CoverMyMeds Mentoring Program Inspires Employees to Maximize Potential
CoverMyMeds recognizes the significance of mentor-mentee relationships — especially at work. That’s why we’re excited to launch the second iteration of our new-and-improved, company-wide program: CoverMyMeds Mentoring. CoverMyMeds Mentoring is open to people looking to reach their full potential — not just as employees, but also as humans.
Socrates and Plato. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey. Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. What do these influential people and beloved storybook characters have in common? They all participated and benefited in big ways from developing mentor-mentee relationships.
At CoverMyMeds, we recognize the significance of mentor-mentee relationships — especially at work. Not only do they help people advance their careers, but they also encourage employee retention. In fact, a 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey discovered those intending to stay with their organization for more than five years are twice as likely to have a mentor (68%) than not (32%).
That said, the advantages of mentor-mentee relationships go lightyears beyond professional development, ultimately helping to positively influence the way people live their lives. That’s why — in July 2022 — we’re excited to launch the second iteration of our new-and-improved, company-wide program: CoverMyMeds Mentoring.
A passion for mentorship inspired the program’s launch
Mark Osoteo, senior director of product security and risk at CoverMyMeds, originally pitched the pilot mentorship program to CoverMyMeds’ leadership team and helped lead its launch in February 2022.
Mark is passionate about mentorship, with good reason. He joined CoverMyMeds in 2015 after being referred to the company by CoverMyMeds’ former chief operating officer, with whom he’d worked with and mentored a decade prior. In Mark’s first few months on the job, he successfully launched a smaller version of CoverMyMeds Mentoring; now, he’s eager to bring the program to unprecedented heights.
According to Mark, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do — everyone needs a mentor, at work or otherwise.
“Mentorship is different than management; there’s a different level of intimacy,” Mark said. “Mentorship is a lot more about the whole person — not just their professional goals but their personal goals, as well.”
As Mark explained, since people spend 40+ hours working per week, it simply makes sense for CoverMyMeds to provide this program to employees — so they can become their best selves and succeed in all aspects of their lives. Common topics that Mark encourages mentors and mentees to chat about include work-life balance, diversity, equity and inclusion and public speaking.
There’s a ton of potential to meet somebody who can change the trajectory of your career … who knows, your biggest champion might just be sitting in a different time zone.
Rebecca Foxclinical operations manager at CoverMyMeds
Rebecca Fox, clinical operations manager at CoverMyMeds, was matched with Mark as his mentee during the pilot program. CoverMyMeds Mentoring provided her with experiences she wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
“No matter your role, I strongly encourage all employees to sign up — take advantage of the networking opportunity and truly invest yourself in the process,” she said. “There’s a ton of potential to meet somebody who can change the trajectory of your career … who knows, your biggest champion might just be sitting in a different time zone.”
Mark’s business operations team’s original goal was to entice 50 mentors and mentees to sign up for the four-month pilot program; in all, more than 500 employees volunteered to participate in its launch, creating over 250 mentoring partnerships— knocking their original goal out of the park. Together, those mentors and mentees logged 2,700 hours of engagement.
CoverMyMeds Mentoring Program: Fast Facts
- Open to all CoverMyMeds employees who’ve worked at the company for six months
- No prior mentoring experience required; anybody can be a mentor, mentee or both
- Mentorships are four months long; typical time commitment is ~1-2 hours a month
Pairing mentors and mentees based on their personalities
Alongside Mark, Matthew Hines, manager of business operations at CoverMyMeds, managed the pilot program’s ins and outs — including partnering with a mentorship software platform that helps drive engagement, development and retention in employee mentoring programs.
According to Matthew, the mentorship software made a world of difference for 2022’s pilot program.
“The software helps match mentees with mentors based on a variety of criteria; it’s interesting how it works,” Matthew said. “For example, it shows participants a series of pictures — for example, a person sitting down reading a tablet and another person dancing at a concert — and asks, ‘Which photo resonates with you most?’ to develop a personality profile.”
