Have you ever imagined if Master Shifu had not trained Kung Fu Panda in the great fictional animated series, would he have become the dragon warrior? Never! It's the same with us. We often fail to see the light within ourselves, and we need a master to guide and take us closer to our goals. Organizations too can benefit from mentorship programs that help employees grow and stay connected to the firm's vision. Today the work culture has suffered because of the introduction of remote setup. Although many companies have tried to hold the interest of their employees while keeping them motivated, they still need strong management upgrades. And one such advancement that could connect employees to their colleagues, firm and themselves is introducing mentorship programs.
What is a Mentorship Program?
A program that connects mentors and individuals is focused on optimizing talents, and building skills and trust is called a mentorship program. It's mostly structured and requires strategic planning to help employees develop themselves to become their better versions. The process involves transferring skills, knowledge, and experience from a senior employee to the juniors. The article below will brief you on how mentorship programs can help benefit your organization and provide a competitive advantage in the long run.
8 Ways to Benefit From Mentorship Programs
1. Establishing the Organization's Values among New Joiners
Mentorship in hybrid work environment (or in remote) creates a gap in the experience of the new joiner. Their ability tomeet with their colleagues or expand their professional network is hindered. Certain learning perks are only available when you see your colleagues and seniors every day at the workplace, like simple conversations about the company's processes or discussions with senior leaders about projects. A mentorship program can fill these gaps by creating a formal structure where mentees can develop relations with experts and find solutions to their issues. It imparts confidence and strategies to the mentees to grow in their careers and showcase their skills. Using the resources available, mentorship programs bring efficiency to the organization.
2. Boosting the Uses of E-Mentoring
E-mentoring comes with its own set of benefits that are very useful in actual practice. Certain benefits are:
a. No worries about adding members, as the digital space is very accommodating.
b. Diverse teams beyond a single department, region or country.
c. The tools and techniques are aligned to real-time situations, giving mentees from everywhere the right exposure.
d. Promotes DE&I features by bringing together people from all ethnicities and cultures to discuss developments and share experiences.
3. Creating New Leaders
Mentorship programs equip individuals with the tools and techniques they otherwise lacked to make use of their potential. They make the employees more conscious of their goals, responsibilities, and their achievements. Doing so generates awareness among them, and they improve their skills to exhibit better quality. This, in turn, creates new leaders and takes the company's legacy forward.
4. Helping in Employee Retention
An organization can benefit immensely from mentorship programs not just by developing the workforce but also by retaining the existing talent. There are times when the best performers lose interest in their jobs, lose track and feel like quitting. Mentorship programs in such times assist by not letting these high performers leave the organization and encouraging them by offering support (financial and otherwise). Overall, these programs add to the organization's values and ethics by practicing diversity, equity and inclusion.
5. Building the Goodwill of the Organization
Companies that offer mentorship programs are looked upon for their diversified work culture. This enhances the work quality while keeping the workforce happy and satisfied with their jobs and builds the company's reputation. People wish to work for companies that constantly support their employees and offer work-life integration.
6. Helping in Reverse Mentoring
Learning is a two-way street, and the new age developments only suggest that younger employees bring much knowledge to the table as brought in by the experience of the older employees. Technological developments, cloud sharing, etc., are the recent upgrades that millennials are more informed about than their seniors, while traditional techniques of productivity and values are the tools of the seniors. Hence, sharing knowledge also leads to reverse mentoring and strengthens the work culture while positively influencing productivity.
7. Reducing Cost
Mentoring programs retain employees by training them in-house and providing them with the support they need. When employees feel valued and satisfied with their respective jobs, they are unlikely to leave the organization. Such practice helps in cost reduction than training new employees. Also, mentoring establishes a relationship between the mentor and mentee and encourages an open conversation. This, in turn, reduces the stress and anxiety of work pressure within the employees as they have an outlet to share their troubles and find a solution.
8. Enhancing the Work Culture
An organization where ideas are encouraged and shared, constructive criticism is practiced, and work-life integration is followed becomes the employee's favorite. People wish to join these organizations that value them and foster a culture to look up to. Mentoring millennials bridge the communication gap that otherwise prevails within the workforce and create the right company culture with collaborative techniques.
Aim Higher
As we understand how organizations can benefit from mentorship programs, we also need to plan them to be successful. It's essential to have a vision and goals to accomplish. When these two factors are established, you must prepare the entire process with a proper format, the budgeting, duration, gaps to the bridge and most importantly, retrain the mentors as and when needed.
Mentoring is a meticulous procedure that does not get implemented at once; it takes time, patience and many trial and error methods. It does not matter if it's taking long; what matters is if the approach is right; because, in the end, the only intention is employee satisfaction.
Shellye is committed to helping people from diverse backgrounds to achieve their aspirations in careers and life. The content published above was made in collaboration with our members.
Shellye Archambeau is determined to help you with all possible strategies to climb the ladder of success. She values your feedback. Do mention them in the comment section below.