and could have been useful in this study, an investigation of those views
remained outside the scope of the current study.
Future Research
One possible line of research based on this study would be to create a longitudinal
study to examine cohort groups over time after they have joined the firm. Such a study could
help uncover key outcomes and elements of a sustainable and successful mentorship
program. Another interesting area of research would be to examine other influencing factors
that can enhance the mentorship experience. Findings could help the firm improve its model
and work toward building a similar program for other business units and stakeholders within
the organization. For example, if the firm discovered that there were greater benefits from
having senior mentors nurturing and new hires as opposed to having junior engineers
mentoring new hires, a mentorship solution could likely be able to resolve the vulnerability in
junior staff retention. Possible solutions could include reverse mentorship and multi-to-multi
mentorship exchange as described by Kram & Ragins (2007) in developmental networks.
Similarly, although earlier in Chapter 2, the monetary influence was considered by some
researchers not as a viable long-term solution, if the right combination of financial reward
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 89
and incentives are found to be linked to promoting learning and career development, these
might be supportive to the general intention of talent attraction and retention.
Conclusion
Proposed solutions in this study were generated to provide concrete strategies for
FMC to improve the mentors’ performance in a workplace context. The findings suggested
that by institutionalizing the mentorship program, the FMC mentors would be empowered to
better guide the interns. Institutionalizing the program would entail devising a formal
framework and selecting mentor candidates with the particular motivational traits and then
providing these mentors with the appropriate training, resources, and organizational support.
FMC’s Human Resources (HR) Department should continue to pilot the efforts and to
institutionalize the program. Practical steps were proposed such as HR publishing an intern
guidebook and having a dedicated program coordinator. By HR and mentors sharing a
common goal, they will be able to create a nurturing environment that fosters human bonds.
The ultimate goal is to positively influence and prepare the interns, entice qualified ones to
join the firm after graduation, turning them into successful new hires.
The suggestions made in this study can increase the impacts of mentors and refine the
mentorship program, which can lead to the ultimate goal of attracting entry-level engineers
and increase overall staff retention. To achieve long-term success, commitment will be
needed from all FMC stakeholders.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 90
References
Abbasi, S. M., & Hollman, K. W. (2000). Turnover: The real bottom line. Public Personnel
Management, 29(3), 333-342. doi:10.1177/009102600002900303
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.) (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and
assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, NY:
Longman.
BDA, (2008). Fachkräſtesicherung, BDA Position Paper, June 2008.
Bersin, J. (2013, July 3). Building a smarter workforce in today’ s global economy (Research
Bulletin 2013). San Francisco, CA: Deloitte Development.
Bills, M. A. (1925). Social status of the clerical work and his permanence on the job. Journal
of Applied Psychology, 9, 424–427. doi:10.1037/h0065881
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership (5th Ed). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Brayfield, A. and Crockett, W. (1955). Employee attitudes and employee performance.
Psychological Bulletin, 52, 396-424. doi:10.1037/h0045899
Brislin, R.W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural
Psychology, 1(3), 185-216. doi:10.1177/135910457000100301
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First, break all the rules: What the world's greatest
managers do differently. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), The Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region. (2017 August 17). Unemployment and underemployment
statistics for May – July 2017. Retrieved from
https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/press_release/pressReleaseDetail.jsp?charsetID=1&press
RID=4077

