Mentoring in the workplace is a fantastic way to introduce new employees to their coworkers and the industry. Companies that use mentorship as an on-boarding tool create an open, encouraging work environment.
Mentoring programs help workers with goal setting, job satisfaction, and overall performance. To have your organization reaping the benefits of mentorship make sure to build the program with a solid foundation and regularly check in with everyone involved.
Here are a few tips for promoting successful mentorship in the workplace.
Match mentors and mentees well
There are many companies that use shadowing as a part of the on-boarding process, however having a new hire simply follow a seasoned employee around is not the most productive approach. Key information is often not transferred naturally .
By promoting mentorship, the knowledge of company systems and procedures and perspective of the work can be passed along with much more success than shadowing.
Consider creating a questionnaire for anyone interested in mentoring. There should be questions such as what their career objectives are, what they’re looking for in a mentor/mentee, and what kind of communication style they prefer. Using the questionnaires you can then successfully pair mentor-mentees who share similar personality traits and interests.
Make mentorship integralIn order for mentoring to be effective there has to be marketing, planning, and training. All of which require lots of follow up. Managers should be knowledgeable about the program and understand its participants so they can emphasize its role in the company to participants.
Promote the mentoring program during the recruitment process. After matching questionnaires begin matching new hires with mentors during orientation.
Establish responsibilities of the roles
The person in charge of the mentoring program should clearly explain how each role works in a mentorship. The mentor is in place to offer advice, support, and guidance to their mentee. This should not be confused with being a supervisor.
It’s also important that the pair have regular check-in’s with each other. Emails and phone calls are fine, however at least once a month there should be a date set to meet in person. Some people like to do weekly coffee or monthly lunch dates. Every participant is different so every mentorship is a little different. After the participants are paired up it’s vital that the leader of the mentoring program check in and ensures that things are going smoothly.
Promote goal-settingWhen employees have clear goals it helps them to match the objectives of the business. By making your workers feel supported professionally they can see their future at the company clearly and are more likely to stay employed there.
Promote goal setting by providing training when necessary and giving feedback on performance often. Through receiving recognition for good work employees will be more satisfied with the workplace.
There are many benefits of promoting a mentorship program in your workplace. Not only does it help new hires to adjust to the environment, but it also helps the team members that work as mentees. By having the opportunity to advise and guide others it allows them to develop leadership skills and take on greater responsibilities. When employees are happy and engaged it will reflect in the work that’s being done. The learning goes both ways in mentoring, making it a very purposeful tool to promote.
This blog was originally published on Hiley’s website.