Organizational Mentoring Evaluation Plan - Assignment Example

Abstract This paper will reflect an evaluation plan for Restaurant and Catering Association that impacts learning, performance and change interventions. It will give more insight on the evaluation of an organizational mentoring program that was implemented at Restaurant and Catering association. Restaurant and Catering Association is a recognized industrial organization that represents members of the catering and restaurant industry within its locality. This paper will explain the focus of the evaluation, evaluation design, methods of data collection, data analysis and will provide calculations on return on investment. Background and Rationale Evaluation of the mentoring program provides a base through which strengths and concerns of the delivered program will be identified. Restaurant and Catering Association needed the tools to measure effectiveness of its programmes, systems and processes as it was initiating a large scale mentoring initiative. The organization has 950 employees of which 50 are in upper level management, 150 are supervisors and 750 are hourly workers. The organization has over recent years recorded a low employee performance and it has not been able to provide adequate satisfaction to its employees. The organization therefore felt the need to deliver a mentoring program so as to help employees improve their performance by carrying out their duties in the right way. The organization also believes that the mentoring program will expose the junior employees to the upper level employees who have better experience and have developed the right skills required for the job. Restaurant and Catering Association experienced high levels of employee turnover. The organization recorded gender, racial and cultural diversity as this aspect is believed to be necessary in any organization that needs to be competitive and deliver quality services yet it could not motivate its employees who are from all backgrounds to give their best performance and to reach out to diverse customers. This is the reason that prompted management to deliver a mentorship program as it was regarded it as a mechanism that would enable to create a great work place. This situation was of great concern among the top- level employees as they realized that the organization would loose most of its customers since it was not providing them with quality and satisfying services. Management therefore saw it necessary to build a crucial network for the employees to help them develop new skills as well as improve their knowledge. These improvements would make positive contributions in the organization that will ensure its success. To achieve organizational success, a mentoring program was delivered in the organization as this was believed to be an effective mechanism through which problems faced in the organization could be addressed. Purpose of the Evaluation The main purpose of this evaluation is to determine whether the objectives and action plans that had been established on the onset of the mentoring program have been met. Effectiveness of the mentoring program will be measured and highlights on the consequences of the mentoring program on the organization will be provided. Results obtained will be used to determine the reaction of participants towards the program and whether they were satisfied with the experience. Stakeholders and Audiences of the Evaluation Various individuals took part in implementation of the mentoring program and they include: Mentors. Mentors supported the organizations leadership team as they took upon the roles of ensuring transformation. They commissioned delivery of the mentorship program in the organization. Mentors analyzed the evaluated data to provide an insight on whether employees gained from the program. Instructional designer. This individual was in charge of developing and designing the mentoring program by ensuring all facilities required were obtained. The designer also had a role of keeping the practice up to date on the basis of the evaluation. Upper level management employees and supervisors. These are the professional staff with the authority to utilize strategic awareness and power in a manner that will develop satisfied workforce retention of employees. They will therefore analyze employee performance after delivery of the mentor program to determine whether there is significant improvement. Hourly workers. These employees are responsible for ensuring that they put into practice the skills developed in the program. They will be evaluated to determine whether they have gained professional and personal growth and development. Key Evaluation Questions 1. Has the mentorship program contributed to motivation of participants? 2. How well has the mentoring program contributed to achieving goals and solving problems of the organization? 3. Has the mentoring program contributed in identification of emergent needs, opportunities and plan systems needed to respond to organization’s needs? 4. Has the mentoring program identified the transfer and performance systems that will bring about changes in employee behavior? 5. Have participants gained useful knowledge from the program that they could use in improving their performance? 6. What attributes have been identified from evaluation of the mentoring program that will be used as guides in delivering future mentoring programs in the organization? 