Then, Matthew said, the mentorship software recommends mentee-mentor matches to help connect people with similar values and interests rather than job titles.
To gauge the success of CoverMyMeds Mentoring’s pilot program, Mark, Matthew and their team looked at the following metrics after its conclusion:
- Formalized, written goals between the mentor and mentee
- Marked progress toward goals during the program timeline
- Recommendation and program referrals from pilot participants
- Re-enrollment in future mentorship programs at CoverMyMeds
- Positive feedback from mentees and mentors via post-pilot survey
Notably, CoverMyMeds Mentoring’s post-pilot survey revealed that overall relationship satisfaction among program participants was 4.4/5 stars with 86% of 147 respondents rating 4 stars of above, and overall program satisfaction was 4.2/5 stars with 79% of 132 respondents rating 4 stars or above.
A separate mentoring program specifically for new hires
The CoverMyMeds Mentoring program is currently open to all employees who’ve been at the company for at least six months. That said, CoverMyMeds’ patient support center employee experience team promotes a separate mentoring program specifically for new hires, called Connect: Peer Mentorship.
Connect launched a few years ago, inspired by feedback from an employee opinion survey. It was originally called Core Values Mentorship Program, but recently rebranded to Connect in June 2022. Unlike CoverMyMeds Mentoring, Connect is only open to account specialists, account coordinators and case managers on our AMP Operations, Network Services and HubExpress teams.
Brooke Berardi, project lead at CoverMyMeds, helps manage the program.
“Connect serves our user-facing new hires, and it provides a safe space for them to talk to somebody who’s not their direct manager,” Brooke said. “When you join CoverMyMeds, there’s a lot to learn and it can feel overwhelming — Connect provides additional support as new hires acclimate to our company culture.”
Currently, these account specialists, account coordinators and case managers are automatically enrolled in Connect after they complete New Hire Orientation. Connect is a two-month program that consists of four 30-minute mentorship meetings. After that period, the mentor-mentee relationship formally ends, though many participants voluntarily stay in touch after “graduation.”
“Alongside CoverMyMeds Mentoring, Connect has also partnered with the mentorship software platform to help improve our matchmaking process,” Brooke said. “Now, instead of fiddling with excel sheets for hours on end, the mentorship software helps with behind-the-scenes admin work, so the patient support center employee experience team can discover other ways to bring the program to the next level.”
Beyond its matchmaking capabilities, the mentorship software also has a robust mentoring resource library full of articles and guides to help new and experienced mentors drive the best outcome for their mentees.
The No. 1 goal of CoverMyMeds Mentoring is to help people reach their full potential.
Mark Osoteosenior director of product security and risk
A mentoring program for every person — employees can take their pick
CoverMyMeds Mentoring and Connect are excellent mentorship options for employees, and our Women Empowered ERG also has a mentorship program of its own: Mentorship Circle. Instead of a one-on-one set up — like CoverMyMeds Mentoring and Connect have — Mentorship Circle assigns five to eight mentees to one to two mentors, and they meet as a group. That dynamic allows members to experience diverse perspectives on different topics.
A few other mentorship opportunities open to CoverMyMeds employees include McKesson Café — an online platform that empowers employees to connect with peers and leaders to build impactful relationships, and CAPS Mentorship Program, which gives employees the opportunity to become a mentor or mentee with the intent of focusing on career growth while leaning on SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound) goals.
For employees who are interested in participating in CoverMyMeds Mentoring, enrollment for the program’s second iteration will be open from July 5-July 18, and mentors/mentees will receive their matches on Monday, July 25. If employees have any additional questions about the program, they can email mentorship@covermymeds.com.
“The No. 1 goal of CoverMyMeds Mentoring is to help people reach their full potential,” Mark said. “The program encourages employees to become their best selves, and hopefully it proves that CoverMyMeds isn’t just a place for a paycheck — rather, it’s a great place to learn, grow and develop as a human being, as well.”
Want to work at CoverMyMeds? Apply for an open position on our careers page.
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