Someone promised mentors: will you deliver?

What are recruiters promising? Many new hires say that they accepted a job because of a promised mentoring program--one that never materializes, and one that the manager doesn't know was part of the discussions. Where does that leave the manager who may not be aware of this expectation? Faced with anchoring mobile Gen Xers, organizations are exploring mentoring as an inexpensive way to improve retention. But mentoring is not a technique that can be applied like a warm blanket to solve the problems of orientation, training, skills development, and retention. There are two reasons why mentoring isn't foolproof--the mentor and the protégé. If you are considering a mentoring program, or becoming a mentor yourself, here are some points to ponder: (1) If you can't (or won't) do it, give convincing reasons up front; (2) establish the rules of engagement; (3) a mentoring relationship doesn't guarantee loyalty; (4) having a protégé has political risks; (5) you can't force anyone to take advice; and (6) expect a quid pro quo.