Mentoring Programs to Benefit a Business

When a business is striving to create a more encouraging and open work environment mentoring programs should be deeply considered. Not only do mentoring programs help to introduce new or young employees to their coworkers, but they also help to teach those individuals about the industry that they are entering. Mentoring programs offer businesses a plethora of benefits, including helping employees with their goals, skills, performance, and overall job satisfaction. However, if an organization wishes to implement a program it is imperative that there is a strong foundation built which involves everyone at every level.

Many companies use shadowing in their onboarding process. It is not enough to simply allow a new hire to follow another employee around as there is often a lot of key information that will not be transferred naturally. Instead, promoting mentorship can allow for the procedures, knowledge, and perspective of the work and company systems to be passed down much more successfully.

The mentoring program should be discussed during the recruitment process. The initiative will only be effective if there is proper training, planning, and marketing. Everyone in leadership roles should have a deep understanding of what mentoring is and be knowledgeable about the program. Questionnaires are a great way to match mentees and mentors. The questions should include what type of communication style participants prefer and their career objectives. After matching questionnaires the mentors can be matched with new hires following orientation.

The roles involved in the mentoring program should be clearly explained from the beginning. The mentor is in the position of support and should be prepared to offer guidance and support, but never be confused as a supervisor. Since every employee is different the mentorship will vary from pair to pair. Check-ins should be scheduled regularly to ensure that participants are reaching the goals that are set.

It is vital that goals are clear because when employees understand their motives they can more easily align with the objectives of the business. Ensure that your employees feel supported professionally. People want to work for companies that invest in their future. Seminars and training programs should be offered and feedback on performance should be provided consistently.

For a business to ensure employees are satisfied and engaged they must help them in forming connections between their personal and professional development. Not only will it help increase the organization’s productivity levels, but also assist in retaining top talent, and foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation.

Originally published on Alex Simpson’s website.