Pilot program helps underrepresented talent strengthen professional development strategies
Many companies are facing new challenges as they strive to develop under-represented talent and strengthen their diversity, engagement, and inclusion programs. With talent teams already taxed by the many changes in how we work today, mentoring programs add another layer of effort that limit their potential for effecting change.
That’s why Box, a leading cloud content management platform, engaged my2be to deliver inclusive development across its organization. Box was originally attracted to my2be by the company’s technology platform and its ability to increase engagement by facilitating scaled mentoring. But, following initial discussions between Box and my2be regarding Box’s objectives for developing underrepresented talent, it became clear that achieving those objectives required more than my2be’s easy to use technology platform. The company also needed guidance in planning, developing, and executing a pilot scaled mentoring program. For that Box turned to the expert team at my2be.
“It’s opened my mentee’s eyes to other styles of work and has created meaningful collaboration opportunities within their existing role.”
Exploration and assessment
The my2be team’s first step was to take a deep look into all of the areas that would be impacted by the pilot program, including the company culture, existing tools, vendors, and educational programs. my2be also looked at Box’s administrative and reporting requirements and existing employee engagement programs. The my2be team worked closely with key stakeholders to ensure buy-in for the program process and objectives.
Program development
With the assessment complete, the my2be team began developing all of the program elements, including:
- Program Guide
- Mentor Profile
- Mentee Profile
- Meeting Guide
- Key Skills and Development Guide
- Pre-launch events timeline
- Launch event
Program delivery
With all of the program elements in place, my2be executed the program plan, handling onboarding, my2be platform training, materials distribution, and reporting. As the program unfolded Box continued to collaborate closely with the my2be team to ensure the program’s success. And, by all accounts, it was incredibly successful—measurably so, in fact—as evidenced by our post-program survey of mentors, mentees, and administrators.
““My Mentee has been promoted, hit their quota early, and ramped up quickly!”
Here’s what we heard.
Sentiments analysis
When surveyed regarding the my2be program, respondents were overwhelmingly positive about their experience.
Key individual outcomes
In assessing the impacts of the inclusive development program on individual mentees and mentors, once again the survey results point to a resounding, measurable success.
When asked about the new skills and areas of knowledge they have developed as a result of the program, mentees shared a long list with us. Here are just a few.
- More comfortably communicate with senior team members
- Understand more about the business
- Think more strategically
- Increased professional confidence
- Better communication and collaboration skills
- More focused professional development strategy
- Management tips and tricks
Key business outcomes
Going beyond personal experiences, what really mattered most to Box was results. From a company perspective, the my2be program exceeded all expectations. Box has taken a leap forward with inclusive development, achieving its primary goal of building a better, more diverse business. Based on the pilot program’s resounding success, Box has engaged my2be to help roll out an inclusive development program across the entire enterprise.
“My Mentee is having the right conversations at the right levels and it’s propelling them into projects they are interested and engaged in. It has resulted in them exuding a more positive energy, and I’m seeing better comfort in role and defined career path.”
Box’s success is one more reason why we built my2be
The my2be People Success Platform empowers diversity and talent development teams to easily:
- Design tailored mentoring and development programs to address specific requirements
- Ensure that underrepresented talent is included, engaged, and given the support they need
- Use built-in automation to easily invite, manage, and optimize programs at scale, across their business
- Measure results and show a tangible return on effort with the platform’s included analytics capabilities
- Get the support they need through my2be’s team of mentoring and development coaches
Contact my2be to learn how you can start helping everyone realize their full potential today.