Formal or Informal Mentoring: What Drives Employees to Seek Informal Mentors?

In organizations with formal mentoring programs, employees may still seek out informal mentors outside of their assigned mentors. This study examines factors that drive protégés to turn from their formal mentors to supplementary informal mentors. Using data from three sources, protégés relying on formal mentors versus informal mentors were compared, finding that leader-member exchange (LMX), perceived similarity, contact time, and the status of the formal mentor were significantly related to the protégé's decision to select an informal mentor. There was no evidence that protégé performance affected a protégé's decision to identify an informal mentor. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.