At a time when businesses have struggled to retain staff and keep the doors open, RH Strategic has continued to grow. How? We like to think it’s due in part to our investments in our colleagues and their professional growth – which are anchored in our Mentor-Manager program.

What Is the Mentor-Manager Program?

RH Strategic’s Mentor-Manager program is designed to combine the unique benefits of mentorship (nurturing, coaching and championing) with management (feedback and advocacy). Through the program, Mentor-Managers are paired with less experienced team members to discuss long-term goal setting, navigate professional challenges and identify opportunities for growth.

We see the Mentor-Manager program as an embodiment of our core values, particularly compassion and consulting. Mentor-Managers demonstrate compassion as advocates for and supporters of their mentees, and they provide mentees with valuable guidance and counsel as they continue to grow in their careers.

Since its inception, the Mentor-Manager program has been helping our staff members reach their long-term goals and navigate their PR careers, while also helping them feel connected and supported. During the pandemic, we experimented, as other companies did, with virtual happy hours, increased use of team chats, and introducing guest speakers, but our Mentor-Manager program has proven essential to ensuring that, even as the world changed, our commitment to fostering professional development remained a top priority.

5 Core Components of Our Program

  1. Go-to Advocates: We champion one another! Mentor-Managers are not responsible for going through to-do lists or discussing account activity. Instead, Mentor-Managers are dedicated advocates who help mentees reach their professional development goals. Together, Mentor-Managers and mentees discuss progress towards mentees’ growth objectives and how to navigate any challenges along the way.
  2. Clear Pathways for Growth: There should be no guessing about career growth at RH. Our clear growth pathways provide employees with a roadmap to achieve mastery of the skills needed to move up in their careers, as well as established expectations for each role, so that staff members know what it takes to reach the next level.
  3. Continuous Feedback: The days of receiving feedback once a year during annual reviews are over at RH Strategic. Our continuous feedback cycle ensures a regular cadence for checking in with mentees’ account leaders and teammates to further champion and celebrate accomplishments, while also creating plans to address growth opportunities.
  4. Quality Time with Senior Leadership: In addition to regularly meetings with Mentor-Managers, each staff member meets regularly throughout the year with senior leadership in sessions dedicated to discussing how the firm can best support each employee’s unique career goals and growth at the firm.
  5. Management and Mentorship Trainings: Mastering management and mentorship does not happen overnight. We host regular trainings for Mentor-Managers to equip them with the tools and techniques needed to be effective resources and best support their mentees.

What Our Team Says About the Program

Ryan Robledo, a mentee and former RH Strategic fellow, said:

  • “Having a mentor-manager at RH Strategic has provided me with a go-to person who supports me, advocates for me, provides insightful life and professional advice, and is actively invested in the future of my career. Everyone at RH Strategic would do that for one another, but having a point person for advice and support helps create an atmosphere for mentees to feel constantly heard and cared for.”

Kaitlin Sheppard, a mentor-manager, said:

  • “Being a mentor is an incredibly rewarding aspect of my role at RH. I enjoy being able to provide guidance to those early in their careers and help shape their experiences and navigate growth opportunities offered with the job.”

Interested in learning more about how RH Strategic can support your professional development? Apply for one of our open positions today at https://rhstrategic.com/careers/.

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RH Strategic is a Seattle and D.C.-based PR agency with a nationwide presence and additional global reach via membership in the Worldcom Public Relations Group. We provide strategic public relations for innovators in the technology, government and healthcare markets.