7. Has the mentoring program had any impacts on employee performance and is the organization achievement improving? Evaluation Design Evaluation procedure will use a formative approach and it was aimed at ensuring a continuous development of the mentorship program. Development will be realized through evaluation of the mentoring program based on the experiences of all stakeholders that took part in the program as well as all the 950 employees being supported. This design is simple and will provide analysis of data in a timely manner. The method will obtain both qualitative and quantitative data that will be analyzed effectively. An important factor employed in the evaluation design is capturing of the different perceptions of participants in the mentoring program. Participants were given an opportunity to state their views in relation to enhancing employee performance and the impacts on the organization. Methods of Data Collection Data was collected using questionnaires that comprised of both closed and open questions. These questionnaires were also self- report and they gave room for both quantitative and qualitative data to be collected. Open- ended questionnaires gave the respondents an opportunity to express themselves in their own words. They were not limited to choosing answers that had already been listed in the questionnaire. The questionnaires gave the respondents an opportunity to further elaborate their answers. This enabled in development of appropriate data that would be used in analysis to generate clear impacts of the mentoring program on the participants. Questionnaires were handed out to employees in upper level management as well as to the hourly employees to determine whether the mentoring program had any impacts on individual employee development and the organization’s practice. Questions included in the questionnaires were developed from archival data as well as the objectives and outcomes of the mentoring program. A review of the questions was then done by a panel of experts who had gained relevant experience in questionnaires design and principles of mentorship. Minor adjustments were made before the questionnaires were distributed. The completed questionnaires were therefore accurate and they increased reliability of the results. Data will also be collected through observation of employee attitude in the organization after the mentoring program has been completed. The mentor will observe the employees randomly and develop an idea of whether the mentorship program was of helped or whether it did not have any impacts on employee performance. Method of data collection through observation will determine whether or not the mentoring program helped to solve the organization’s problems. Data would also be collected through individual and focus group interviews but this method was not put into application. A section of employees would be chosen to take part in the interviews. This method would provide information about attitudes of the participants to the mentoring program. Sample Selection The most effective method that will be used to select the evaluation sample is stratified sampling. The sample will consist of 10 percent of the 950 employees. Employees will be divided into various sub-groups then random employees will be selected proportionally from the different sub- groups. This sampling method is important as it will ensure effective representation of the employees. Key factors of consideration will be included in the selected sample. Data Analysis Several methods will be used to analyze qualitative as well as quantitative data. Key questions of the evaluation will be used to guide in analysis of data obtained as recommended by Russ- Eft and Preskill (2009). Quantitative data will be analyzed by Excel to generate descriptive statistics, that is, percentages and frequencies. Qualitative data that was collected from each of the open- ended questionnaires will be analyzed through thematic analysis Return on Investment An economic analysis of the learning, performance and change intervention of the mentorship program will be conducted. Calculation of the return on investment will be influenced by factors that were necessary in development of the mentor program. Costs necessary for the development of the program will be included in the calculation. Allowances for the employees who attended the program, costs of materials used during the program, costs of meals and refreshments provided to participants during the mentoring program and facilities costs will be included in the calculation. A comparison of the profit and productivity figures before and after the mentoring program will be developed. The following tables provide an estimation of the development costs for the mentor program Table 1 Annual Program Benefits Program benefits Average weekly productivity before mentoring 10,500 units Average weekly productivity after mentoring 12,500 units Average weekly productivity increase 2,000 units Gross profit per unit produced $100.00 Increase in gross profit $200,000 Table 2 Cost summary Participants allowances $70, 500 Facilities $6, 000 Program materials $ 3, 000 Coordination and Evaluation $1, 500 Meals and Refreshments (1 meal per participant) $ 9,500 Total Costs $90,500 Cost Benefit Ratio (CBR) Total Benefits/ Total Costs $ 200,000/ $ 90, 500 = 2.21:9 Return on Investment (%) ROI = Total Benefits $ 200, 000- Total Costs $ 90, 500 Х 100 = 120.99% Total Costs $ 90, 500 Reference Russ-Eft, D. and Preskill, H. (2009). Evaluation in organizations: A systematic approach to enhancing learning, performance, and change (2nd Ed.). Cambridge, MA: Perseus. Read More