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http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/globespotting/archives/2009/03/ibms_global_men.html

IBM's Global Mentoring Program

Posted by: Steve Hamm on March 09

IBM has started up a new global mentoring program that I think is really smart. It links employees in emerging markets with those in developed nations. The program was tested in China, South Africa, and India, and this year is reaching Russia, Dubai, Malaysia, Brazil, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

It’s starting to pay off. Example: Taiwanese software programmer David Lin paired with Danny Chen, an engineer who was born in Taiwan but works in Austin. Chen taught Lin how to develop ideas that were patentable, and Lin set up an invention team in his office and began publishing a newsletter full of tips for new inventors. Last year the Taipei lab got five patents, up from one in 2005. For his part, Chen got valuable advice from Lin on how to do business in China.

The biggest challenge for employees in long-distance mentoring is establishing close personal relationships via telephone and e-mail. Chen visits Lin about once a year when he’s in Asia on business trips. “Meeting face-to-face helps a lot,” says Chen. “Now we’re not just learning from each other; we’re friends.”

This program is part of the company’s strategy of creating what it calls a globally integrated enterprise. Multinationals used to operate separate businesses in each country or region. IBM now assigns work to employees all over the world, relying on widely scattered teams to collaborate. But tight collaboration doesn’t happen on its own. You have to create experiential glue to bring and keep people together.