The MOMENTS Mentoring Program is an interagency, statewide mentoring program designed to connect team members for mentorship opportunities focused on professional development. This program began as a capstone project from class 8 of the Missouri Leadership Academy.
All team members employed full-time, not at risk in their most recent ENGAGE Evaluation, and not currently on a performance improvement plan or other disciplinary action are eligible to be mentors.
All team members employed full-time, not at risk in their most recent ENGAGE Evaluation, and not currently on a performance improvement plan or other disciplinary action are eligible to be mentees.
Yes, as a mentor or mentee, your direct supervisor must approve your application to participate in the program.
If your supervisor is out on extended leave, you can edit the supervisor information (first name, last name, and email address) on your application to reroute your application to a different supervisor for review.
Yes, the MOMENTS program is designed to be interagency, allowing team members to connect regardless of their division/department to work toward professional development goals.
While there isn’t a required time commitment for the mentorship to last, the program’s best practice recommends mentoring for one year with monthly, one-hour meetings.
We encourage mentors and mentees to determine a meeting schedule that works best for them; the program’s best practice is to meet once a month for an hour.
No, travel expenses will not be permitted. A team member should not incur any expense as a participant in the program. This isn’t part of the program requirements, and there is no program funding for travel. If you have additional questions related to travel or budget, please reach out to your Department Administrator listed on the MOMENTS site.
No, overtime will not be permitted; the mentorship meetings should occur during the team members’ regular working hours. This isn’t part of the program requirements, and there is no program funding for travel. If you have additional questions related to travel or budget, please reach out to your Department Administrator listed on the MOMENTS site.
The Division of Personnel will use an algorithm to match participants based on the career skills and soft skills they have identified in their application.
The Division of Personnel will run the matching algorithm during the first month of each quarter for all participants who still need to establish a match. After the matching algorithm has been run, all unmatched mentees will be provided a list of suggested matches.
The application will always be open. However, the Division of Personnel will advertise a two-week application period during the first month of each quarter to encourage participants to apply. After the two-week application period, the Division of Personnel will use the matching algorithm to provide unmatched mentees with recommended mentors.
Please confirm with your department leadership if and how many hours are allowed to count toward hours for the Leadership Development Rule.
Reports of alleged discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation should not be discussed during mentorship meetings. These reports should be made in accordance with your department’s HR Policy. For additional clarification, please contact your department HR representative.
Mentors/mentees informed by a mentee/mentor of alleged discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation by another state team member or contracted worker must immediately report this to Human Resources. This responsibility applies even in cases where the victim or mentee/mentor does not wish for the conduct to be reported.
Yes, the MOMENTS application will prompt an automatic email to the team member informing them their application was denied. We encourage all supervisors to personalize the message to explain why the application was denied or schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss the next steps.
No, if the administrator approves or denies an application in lieu of a supervisor, the supervisor will need to review that in their MOMENTS’s dashboard.
Supervisors will receive an email notification every Monday morning with new or outstanding applications that must be approved or denied for all those who are their direct reports.
Department administrators will only need to approve and deny applications if the applicant’s supervisor is out of office for an extended period due to FMLA, maternity leave, etc.
Each department may determine the number of administrators they need and who to designate as a MOMENTS administrator.
Administrators will receive an email notification every Monday morning with new or outstanding applications that must be approved or denied for their department. Administrators will not be required to approve or deny applications unless a supervisor is out on extended leave.
Each mentee will be provided a list of recommended mentor matches from which they can select. If a mentee chooses not to select one of the recommended mentors, they can search for another mentor on the MOMENTS website.
If the recommended mentors you received from the matching process are not a good fit, you may search for an alternative mentor on the MOMENTS website and make a selection from there.
If the mentor you requested does not feel like the match will be a good fit, you may search for an alternative mentor on the MOMENTS website and select from there.
If the mentor you requested is no longer available this may be because they have already matched with two mentees. You may search for an alternative mentor on the MO MENTS website and select from there.
Each mentee will be permitted to work with a max of two mentors. After two mentorships have been confirmed, a mentee will no longer be included in the matching algorithm or able to search for additional mentors.
When you select a mentor, an automatic email will be sent to them stating you are requesting to mentor with them. The mentor can approve or deny your request, depending on whether they feel it will be a good match.
If the mentor accepts you as their new mentee, the next step will be for you to reach out first to set up your first meeting and complete the Mentorship Agreement form (optional).
Yes, the mentor can review their potential mentee’s application once the mentee requests them as a mentor. If the mentor does not feel the mentorship would be a good match, they can decline the mentee’s request.
Each mentor will be permitted to work with a max of two mentees. If a mentor prefers to or only has the capacity for one mentee, they may designate themselves as “unavailable” on their application. Marking “unavailable” will ensure they are not matched during future algorithmic matching periods or searchable in the database.
Once you select a mentee, the next step will be to set up the first meeting to complete the Mentorship Agreement form.
