IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2012 - 35

Targeted—but not exclusive— to the young Credit the youth factor for an industry-wide resurgence in mentorship programs. By 2014, Millennials will account for 36 percent of the world’s workforce; by 2020, that percentage will rise close to 50. In the U.S., recent postcollege professionals outnumber Gen-Xers by 150 percent, with Baby Boomers hardly even registering on the scale. Cannon Design is among the firms who recognize that its survival depends on growing the next generation of leaders, on having them embrace its mission and develop both design and business acumen. And so Cannon— a multidisciplinary practice with roughly 1,000 employees spread over 15 offices—takes a serious, structured approach to mentoring. “We introduce mentoring to all of our new hires, even mentioning it during recruitment,” says Barbara Kendziora, associate vice president of training and development. “We have a very formal system, but we know that a lot of informal mentoring occurs in our offices as well.” Kendziora explains that new interior designers are paired with a “buddy” to get them acclimated to the advisor-disciple concept. “We also have a form—a checklist, really—that both mentors and protégés must complete,” she says. “We enter the information into a database, and it’s where we look first when matching up employees.” Cannon’s system is skillsbased, meaning that employees can request mentoring in certain areas such as technology or sustainable design. In addition to providing general day-to-day guidance and training, mentors are also encouraged to periodically assign “stretch assignments” to mentees. “They’ll be asked to do something outside of their ` normal tasks, such as present to a client,” says Kendziora. “It’s meant to push employees outside their comfort level, encouraging them to take risks.” Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, a three-office, 175-person architecture and design firm, has an equally formalized mentoring program, with employees likewise paired in a concerted manner. After giving each protégé an opportunity to list his or her top three choices of mentors, a framework committee decides on the final mentor-mentee match.“The relationships last one year,” explains human resources director Jane Quercia.“We ask the pairings to meet at least once a month, but suggest every two to three weeks.” Topics discussed include career goals, work skills, and issues within the firm. smma even provides pairs with a $350 annual budget for meals, museum visits, and other out-of-office “field trips” where they can chat and connect. Quercia acknowledges that they can’t be too hardlined about who is paired up, or what the mentoring is focusing on. “If things aren’t working out, then we need to talk about another approach,” she says. The firm even allows “no-fault divorce”: Duos can split up with zero repercussions if the connection isn’t thriving. When smma’s mentoring program launched in fall 2002, there were restrictions on who could participate. But it has since expanded and evolved. “It was originally open to junior associates only,” Quercia explains. “Now it’s open to everyone—even people in accounts payable can participate.” Other practices are cottoning to the benefits of casting a wider net, not limiting mentorship to just young professionals but thinking about it as an ongoing effort for staffers of all levels.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2012