STEP.up Guide to Creating a Mentorship Program for Research Staff

Guide to implementing a formal mentoring program for research professionals to establish a culture of growth and belonging. *Provides tools, resources, and insights to empower research staff through mentorship.

What is this resource?

Strong mentorship is known to be related to higher career satisfaction. Despite this, formal mentoring programs for research professionals are rare. To address this gap, MICHR has developed the STEP.up mentorship program that pairs early career, new-to-role, or new-to-organization research staff members with more senior research professionals for participation in a 9-month structured mentorship and career development experience. The goal of the program is to promote professional development, job satisfaction, and retention of the research staff workforce. The STEP.up mentorship program provides the following five opportunities for mentees:

• Knowledge and skill enhancement
• Networking
• Career guidance
• Insights into research practices
• Professional development opportunities.

The STEP.up program implementation guide provides the tools, resources, and insights you need to implement this program successfully at your institution.

How this advances translational science

Implementing best practices to sustain a diverse and talented workforce