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 91
Chen, J; & Silverthorne, C. (2005). Leadership effectiveness, leadership style and employee
readiness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26(4), 280-288.
doi:10.1108/01437730510600652
Clark, R. E. (2006). Motivating individuals, teams, and organizations. In J. A. Pershing (Ed),
Handbook of human performance technology: principles, practices, and potential (pp.
478-497). San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
Clark, R. E., & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right
performance solutions. Charlotte, N.C.: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Clutterbuck, D., & Ragins, B. (2002). Mentoring and diversity: An international perspective.
Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Cummings, G. G., MacGregor, T., Davey, M., Lee, H., Wong, C., Lo, E., Muise, M., &
Stafford, E. (2010). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce
and work environment: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies
47(3), 363-385. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.08.006
Dasgupta, N., & Stout, J. (2014). Girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(1), 21-29.
doi:10.1177/2372732214549471
Diemer, H. (1917). Causes of “turnover” among college faculties. The Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 71, 216–224.
doi:10.1177/000271621707100119
Dixon, P. M., Sontag, L. P., & Vappie, K. (2012). Developing organizational cultural
competence through mentoring: Onboarding the Menttium way. In C. Wanberg (Ed.),
The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization (pp. 325-335). Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 92
Dobre, O. L. (2013). Employee motivation and organizational performance. Review of
Applied Socio-Economic Research, 5(1), 53-60. Retrieved from
ftp://ftp.repec.org/opt/ReDIF/RePEc/rse/wpaper/R5_5_DobreOvidiuIliuta_p53_60.pd
f
Eberle, G. J. (1919). Labor turnover. The American Economic Review, 9, 79–82.
Erickson, T. J. (2008). Plugged in: the Generation Y guide to thriving at work. United States:
Harvard Business School Press.
Firth, L., Mellor, D. J., Moore, K. A., & Loquet, C. (2004). How can managers reduce
employee intention to quit? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(2), 170-187.
Fleishman, E. A., & Harris, E. F. (1962). Patterns of leadership behavior related to employee
grievances and turnover. Personnel Psychology, 15, 43–56. doi:10.1111/j.1744-
6570.1962.tb01845.x
Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (2001). Analyzing cultural models and settings to connect
minority achievement and school improvement research. Educational Psychologist,
36(1), 45-56.
The Gallup Organization (1992-1999). Gallup Workplace Audit (Copyright Registration
Certificate TX-5 080 066). Washington, DC: U.S. Copyright Office.
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (2010). 2011-11 policy
address: Ten major infrastructure projects. Retrieved from
https://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/10-11/eng/pdf/projects.pdf
Griffeth, R. W., Horn, P W., & Gaertner, S. (2000). A meta-analysis of antecedents and
correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications
for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26, 463-488.
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., Asplund, J. W., Killham, E. A., & Agrawal, S. (2010). Causal
impact of employee work perceptions on the bottom line of organizations.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 93
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(4), 378-389.
doi:10.1177/1745691610374589
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., Killham, E. A., & Asplund, J. W. (1993). Q12® Meta-Analysis.
Washington, DC: Gallup Press. Retrieved from
https://strengths.gallup.com/private/resources/q12meta-
analysis_flyer_gen_08%2008_bp.pdf
Hausknecht, J. P., Trevor, C. O., & Howard, M. J. (2009). Unit-level voluntary turnover rates
and customer service quality: Implications of group cohesiveness, newcomer
concentration, and size. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1068–1075.
doi:10.1037/a0015898
Heavey, A. L., Holwerda, J. A., & Hausknecht, J. P. (2013). Causes and consequences of
collective turnover: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 412–
453. doi:10.1037/a0032380
Hendricks, W., & Bartlett, S. (1994). The manager's role as coach. Shawnee Mission, KS:
National Press Publications.
Hellriegel, D., & White, G. E. (1973). Turnover of professionals in public accounting: A
comparative analysis. Personnel Psychology, 26, 239-249. doi:10.1111/j.1744-
6570.1973.tb01135.x
Hofaidhllaoui, M., & Chhinzer, N. (2014). The relationship between satisfaction and turnover
intentions for knowledge workers. Engineering Management Journal, 26(2), 3-9.
doi:10.1080/10429247.2014.11432006
Hom, P. W., & Griffeth, R. W. (1995). Employee turnover. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western
