M3.06. Preparing the evaluation of the mentoring process

5. Evaluation Plan

5.2. Evaluation Plan

Purpose and Scope
In general, the purpose of your evaluation should be to establish the outcomes or value of the programme you are providing and to find ways to improve the program. Both a formative and a summative evaluation should be designed.
Defining the purpose of your evaluation will help you focus and delineate the other steps in the evaluation process. The scope of your evaluation must also be determined. It may be narrow or broad; it may focus on all students or targeted groups. A narrow, focused evaluation might seek answers to questions such as:

  • How successful has the mentor/mentee pairing been?
  • What has been the impact of mentor training?
  • Have the mentor/mentee achieved the objectives laid out in their mentoring plans? (measuring mentor/mentee performance)
  • Has the programme had a positive impact on, for example, employee competence?

The scope of your evaluation can also be very broad; for example: measuring the success and impact of the mentoring programme.
The scope of an evaluation is often determined by the amount of resources available to you. The larger and more involved the evaluation, the costlier it will be in terms of time and money. If minimal resources are available, consider a more focused and less involved evaluation process.

Method
In your evaluation plan, you should decide what information that you want to know, what methods you will use to gather that information, and the evidence you will use to support the information. For example:

Evaluation Criteria Method of Evaluation Supporting Evidence
Have the mentees found the mentoring programme to be a useful tool? Questionnaire/
Questions
  • 90% of mentees have benefitted in some way from the programme
  • 90% of mentees would like to continue with the programme
  • 85% of mentees have felt that the mentoring programme has improved their career opportunities within the company
Has the mentoring programme improved mentee career growth within the company? Data analysis
  • 75% increase in mentee participation in training programmes
  • 30% increase in mentee participation to conferences
  • 90% increase in mentee involvement in our organisation's "Green Scheme"
Has the mentor met all their expectations?
  • Self-assessment questionnaire
  • Mentee feedback form
  • 100% return rate on the self-assessment questionnaires – 98% mentor satisfaction, 93% mentee satisfaction
Has the mentee met all their expectations?
  • Self-assessment questionnaire
  • Mentor feedback form
  • 90% return rate on the self-assessment questionnaires
  • 88% mentor satisfaction,
  • 90% mentee satisfaction


 

Data
Your evaluation questions determine your data sources. Once your questions are specified, your next step is to determine who or what can best provide information that lead to answering the questions. Some potential data sources include:

  • Mentor
  • Mentee
  • Mentor line manager
  • Colleagues
  • Upper management

Data sources might also include records about your programme such as the number of career development plans completed and signed, or time spent on a career development plan. Data sources can also include the review of records that have been kept by others such as;

  • Attendance to training programmes
  • Attendance to conferences and events relating to their job role