Senior VP of talent at TD discusses challenges, opportunities of mentorships
Mentorship has long been a critical tool for employee development, but shifting workplace dynamics have transformed how these relationships are formed and maintained.
According to Helen Davies, senior vice president of talent at TD, one of the most significant changes is a move away from structured, HR-led programs toward self-directed mentorship, with employees taking the initiative to seek guidance.
“If I went back a decade, as an HR practitioner, I probably would have seen far more HR department-organized mentoring programs. It was a bit more the mentor is the one determining the relationship or determining the match.
“What we've definitely seen is a shift to the mentee actually generating the request... So, it's much more driven by the mentee now.”
This self-directed approach has also led to the rise of mentorship networks within employee resource groups (ERGs), including among veterans, employees with disabilities, and the 2SLGBTQ+ community, says Davies.
“They self-form and they have also self-created mentorship and sponsorship programs.”
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Before the pandemic, many mentorship relationships formed organically through casual workplace interactions. However, when employees moved to remote work, those informal opportunities disappeared, explains Davies.
“We all went home, so certainly we really had to rethink how mentoring is still going to happen. Because a lot of it is organic and natural and quite casual and unstructured. When we all went remote, what we found – like many organizations – is that a lot of the unstructured aspects of colleague experience dropped away.”
The issue of creating trust between a mentee and a mentor also became a challenge, she says.
“To be able to mentor someone, you have to have some sort of a relationship of trust. And we know that trust is formed through shared experiences.
“If you don't have those shared experiences, it's really difficult to have genuine mentoring happening.”
Despite these obstacles, Davies says that both leaders and employees at TD Bank have found ways to adapt. "Leaders just naturally find ways to adapt and reach out more. Colleagues find ways to reach out and adapt more."
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A common challenge in mentorship today is confusion between mentorship and sponsorship, says Davies.
"Often we find that people go into a mentoring relationship or ask for a mentor when actually what they want is a sponsor. And there’s a big difference," she said.
While mentors offer career advice and guidance, sponsors actively advocate for an employee’s advancement by recommending them for opportunities.
"To be a sponsor, you need to have seen that person in action, be part of their work, understand their capabilities, and then be able to recommend them and put your own name behind a recommendation. That’s very different to mentoring."
To avoid misalignment, Davies advises organizations to encourage clear communication from the outset.
"My advice would be, have clearer conversations up front in contracting what [mentees] want from this relationship before you start mentoring or sponsoring, to be sure that both parties agree that’s what the goal is."
Looking ahead, Davies outlines key strategies for strengthening mentorship programs in a hybrid work environment.
First, organizations should position mentorship as a core leadership responsibility.
"You communicate in your organization that mentoring others is part of your accountability as a leader, and that you’re activating thousands of people to help others," she says.
Second, mentorship must be built into the employee experience, with time and access dedicated to these relationships.
"You have to keep communicating that it’s okay to make time for it in the working day… because it helps your colleagues develop, get better at their jobs, and therefore your organizational performance improves."
Finally, companies should ensure mentorship opportunities are inclusive.
"Are they sponsoring people that are just like them, or are they sponsoring people that are not like them?”
Employers should hold leaders to account to “develop all the talent in your organization, and not just those they feel comfortable working directly with,” says Davies.
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