College Publishing.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 94
Hom, P. W., Lee, T. W., Shaw, J. D., & Hausknecht, J. P. (2017). One hundred years of
employee turnover theory and research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 530-
545. doi:10.1037/apl0000103
Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM). (2017). Turnover rate
and vacancy rate (2
nd
half of 2016). Retrieved from
http://www.hkihrm.org/phocadownload/membership/members_area/hr_statistics/Man
power_Trend/Turnover_Charts_2H_16.pdf
Igbaria, M., & Greenhaus, J. (1992). Determinants of MIS employees' turnover intentions: A
structural equation model. Communications of the ACM, 35(2), 34-49.
Jerome, A., Scales, M., Whithem, C., & Quain, B. (2014). Millennials in the workforce: gen
y workplace strategies for the next century. E-Journal of Social & Behavioural
Research in Business, 5(1), 1-12.
Kapoor, C., & Solomon, N. (2011). Understanding and managing generational differences in
the workplace. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 3(4), 308-318.
doi:10.1108/17554211111162435
Karallis, T., & Sandelands, E. (2009). Making mentoring stick: A case study. Education +
Training, 51(3), 203.209. doi:10.1108/00400910910960731
Kennedy, D.A. (2006). Attrition rates of mature engineers. Engineering Management
Journal, 18(3), 36-40.
Kennedy, D.A. (2009). Best before forty: The shelf life of an engineer. Engineering
Management Journal, 21(1), 19-26.
Kirkpatrick, D., & Kirkpatrick, J. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels
(3rd Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Brett Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Kram, K. E. (1985). Improving the Mentoring Process. Training & Development
Journal, 39(4), 40-43.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 95
Kram, K.E., & Higgins, M.C. (2008 September 22). A new mindset on mentoring: Creating
developmental networks at work. Business Insight section, Wall Street Journal.
(Produced in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management Review), R10-11.
Kram, K. E., & Ragins, B. R. (2007). The Landscape of mentoring in the 21
st
century. In
B. R. Ragins & K. E. Kram (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory,
research, and practice (pp 659-687). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Lamoureux, K. (2008). Strategic onboarding: transforming new hires into dedicated
employees. Bersin & Associates Research Bulletin, 3(1). Retrieved from
http://mms.gpstrategies.com/pdf/010408_RB_Onboarding_KL_Final.pdf
Lankau, M., & Scandura, T. A. (2002). An investigation of personal learning in mentoring
relationships: Content, antecedents, and consequences. Academy of Management
Journal, 4, 779-79.
Lee, J. S., & Chen, Y .S. (1999). Study in relating high-technology industrial characteristics,
job stress, job satisfaction and turnover intention – An empirical study for R&D
people and engineers in high-technology companies in Taiwan. Journal of Human
Resource, 11, 93-116.
Lee, R. T., & Ashforth, B. E. (1993). A further examination of managerial burnout: Toward
an integrated model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14(1), 3-20.
Lee, T. W., & Mowday, R. T. (1987). V oluntarily leaving an organization: An empirical
investigation of Steers and Mowday’s model of turnover. Academy of Management
Journal, 30(4), 721-43.
Ley, R. (1966). Labor turnover as a function of worker differences, work environment, and
authoritarianism of foremen. Journal of Applied Psychology, 50, 497–500.
doi:10.1037/h0024045
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 96
Mackey, J. (1994). The mentoring role: Instruction by example. In W. Hendricks (Ed.), The
manager's role as coach (pp. 127-156). Shawnee Mission, KS: National Press
Publications.
Maertz, C. P., & Campion, M. A. (1998). 25 years of voluntary turnover research: A review
and critique. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 13,
49-81.
ManpowerGroup. (2016a). 2016-2017 Talent shortage survey. Retrieved from
http://manpowergroup.com/talent-shortage-2016
ManpowerGroup. (2016b). 2016/2017 Talent shortage survey: Hong Kong Results. Retrieved
from https://www.manpower.com.hk/Upload/201611/685b8357-b3df-4c88-8428-
b992e54e6bcc.pdf
ManpowerGroup. (2017). Focus on engineering 2017. Retrieved from
http://www.experisjobs.us/Website-File-Pile/Whitepapers/Experis/engineering-
whitepaper.pdf
Mat, J. (2008). The influence of leadership style on internal marketing in retailing (Ph.D.
Thesis). University of Stirling.
Matland, R. E. (1995). Synthesizing the implementation literature: The ambiguity-conflict
model of policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and
Theory, 5(2), 145-174.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Validity: How might you be wrong? In Qualitative research design:
An interactive approach (3rd ed., pp. 121-138). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Mayer, R.E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Mayfield, R.W., & Keating, C.B. (2003). Major factors that influence employment decisions
