Under-represented talent has long been one of the most challenging issues for organisations, but in 2020 it has been thrown directly into the spotlight as a result of the Black Lives Matter protests and the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and young workers.

According to research firm Gartner, diversity and inclusion (D&I) has been the number one talent priority for CEOs for the past two years, yet a 2020 survey by the company found nearly 90% of HR leaders feel their organisation has been ineffective or flat at increasing diversity representation. Nearly two-thirds of talent management leaders characterise their organisations’ successors as 0-10% racially or ethnically diverse. Furthermore, 69% of talent management leaders report their organisations’ successors as 0%-10% women from diverse and racial or ethnic backgrounds.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has reportedly had its biggest impact on younger people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds whose education and job prospects have been affected. Indeed, people are talking about a ‘lost generation’ and that the coronavirus crisis has the potential to create a generation of socially-awkward, insecure, unemployed young people.

On top of this, it’s clear that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies within businesses. But this is can be a big learning curve for many senior leaders who, unlike today’s generation, did not grow up ‘digitally native’. And, for new recruits into the business or those starting a new role, the widespread move to remote working means people are not able to pick up on the type of learning interaction that occurs by observing those around you. Throw in the need to increase the gender diversity in leadership as well, and you have a complex challenge for HR. For, while many millions of dollars have been invested in dedicated talent schemes over the years, the diversity of the leadership bench is proving very hard to shift.

Mentoring is a popular instrument in the HR toolbox when it comes to starting this journey as well as for supporting people through times of uncertainty and anxiety. Indeed, nearly all Fortune 500 businesses now have active mentoring schemes and research by PushFar in 2019 found 82% of its community believed that mentoring was extremely valuable in helping D&I initiatives in business. Mentors act as role models, particularly important in D&I; a sounding board for issues about which you may not feel comfortable speaking to your line manager or another colleague; and also – in the case of reverse mentoring – someone who can educate a more senior person in the organisation in an area in which they have more experience, for example technology or LGBTQ issues.

However, the key to mentoring’s success is the right match between mentor and mentee. A common approach is for HR professionals to match people in a manual way, based on their answers on a form, for example. Or even, in some cases, just to put people together that they think would work out.

Another challenge is that everyone is enthusiastic at the beginning of a mentoring relationship but keeping that engagement going is not easy. Finally, it is hard to do mentoring at scale. Therefore, you find it regularly being offered to so-called ‘top’ talent or maybe to specific groups – and run as an HR process kicking off at a specific time of the year, for example. In other words, mentoring is not always seen through the employee experience lens.