Profiles in Diversity Journal
2008 International Innovation in Diversity Awards
Burger King Corporation
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Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF) Mentor Program
The Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF) was founded at Burger King Corporation (BKC) in 1998. This organization was formed by a group of BKC women in the corporate headquarters who had a vision to enhance the leadership potential of women within the company by providing opportunities for continuous learning and networking, both inside and outside of the organization. Today, the WLF consists of more than 300 BKC employees worldwide—20 percent of whom are men— who have the opportunity to participate in an array of mentoring, community outreach, and professional development programs. The WLF began offering a structured mentoring program in 2001 with the support of BKC, with great results. In 2007, BKC support led to its expansion both financially and organizationally to become a linchpin of the corporate workforce self-development goals, as all officers and directors are required to participate, enabling BKC to extend the benefits of the WLF Mentoring Program to a broader audience. The program pairs a senior level professional with a more junior level person from a cross-functional part of the business. It is primarily a mentee-driven program in which all of the mentees are self-nominated so the dedication to results is based on each mentee’s commitment. While the program is flexible in order to meet the specific objective of the mentee, there also are business objectives of the mentoring program. They are to: • Enhance employee effectiveness and results by establishing supportive relationships with senior individuals outside their immediate work group. • Assist employees in advancing their career opportunity potential and complement additional current training opportunities offered at BKC.
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• Motivate employees by providing additional supportive individuals that encourage development and performance results through proven leadership and experience. • Provide resources for demonstrating and modeling leadership. • Provide an opportunity for employees to engage in professional networking. • Support employees in adjusting to and providing leadership in a changing corporate culture. The keys to the success of the program are the dedicated 9-member Steering Committee and 26-member Implementation Team (I-Team). The chair of the Mentorship program rotates among WLF members. These volunteers facilitate several aspects of the mentor program: applications, interviews of mentors and mentees, and the training. They also provide a resource to aid the mentor/mentee relationships throughout the year—devoting significant man-hours. Impact of the Program
The WLF mentoring program has grown in its impact each program year. The number of participants has grown, and the participants have confirmed its benefit in addressing their personal objectives. Several members have participated each of the years as a mentee, mentor and/or I-Team member. This year’s mentor program is the largest to date with over 250 people involved in 115 pairings. This includes a few dual mentors/mentees and two executive team members who have volunteered to become mentors to more than one mentee. The expansion of field participation to almost 50 percent of the program further magnifies the impact of the program. Female participation has increased over 240 percent, and there is increased participation from ethnic minorities as well.