of Generation X consulting engineers. Engineering Management Journal, 15(2), 35-
43.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 97
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mickel, A. E., & Barron, L. A. (2008). Getting “more bang for the buck” symbolic value of
monetary rewards in organizations. Journal of Management Inquiry, 17(4), 329-338.
doi:10.1177/1056492606295502
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Drawing and verifying conclusions. In
Qualitative Data Analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed., pp. 293-317). Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE
Miller, M. B., Hodge, K. H., Brandt, A., & Schneider, E. A. (2013). The young and the
restless: Gen Y'ers in the workplace! Are you prepared? FDCC Quarterly, 63(3), 226-
250.
Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. (2001). The unfolding model of voluntary turnover and job
embeddedness: Foundations for a comprehensive theory of attachment. Research in
Organizational Behavior, 23, 189-246.
Montgomery, D. C., Blodget, J. G., & Barnes, J. H. (1996). A model of financial securities
sales persons’ job stress. The Journal of Services Marketing, 10(3), 21-38.
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2014). 15 Best Practices for Internship
Programs. Retrieved from http://www.naceweb.org/internships/15-best-
practices.aspx; http://www.naceweb.org/store/2015/building-premier-internship-program-guide/
Park, T. Y ., & Shaw, J. D. (2013). Turnover rates and organizational performance: A meta-
analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 268-309. doi:10.1037/a0030723
Payne, S. C., & Huffman, A. H. (2005). A longitudinal examination of the influence of
mentoring on organizational commitment and turnover. Academy of Management
Journal, 48, 158-168.
Price, J. L. (1977). The Study of Turnover. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 98
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2016, January). Redefining business success in a changing world.
19
th
Annual Global CEO Survey. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-
survey/2016/landing-page/pwc-19th-annual-global-ceo-survey.pdf
Ragins, B.R. (2009). Positive identities in action: A model of mentoring self-structures and
the motivation to mentor. In L.M, Roberts, & J.E. Dutton (Eds.), Exploring positive
identities and organizations: Building a theoretical and research foundation (pp. 240-
260). New York, NY: Routledge.
Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. E. (Eds.). (2007). The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory,
research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Rahman, R.H.A. (2012). Malaysian firms’ role in retaining engineers. The Economic and
Labour Relations Review, 23(4), 57-78.
Rouse, M. (2017). Corporate culture model. Retrieved from
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/corporate-culture-model
Sager, J. K. (1994). A structural model depicting salespeople’s job stress. Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science, 22(1), 74-84.
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley
& Sons.
Shaw, J. D., Delery, J. E., Jenkins, G. D., & Gupta, N. (1998). An organization-level analysis
of voluntary and involuntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 511–
525. doi:/10.2307/256939
Shaw, J. D., Gupta, N., & Delery, J. E. (2005). Alternative conceptualizations of the
relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance. Academy of
Management Journal, 48, 50–68. doi:10.5465/AMJ.2005.15993112
Sinatra, M. (2015). Employee Turnover: Costs and Causes. Air Conditioning, Heating &
Refrigeration News, 255(17), 30.
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 99
Spillane, J.P., Reiser, B.J., & Reimer, T. (2002). Policy implementation and cognition:
Reframing and refocusing implementation research. Review of Educational Research,
72(3), 387-431. doi:10.3102/00346543072003387
Strategic Finance. (2007). Coaching, mentoring help retain employees. 89(6), 17.
US Government Office of Personnel Management (USGOPM). Best Practices: Mentoring.
Retrieved from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/training-and-
development/career-development/bestpractices-mentoring.pdf
Weatherley, R., & Lipsky, M. (Summer 1977). Street-level bureaucrats and institutional
innovation: Implementing special education reform. Harvard Educational Review,
47(2), 171-197.
Weiner, B. (1972). Attribution theory, achievement motivation, and the educational
process. Review of educational research, 42(2), 203-215.
Wigfield, A., & Cambria, J. (2010). Students’ achievement values, goal orientations, and
interest: Definitions, development, and relations to achievement outcomes.
Developmental Review, 30, 1-35.
Wing, K.T. (2009). Ready to move forward? Give mentoring a try. Strategic Finance, 90(8),
18-19.

