So, you've probably heard about mentors. They’re career guides who offer invaluable advice to help their mentees. But what if we told you there's another secret weapon in the career development arsenal? 

Enter 10KC’s Sponsorship Program. Sponsors build on the work of a mentor, using their organizational influence to actively advocate for their sponsee. This helps boost the sponsee’s visibility and secure new and exciting opportunities. 

10KC’s Sponsorship Program takes workplace empowerment to a whole new level. Together, mentorship and sponsorship can have a huge impact for improving culture, retention, and DEI. 

Intrigued? Let’s dive in.

About 10KC’s sponsorship solutions

At 10KC, we’re all about helping organizations democratize opportunity by building meaningful connections in the workplace. Mentorship has always been a core part of our mission. Our Sponsorship solution builds on the foundations of mentorship, making it easy to take tangible action towards cultivating employees' potential. 

It's not uncommon to see leaders merging sponsorship and mentorship together. After all, both play pivotal roles in shaping careers, fostering workplace diversity, and enhancing employee engagement. But let's untangle the web and clarify the difference, shall we?

Sponsorship and mentorship are close cousins, but they have unique superpowers. 

Think of mentorship as a trusted guide offering wisdom and guidance to navigate the professional world. Sponsorship is the powerhouse advocate championing their sponsee, propelling them toward new opportunities and greater visibility.

Sponsorship is beneficial for everyone, but it’s particularly crucial for diverse talent. They often lack the visibility and network compared to more privileged colleagues. 

Shockingly, despite sponsorship’s correlation to career advancement, it’s fairly uncommon. Only 1 in 4 employees report having a sponsor at work. For diverse talent, it’s even lower – just 5%. 

Sponsorship ensures equitable opportunities for all employees

10KC’s Sponsorship program serves as a strategic and equitable approach to foster and advance your employees’ growth. Everyone needs someone who believes in them, cheers them on, and opens doors. Sponsors use their influence to actively support and champion their sponsee’s career, making sure they get access to promising opportunities within the workplace.

Yes, it’s true that even without a formal program in place, sponsorship is often happening under the radar. Picture senior leader, Jordan, taking a coffee break and running into mid-level manager, Dylan. They catch up, and later that day Jordan mentions Dylan in a stakeholder meeting for a promotion-worthy opportunity. 

While this might naturally occur, it’s still important to have a formal sponsorship program in place to mitigate bias and ensure equitable opportunities for all employees. Fortunately, 10KC provides a fully-integrated employee Sponsorship Program that helps you and your team reach your inclusion goals. 

“We’re building a diversity and inclusion roadmap that’s focused on impact, that’ll be measured and communicated to our employees. Through technology and tools like 10KC, our hope is that we’ll democratize access to networks.” - David Simmonds SVP Communications, McKesson

How 10KC helps you create equitable sponsorship programs

If building and scaling out a sponsorship program seems daunting, we get it. 10KC has got you covered with its easy-to-use features that can deploy programs to thousands of employees, enhancing their careers through high-impact development experiences.

Our program covers crucial topics like: 

• Career mapping
• Gaining visibility
• Expanding networks
• Sustaining sponsorship relationships 

10KC helps your organization build the sponsees' internal network through an action-oriented curriculum and cutting-edge software that delivers real results. In turn, you can support diverse talent by delivering visibility to the great work they’re already doing.

Enhance visibility with an action-oriented curriculum 

Those who feel seen are 5x more likely to stay at their organization because they sense the growth opportunities. Our curriculum focuses on ways a sponsor can highlight both the sponsee for more visibility, ensuring they're being seen. 

10KC’s Sponsorship curriculum provides guided 1:1 conversations between sponsor and sponsee on topics such as increasing visibility, network expansion, and career pathing. If you already have a great sponsorship program you’d like to use and deploy at scale, our platform can help you do that. 

Expand networks with an all-in-one approach

Providing employees with support in building their networks is critical for career progression. An employee's network plays a huge role in their performance. 

When participants join 10KC, they receive more than a single match. They get access to a sponsor, senior leaders, executives and a network of peers, which works to drive career pathing and a sense of belonging. Our smart match introductions ensure employees meet the right colleagues who’ll help them:

• Learn about other parts of the business. 
• Get exposed to different career paths. 
• Build potential mentoring relationships. 
• Gain valuable experience and more. 

Cultivate connection and long-term relationships

Sponsorship, meaningful relationships, and skills development drive career development, retention and advancement. And the goal of any sponsorship program should be to create long-term, ongoing relationships.

Why? 62% of employees would leave their employer for one where they feel more connected to colleagues. 98% of 10KC participants report interest in staying connected post program. The curriculum kickstarts a long-term sponsorship relationship. 

Foster equitable opportunities and promote belonging 

When employees get an opportunity to develop and flourish internally, they're more likely to stay committed to the company. Still, historically, the opportunity for sponsorship isn't afforded to everyone. Many people miss out on advocacy opportunities at work, making it hard for companies to achieve their inclusion goals.

At 10KC, we believe that every employee deserves a fair chance to feel valued, connected, and included. Building meaningful relationships is the foundation of fostering inclusion and belonging. 10KC's Sponsorship solution ensures employees match with sponsors who share their interests and goals, without bias.

The impact of 10KC’s sponsorship solutions

It's essential to recognize that not all employees have the same access to connections and resources required to find a supportive sponsor. This unfortunate reality often leaves underrepresented employees feeling overlooked and left behind, missing out on the invaluable benefits of sponsorship.

At 10KC, we pride ourselves on delivering an equitable sponsorship solution that drives measurable outcomes. 

Throughout the program, employees will: 

• Connect with other sponsors/sponsees to cultivate belonging
• Build a network of 12+ connections that drive advancement opportunities
• Acquire greater confidence in applying for promotions internally
• Gain visibility to corporate colleagues and leaders
• Develop skills needed to build your career
• Foster meaningful relationships with trusted sources in the organization

Employees who participate in 10KC programs share: 

• 98% want to continue their relationship/connection post-program
• 88% said the program helped them make progress towards their development goals
• 93% want to be notified about future program offerings

We understand that formal sponsorship programs are the key to creating an equitable and thriving environment where every individual's skills and potential are truly valued. Let's make an actionable difference together. With 10KC, all employees can develop the essential skills and foster the meaningful relationships they need to succeed.

"When you’re talking about creating connection, you can have mentorship. That allows you solve for a piece of the puzzle. Sponsorship is getting visibility to the people that have the influence and will speak about you in the room when you’re not there. They have the influence to make advancement. And it’s about solving for both." - Cristina Candia Lopez, SVP Talent and Head of DEIB & Experience, VillageMD

Ready to empower diverse talent with actionable sponsorship programs? 

10KC is the only all in one platform for inclusive mentoring, connectivity, and skills development that drives better employee engagement and retention.