The NIH version of the HHS Mentoring Program was launched in January 2009 as a tool for federal FTE’s to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities. This program cycles semiannually at NIH, with most matched pairs beginning orientation and program events in an April 2009 program cohort. The matching deadline for the open-NIH recruitment April 2009 group was April 15, 2009. After the cutoff date, program activities begin and are available only for paired participants tracked in this NIH cohort. Open recruitment for new registrants will take place again across NIH in January 2010 for the April 2010-11 cohort.

If you did not make a mentor-mentee match by April 15, 2009 but you were registered in the HHS Mentoring site as a mentor or mentee, we will be inviting you to revisit the program later this year and find a match in order to begin a smaller October 2009 cohort. We will begin recruiting internally among this group of un-matched registrants again in September 2009.

Key Program Features

• Peer-to-peer and senior-to-junior mentoring opportunities to accommodate all GS-levels
• Online search-and-match system to connect individuals
• Mandatory mentor-mentee orientation (unless there is proof of participation in another mentoring program orientation within the past year)
• One-year relationship commitment
• HHS and NIH Program events and resources to facilitate dialogue and growth
• Individuals can be both mentors and mentees

Mentoring Program Schedule
2009-10 Mentoring Program schedule is an NIH supplement to the HHS-wide training schedule, as the HHS program is significantly customized by Operating Division. Please check back at both places regularly for more information and dates throughout the year!

Registration and Mentor-Matching
All participants must discuss with their supervisors before registering. When an employee registers to be a mentee, his/her supervisor automatically receives a notification email from the system. Mentees can search for mentors by competency-framed strengths, geographical location/OPDIV and professional goals/career path, and initiate contact with up to 3 potential mentors at a time to discuss the potential of matching. Upon receiving an email to discuss the possibility of a mentoring relationship, a prospective mentor can choose to communicate with or immediately decline the mentee. When a match is deemed possible after verbal discussion and agreement, the mentee records the relationship confirmed with the mentor via the online system. More information on this process is found within the central HHS Mentoring Program site.

Competencies and Mentoring
The HHS Mentoring Program anchors on development of HHS Leadership and Management Competencies. Meanwhile, NIH has launched its own Leadership and Management Competencies. Here is how they translate and correspond, in order to take advantage of the program and develop an IDP (Individual Development Plan) that translates into NIH competencies at the same time.
Competencies in Translation; NIH-HHS Mentoring Program . For more information about NIH Competencies, NIH IDPs and your specific IC Competencies contact, visit the Competencies section.

Preparatory Exercises
Review these reflective questions as preparatory exercises for participating in a mentoring relationship.

Activities for Pairs That Have Been Matched
Review Things to Do Together In Your Mentoring Relationship before meeting with your mentor/mentee. We recommend that mentees drive these plans for discussion topics in your monthly chats.

Participating in Training Using the Learning Management System (LMS)
Participation in NIH and HHS events and online training requires registration and use of the LMS, also known as the HHS Learning Portal. The LMS is accessed through a website where you can take an online course, register for classroom training, check your training history, and much more! This is a new learning management system that first went live in June 2007. If you are unfamiliar with the system, please review the HHS Learning Portal / LMS information section, it includes FAQs and who to contact if you have problems.

Mentoring Relationship Boundaries
It is important to discuss and agree on the appropriate boundaries of the mentoring relationship between you and your partner early on. When boundaries are too loose, they may be misinterpreted, and when they are too rigid, they can also incapacitate the relationship. Use this guidelines document, Setting Boundaries in Mentoring Relationships, to decide upon and confirm these boundaries once you have found a match.

How Does This Compare to Other NIH Mentoring Programs?
As a tool in employee development, the HHS Mentoring Program does not supplant the scientific mentoring and customized IC mentoring programs that are available to employees in several NIH Institutes and Centers. Instead, it fills a need where it exists and enables NIH-wide or even HHS-wide relationships.

For more information:

• For program FAQs, information and to enroll as a mentor, please go to the central HHS Mentoring Program site.
• For technical support with online registration, write HHS site support directly. Before you write HHS, you might try using one of your alternative SMTP addresses to set up an account if your email address is having trouble being recognized.
• Additional inquiries not addressed via online content or information sessions can be sent to your NIH Program Coordinator at the NIH-HHS Mentoring Program mailbox or in the global address book as “NIH-HHS Mentoring Program.”
• Mentor-Mentee Information Session – January 14, 2009
  A videocast presentation of our information session for NIH employees is available. This covers general program features, how to set up an account in 5 minutes, and everything you want to know about how the search and matching process works, as well as general audience questions and answers about the program. It is captioned. Additional resources provided at the information session follow below.

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