An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

Mentoring Program February 12, 2009

The Company

3.7 million members3.7 million members

8 NC locations8 NC locations

4900 employees 4900 employees

Business Drivers for Talent Development

−Larger and more global organizations

−Leaner organizational structure

−Demographic trends

−Increasing importance of human capital

−Economic uncertainty

Talent Development• Companies are increasingly relying on career development as

a retention tool.

• A strong source of competitive advantage is developing the skills, knowledge and behavior of existing talent.

• Corporate Leadership Council studies indicate that employees develop first and foremost from feedback and relationship activities.

• An employee’s direct manager is the key to talent development through coaching, development activities, and individual development plans.

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Blue Xchange: The Program

Blue Xchange – Why Mentoring?• Informal mentoring was already taking place…

we wanted to support the effectiveness of mentoring relationships.

• Mentoring ranked 5th in importance to leaders out of 17 development programs.

• Mentoring ranked highest in importance to women and young leaders.

• “Conduits of informal learning, e.g., mentors, can have up to a 26% impact on discretionary effort.” – CLC study2.

Blue Xchange Background

•A diverse work team designed and launched Blue Xchange in 1999.

• In 2004, Training Magazine recognized Blue Xchange as a best practice in mentoring.

•Blue Xchange has made mentoring an integral part of our culture.

Blue Xchange Program Goals

Identify, retain and develop high-performing employees

Focus on diversity

Develop networking opportunities

Provide cross-divisional exposure

Enhance recruitment and retention

Blue Xchange Roles• Mentors—from all areas and

levels of the company—provide guidance, coaching and advice to Mentees.

• Mentees are high-performing individual contributors and people leaders.

• Steering Committee determines guidelines, manages and monitors the mentoring program. Facilitates the application, selection and pairing of mentors and mentees.

Program Process

Mentoring Meetings

Development Plan

Mini-Workshops

Orientation

Evaluation

Agreement Form

Program Components

Application Interview Selection /

Matching Notification Orientation /

Kickoff

Blue Xchange Today

• There are 64 active mentor/mentee pairs in the 2008-2009 program.

• 40% of the current mentors were once mentees.

• Program is open to all employees after 1 year of service.

• Cohorts show an increase in promotions, transfers and title changes within the second year following program participation.

Program Participant Outcomes% Merit Increase by Cohort

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

16.00%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

Averag

e %

Merit

In

crease

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

Cohort 5

BCBS

Attrition by Cohort

0

1

2

3

4

5

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year

# P

eop

le w

ho left B

CB

S

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

Cohort 5

• Since the program’s inception, program participants surpass the company’s average % merit increase every year

• On the average, employees receive the highest % merit increase in the second year following participation in the

program

Very few employees leave BCBSNC following participation in the program

Observations

• Percent merit increase averages for Mentees are consistently higher than overall employee averages

• Employees receive highest percent merit increases in the second year following program participation

• Program supports employee retention

• Most cohorts increase in promotions, transfers, and title changes 2-3 years following program participation

• Most participants receive promotions, transfers, or title changes within two years of program participation

Blue Xchange Lessons Learned

• Obtain visible senior level support and involvement

• Manage expectations of participants

• Be clear about purpose, audience and measurements

• Communicate clearly, consistently and regularly

• Evaluate and improve continuously

• Set pairs up for success

Expanding the benefits of Mentoring

• New Manager Assimilation−Provides support for transition to people leader

• Key Talent −High potential development−Paired with internal coach and mentor−Mentors include company officers and other senior

leaders

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Overall Talent Program Effectiveness

EmployeeRetention

Index

EmployeeCommitment

Index

EmployeeEngagement

Index

MarketOpportunity

Index

ManagerQuality Index

Offer Fit Index

Company overall Blue Xchange Participants Mentorees Blue Xchange Participants Mentors

Source: Employee Preference Survey, BCBSNC, 2006

BlueXchange Participants Have a Good Relationship with the Company-2006

2008 Employee Preferences Survey2008 Employee Preferences Survey

CompanyKey

TalentMentees Mentors

Employee Commitment Index 0.32 0.50 0.47 0.53

Employee Engagement Index 0.62 0.79 0.70 0.80

Indication…

When employees are provided more individualized development, they are more committed to the company and engaged in their work.

Talent Development Journey

JobShadowing

Blue Xchange

Career Development

EmployeeNetworks

Career Navigator

DevelopmentalAssignments

VolunteerOpportunities

ContinuingEducation

Coaching

Thank you!