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 100
Appendix A Survey Instrument for Mentor
The written survey is anticipated to take no more than 20 minutes to complete. You
do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to, write “N/A” next to the question and
move on to the next one.
Again, your participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a
participant will remain confidential at all times during and after the study.

No. of times of being a Mentor in the past: _____ [None / 1 / 2 / 3+]

Item Please select one of the answers.

1 I feel I am capable of being an effective mentor.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Self-efficacy
2 As a mentor, I am confident about my ability to provide guidance to my mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
SE Check
3 I enjoy being a mentor.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Intrinsic TV
4 As a mentor, I have become a role model to my mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q9
5 My effort matters in the success of my mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Attribution
6 For each assignment, I provide clear goals, so my mentee knows what is expected at
work.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q1

7 I take time to share the organization’s mission and goals with my mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Factual
8 I try to align my mentee’s learning objectives and outcomes with the organization’s
mission.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree

B+C Q8

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 101
Item Please select one of the answers.

9 I take time to explain the Value Creation Concept to my Mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Conceptual
[Control Q]
10 I take time to explain the importance of my mentee’s role within the organization.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q8

11 My mentee has an opportunity every day to use his/her abilities to perform well.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q3

12 As a mentor, I remind my mentee of the importance of doing quality work.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q9
13 Sufficient resources such as materials and equipment are provided to my mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q2
14 Staff Orientation has been successful in providing the necessary introductory
information to the mentees.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
C. Setting
15 After each assessment, I take time to provide feedback to my mentee.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q5
16 I regularly ask my mentee to attempt a task before I explain the solution.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q6, 7

17 I regularly ask my mentee for his/her opinion or ideas about a task or job.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q7

18 I regularly discuss with my mentee about his/her progress.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q11

19 I regularly give recognition or praise to my mentee for doing a good job.

Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
B+C Q4

Reference: Gallup Q12 (1993-1998). Gallup, Inc. UPIRB# APP-16-00514
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 102
Appendix B Survey Instrument for Intern
Hello, thank you for agreeing to participate today. As you recall, I am conducting a
research study as part of my dissertation, which examines Workplace Mentorship. Because
of your recent engagement in the Mentorship Program, you are cordially invited to participate
in the study.
The written survey is anticipated to take no more than 15 minutes to complete. You
do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to, write “N/A” next to the question and
move on to the next one

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will
remain confidential at all times during and after the study.

Item Please select one of the answers.

0 I am satisfied working here at FMC.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

1 I know what is expected of me at work.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

2 I have the equipment and material I need to do my job right.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

3 At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

4 In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

5 My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

6 There is someone at work who encourages my development.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 103
7 At work, my opinions seem to count.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

8 The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

9 My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

10 I have a best friend at work.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

11 In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

12 This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Source: Gallup Q12 (1993-1998). Gallup, Inc. UPIRB# APP-16-00514

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 104
Appendix C 19 Assumed KMO Assets and Mapping to Survey Items

Assumed Assets
KMO
Classification
Mentor
Survey
Item
Intern
Survey
Item
Knowledge Assets

1. Mentor knew how to provide post-
assessment feedback.

Procedural 15

11, 6
2. Mentor possessed the factual information
on organization’s mission and goal and
took time to share with the interns.

