The objective of this study was to investigate best practices regarding implementing and sustaining formal mentoring programmes in three South African organisations. The purposeful sampling method was used to involve designated representatives responsible for overseeing the implementation and management of the mentoring programmes in each of the three companies in the research. A qualitative content analysis technique was applied to infer meaningful explanations to the research questions. The findings indicate that the three organisations rely on a variety of systems and practices to sustain the effectiveness of their mentoring programmes. The implications of the findings are discussed