Mentoring Relationships as a Lever for Positive Youth Outcomes in the Workplace
May 12, 2021
Connect Focus Grow, Workforce Development, Our Affiliates
Over the past nine months, Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) has been working collaboratively with Starbucks Boston, YOU Boston, and Madison Park Development Corporation to support employment and career development opportunities for Promise Youth (youth between the ages of 16-24 who have been recently disengaged from school or work) through the Starbucks Boston Mentoring Program.
This Program uses the best practices outlined in the Elements of Effective Practices and MENTOR’s Connect|Focus|Grow training curriculum to holistically support Promise Youth as they navigate their job as new partners at Starbucks. The goal is to increase retention, improve engagement, and ultimately create a more equitable workplace. Through this work, Starbucks Boston has created solid partnerships with YOU Boston and Madison Park Development Corporation, local workforce development programs that help Promise Youth move from workforce development program to successful employment.
The Power of Quality Mentoring
Mass Mentoring Partnership serves as the Project Manager for the Starbucks Boston Mentoring Program, leading, training, and providing support to ensure that all partners carry out the implementation and research components of this project using best practices and a sustainable model. Starbucks Boston has had a long-standing relationship with MMP, supporting the organization through events and recruitment activities, and this program reinforces their commitment to the community and the importance of creating local pipelines of talent.
MMP also provides training to prospective Starbucks Boston mentors so they can be prepared to welcome and engage with Promise Youth in the workplace. Lorena Nunez, a leader at Starbucks Boston, expanded on the role of the mentor, saying “The mentor, because they have been at Starbucks a little longer and they understand how to navigate the space a little bit better, can provide some tips and coaching to the young people so they have the right conversation with their leader and can get what they need to be successful. We really focus professional development on supporting the whole individual, who they are inside and outside of work, and how we create the space to uplift all that they bring to the table.”
Nunez shared, “I identify with promise youth as a youth growing up in Boston and had the challenge of becoming a young mom as a teenager. For my own experience, what I put on my resume did not always translate the way that the employer was looking for. I think about the fact that I was translating for my mother as a fourteen-year-old and there is a value in that. How do we help these young people understand that what you are doing may be minimal to you in your day to day, but it is life changing for others? We really talk about providing equitable opportunities and how we help those young folks translate those skills they bring to the table and help them apply that in the workplace but also provide opportunity for continued growth and education.”
Mentoring Amplifies Connection
Given the pandemic, many young people are dealing with feelings of isolation and connection. Having this web of support matters, as it shows the Promise Youth that there are adults who care and want to help them succeed.
Sandra Sierra, Opportunity Employment Program Manager at Madison Park Development Corporation, expanded on how impactful a quality mentoring experience can be, sharing, “Our young people face so many barriers, homelessness, lack of transportation, mental health issues, to name a few. Through this program, the students have a mentor to work with which is great because it will support the young person with retention.”
According to Tracey Fils-Aime, Assistant Deputy Director of Programming at YOU Boston, “It is important for the young people we work with because they have made mistakes and looking at those decisions, there have been adults that have judged them or written them off. Mentors are needed to see beyond the misstep or the mistakes that they have made and make them feel that they are seen holistically. There is great power in someone seeing you beyond your error and seeing your potential and your ability. Mentors are able to be cheerleaders, be at the table with young people, or be at the table to listen. It offers young people a positive outlet and room to aspire.”
What’s key to all of the partners in the Project is an understanding that all young people need equal access to opportunities that leverage their strengths and abilities, while allowing them to grow into a career. Workplaces that center relationships and mentoring provide the sense of belonging that young people need to realize their long-term career potential. This is definitely front of mind for Starbucks Boston.
How you can get involved
The National Mentoring Project is managed by MENTOR National in partnership with the America’s Promise Alliance / Center for Promise and with support from the Schultz Family Foundation. Find out if this program may work for your workplace, here.