Factual 7

8
3. Mentor stressed on quality work.

Procedural 12

9
4. Mentor took time to explain the Value
Creation Concept to the intern.

Conceptual 9 n/a
5. Mentor had provided clear goals so the
intern knew what was expected at work.

Procedural 6

1
6. Mentor provided opportunities to allow the
intern to attempt first and explain later.

Procedural 16

3
7. Mentor was able to align learning
objectives and outcomes with the
organizational goals for interns.

Conceptual 8

8
8. Mentor understood and took time to
explain the importance of the interns and
their role in the organization.

Factual 10

8
Motivation Assets

9. Mentor enjoyed being a mentor.

Intrinsic Task
Value
3

n/a
10. Mentor felt he was capable being an
effective mentor.

Self-efficacy 1

n/a
11. Mentor was confident about his ability to
provide guidance.

Self-efficacy 2

n/a
12. Mentor believed their efforts matter in
the success of the intern.

Attribution 5 n/a

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 105
Assumed Assets
KMO
Classification
Mentor
Survey
Item
Intern
Survey
Item
Organization Assets

13. Mentor regularly gave recognition /
praise to intern for good work.

Cultural Setting
(Encouragement)
19 4
14. Mentor established himself as a role
model.

Cultural Setting
(Seniority)
4

9

15. Mentor regularly asked interns for his /
her opinion or ideas prior a task.

Cultural Setting
(Encouragement)
17 7
16. Mentor regularly discussed progress with
the intern.

Cultural Setting
(Feedback)
18 5, 11
17. The organization had given sufficient
resources such as materials and
equipment to the interns.

Cultural Setting
(Resources)
13 2
18. Intern was given the opportunity every
day to use his / her abilities to perform
well.

Cultural Setting
(Encouragement)
11 3
19. Staff Orientation helped to disseminate
introductory information.

Cultural Setting
(Orientation)
14 1, 8

IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 106
Appendix D Interview Instrument for Mentor
Hello, thank you for agreeing to participate today. As you recall, I am conducting a
research study as part of my dissertation, which examines Workplace Mentorship. Because
of your recent engagement as a Mentor, you are cordially invited to participate in the study.

The interview is anticipated to last approximately 1 hour and will be audiotaped. You
do not have to answer any questions you do not want to. After a short break, there will be a
follow-up written survey that contains multiple choice questions. The written survey is
anticipated to take no more than 20 minutes to complete.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will
remain confidential at all times during and after the study.

Item Interview Questions Remarks
1 Tell me about your ideas on mentoring. What makes an effective
mentor?

Procedural
2 Briefly describe the goals or objectives of being a mentor. How do
you know if you have succeeded?

Conceptual;
Metacognitive
3 Briefly describe how you delegate tasks to your mentee.
Supplemental:
a) How you set clear expectations and goals? Examples?

Procedural;

B+C Q1

4 Briefly describe how you build up the skills and knowledge of your
mentee.
Supplemental:
a) What is your approach to building confidence in your mentee?
Example?
b) To what extent do you encourage the mentee to develop
his/her own solutions? Example?

Procedural

B+C Q6
(Encourage-
ment)
5 Please give some examples of how you look after your mentee.

B+C Q5
6 Briefly describe the type of feedback you provide to your mentee
about his/her work.
Supplemental:
a) How did you recognize outstanding work? Example?

B+C Q4
(Praise);

B+C Q6
7 How did you feel about your last mentorship experience? Did you
enjoy it and was it successful?
Supplemental:
a) Did you feel your mentee contribute to the overall team’s
success? Example?

