Your Voice, Your Solution for training mentors

Rotary International News -- 1 December 2010

Mentoring new members is an effective way to improve retention. Rptary Images/Alyce Henson

A club in North America created a committee to provide up to three years of mentoring to newer members. The club saw retention improve significantly in the first five years of the program.

Another club holds a “mixer dinner” once a week: One member volunteers to host three other members, selected by lottery, and their significant others for dinner. A third club developed a buddy system, pairing up new members with existing ones.

Representatives of these clubs shared their ideas during a workshop on member recruitment and retention at the 2010 RI Convention in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Mentoring new members is an effective way to improve retention, a goal of the RI Strategic Plan. But effective mentoring requires training.

How does your club train members for the role of mentoring new club members?

Rotary International's monthly problem-solving forum asks Rotarians for their strategies to address the challenges they deal with every day. Please use the comments section below to share your solutions to this month's problem. Comments may be used in abbreviated form in other RI publications, including the Rotary E-Learning Center.

Past problems and your solutions:

8 Comments:

At 8:38AM on 28 December 2010, Rtn parthiban,Chennai phoenix wrote: Mentoring is creating another future human rotary asset. So pl nurture them , to mix up and enjoy velore@gmail.com

At 9:10AM on 20 December 2010, Arun Bhargava PP Rotary Club Of Nagpur. wrote: We have a mentoring committee at our club Rotary club Of Nagpur Dist.3030, We are Organizing a Programme TAKE ROTARY HOME twice every month. One member of the Club becomes Host & we invite 15 couples,it includes 6 New members, 5 Old members , two Past Presidents, Chairperson take Rotary Home and president of the club. Each member invited to the Take Rotary Home brings one food dish. House of friendship is arranged by Host. At the starting each member introduces himself and his family., so everybody present knows each other. Past presidents provides Rotary information and rotary Quiz. Few games are also arranged by the host so that they can mix each other. Here we are having close interaction with each other and they enjoy the company of past presidents and old members. All the member enjoy the delicious food prepared by each other. This way we are doing mentoring of our new members.

At 9:00AM on 20 December 2010, J Merrill wrote: Does anyone have any experience with mentoring in a Rotaract club? Any suggestions for good ways to set up a program for more Rotarians to get involved with Rotaract mentoring?

At 8:35AM on 16 December 2010, Raelene Monkley PHF PP D9650 wrote: Terry Bass has is so right. We have to engage new members. Don't throw them in boots and all. A mentor should assist the new member with any questions. I also like it when Rotarians teach Rotarians. Get your Foundation Chair to give a talk to the club. This is our jewel and everyone needs to know how it works and how they can support it. Have a long standing member share with the club community service projects that really worked. Share information and make it fun. Display information at meetings that guests can read without feeling obligated to commit to.

At 8:25AM on 16 December 2010, Dan Romanchik wrote: Great comment, Terry! I would add: 4. SUGGEST committees for them to join and service activities for them to get involved with. Get them involved right away and it's less likely that you'll lose them.

At 3:23PM on 15 December 2010, Terry Bass wrote: A mentor should be doing 3 things. 1. Understand the clubs and Rotary's history. Services that they perform, organizations that they have supported, so that they can excite the new members about the club and organization they have joined. 2. ASK. What are the new people interested in, curious about, CONFUSED about? Make that part of the platform to mentor the new people on. 3. INTRODUCE. Be the person that introduces the new members to others in the club. Have them sit in different spots next to different people. Be there with them to encourage the conversation between the new people and the established members. Mentors don't have to know everything because they certainly will know more than the newbie. Engage, Excite, Involve new members can be a fun experience and even a learning one for the mentor as well!

At 8:37AM on 7 December 2010, Rtn.PP.PHF.S.Navaneedhan, Rotary Club of Tirupur Metal Town, RI Dist 3202 wrote: In my suggestion, a Mentor is preferably an Active Past President of the club. In his experience he only knows how to mentoring the members. Not only new members but also existing members should be trained with Rotary inputs. New Member Orientation and Member Education is must for Rotarians. If an experienced and knowledgeable Rotarian who is not a past president willing to be a Mentor to the new members he will get more inputs from the past presidents of the club. Another important suggestion is every club must have a Club Trainer. He is responsible for all training needs of the club. Training and motivation is the only way to get more members to Rotary and retain the existing Rotarians.

At 9:39AM on 6 December 2010, Alexander Franklin PHF PP (T-Earlscourt 74) wrote: Suggest ROTARY RETIREMENT LODGES. FYI was Ontario Chief Physician for Homes for Ages in early 1980s. AF MBBS(Lond.1959) FLEx(USA 75) Dip.Phys.Med. & Rehab (UK 64) DPH DIH (Tor. 74/75)

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