Affect
IMPROVING THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MENTORSHIP 107
Item Interview Questions Remarks
8 What do you believe are the reasons for [particular performance
outcome from the previous question]?

Attribution
9 What should FMC do to ensure that new employees are retained and
that they are successful?
Supplemental:
a) Did FMC provide any resources? Example of helpful
resources?

C. Setting
Note: B+C (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999) UPIRB# APP-16-00514

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Employee turnover negatively affects work morale and organizational outcomes. Staff mobility in the technology sector is particularly high, often impeding the growth and expansion of engineering firms. Evidence indicates that mentorship can be an effective means of retaining talent. This evaluation study examined the performance of a group of seven mentors in a Hong Kong engineering services firm who had mentored seven final year students from a vocational training institute in Spring 2016. The purpose of this study was to understand the existing and needed knowledge, motivational and organizational assets of the mentors in order to help improve their mentoring performance. Data were collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews with the mentors. The responses were corroborated by surveying the affiliated interns after they had become employees of the firm. The findings suggested that mentors demonstrated high level of knowledge and motivation assets when guiding the interns. Strengthening of the program framework and establishing a comprehensive information dissemination channel would seem advantageous to allow the mentors to stay focused on coaching. Social events and activities which could further promote staff interactions and bonding should be encouraged. The results further suggested that by continuing the mentorship program, with some improvements, better retainment could be achieved. Suggestions were made for increasing the impacts of mentors and refining the mentorship program in order to pursue the ultimate goal of attracting entry-level engineers and increasing overall staff retention.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Improved student success at California State University, Dominguez Hills: a promising practice study

PDF

Increasing the number of petroleum engineering students in the United Arab Emirates: an improvement model

PDF

The role of divisional principals in teacher retention in East African international schools

PDF

Linking shared governance and strategic planning processes: an innovation study

PDF

Minority Reserve Officer Training Corps officer candidate recruitment and retention: a gap analysis

PDF

Creativity and innovation in undergraduate education: an innovation study

PDF

Improving math achievement among fourth graders at Al-Corniche Primary For Girls: a gap analysis

PDF

Increasing faculty engagement in entrepreneurial behavior to advance regional economic development: an innovation study

PDF

Creating "excellent" learning experiences: a gap analysis of a university extension program

PDF

Systemic multilayered assessment of global awareness in undergraduate students: an innovation study

PDF

Retention rate of online students in the associate's degree program in addiction education counseling: a gap analysis

PDF

Standards as drivers of internationalization

PDF

Improving educational attainment at a bridge program in Saudi Arabia: a gap analysis

PDF

Creating a comprehensive professional development program for MBA students: a needs analysis

PDF

Increasing Emiratisation in engineering faculty position at the higher colleges of technology

PDF

Understanding the challenges of recruiting and retaining native English-speaking teachers in Macao

PDF

Developing and retaining employees: exploring talent management initiatives for enlisted women

PDF

Child-centered, play-based curriculum at a Hong Kong kindergarten and nursery: a gap analysis

PDF

Next Generation Science Standards implementation in K-12 Hawaiian language immersion classrooms in the State of Hawaiʻi

PDF

Supporting school leaders implementing a global education model in a national network of public schools: a promising practice

Asset Metadata

Creator Fung, Eric Chee-Hin (author)

Core Title Attracting and retaining talent: improving the impact of workplace mentorship

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Global Executive

Publication Date 12/06/2017

Defense Date 09/01/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag employee turnover,engineering mentorship,internship,OAI-PMH Harvest,staff retention,talent attraction,Vocational training

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Filback, Robert A. (committee chair), Robison, Mark Power (committee member), Tambascia, Tracy Poon (committee member)

Creator Email e.fung@ieee.org,eric.fung@alumni.usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-459473

Unique identifier UC11266810

Identifier etd-FungEricCh-5943.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-459473 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-FungEricCh-5943.pdf

Dmrecord 459473

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Fung, Eric Chee-Hin

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA