The mentors' knowledge can help train and create a high-quality and productive workforce. Employees appreciate workplaces that encourage development, as it can demonstrate that their employer values them and wants to see them grow. Mentors can provide specific insights and information that enable the mentee's success.
For example, they offer instructions on how to perform particular tasks or develop useful skills. Individuals starting their career can benefit from such guidance, as it helps them feel comfortable in the role more quickly. For example, a mentor can help a person starting a business learn how to develop their initial business plan and budgets. A mentor can help their mentee set personal or professional development goals. For effective goal-setting, they can create SMART goals—specific, achievable, relevant and time-based.
These goals can help focus the mentee's efforts and make it easier for the mentor to track and assess progress. They may identify smaller tasks in pursuit of a larger objective to develop specific skills or meet particular priorities.
A mentor helps hold their mentee accountable for their goals. By tracking progress, the mentor helps the mentee stay focused and on track towards completing them. It can also ensure that the mentee does not forget about the goals they have set. Knowing that someone else is watching can serve as motivation, as the mentee likely does not want to let the mentor down by failing to meet goals.
When the mentee finds themselves struggling to perform their job or reach a goal, they can turn to their mentor for support. This encouragement can motivate them to keep moving forward despite challenges. A mentor can also identify and express their mentee's strengths to instill confidence in them. Having a strong sense of confidence can make the mentee less likely to give up on their goals. A mentor can help build their mentee's professional network.
When the mentee identifies professional or personal goals, the mentor can connect them to potential opportunities or individuals who can help them. As the mentor typically has more industry experience or a higher-level career, these connections can be valuable for career advancement. When an individual has ideas, they can use a mentor as a resource to discuss or try them. The mentor can provide unbiased advice or opinions using their relevant knowledge and experience.
With these insights, the mentee can better understand what steps to take and whether to pursue the idea or walk away.
Similarly, a mentor can also listen and advise them on daily concerns, such as workplace conflicts. Trust represents a core element of mentoring relationships. The mentee must trust that the mentor has their best interests in mind and will provide accurate and honest guidance. The business world can also be competitive, so they need to rely on one another to keep confidential information private when necessary. Communicating regularly and following through on their promises demonstrate two methods of establishing trust in these relationships.
Related: 14 Ways to Build Trust in the Workplace. A trusting mentorship relationship enables honest feedback. By establishing trust, the mentee understands that constructive criticism aims to build their professional growth rather than make them feel bad. Mentors can identify weaknesses and advise them on ways to improve. Because this is a professional relationship, the mentor plays an objective role.
Meanwhile, a friend may hesitate to identify the mentee's weaknesses because they do not want to appear critical. For individuals just starting their career, a mentor can help set guidelines on professional expectations. For example, they may clarify the priorities of the role and proper workplace behaviors. These guidelines can help the mentee establish appropriate work habits that enable them to focus and perform their job successfully.
These effective work habits can help them be more productive and impress their supervisors. When possible, individuals should choose mentors who have the experience relevant to their profession or goals. When mentors convey their successes, the mentee can use them as an example to strive toward and copy the steps they took. Mentors can also share the mistakes they made along their journeys. The mentee benefits because they learn lessons about the mistakes' negative impacts but do not have to suffer the consequences themselves.
Learning about these experiences can also help prepare the mentee for the challenges they can expect to face and provide demonstrable advice on how to overcome them. Mentorship typically occurs due to networking or company programs, so mentors do not seek payment. They offer to serve this role because they genuinely want to help the other individual grow and establish a more authentic and personal connection. The lack of payment also opens up mentorship for all types of people, rather than restricting this resource to only those who can afford it.
The following list represents some of the beneficial reasons to become a mentor:. Like all relationships, the communication goes both ways, so mentors can learn from their mentees through knowledge sharing.
For example, employees across generations will be paired together, which means that younger generations can teach the older generations about new technology and upcoming trends while the older generations can share best work practices and help inform values. Through these programs, there is a deepened connection between employees and management.
Through bonds between people that may have never otherwise interacted, mentorship programs help to build intra-organizational personal relationships. They facilitate a collaborative learning environment and knowledge sharing between departments and employees. This translates to more well-rounded employees who can grow their skillset and increase their expertise. There is always a cost associated with training new employees, as well as acquiring new talent.
By establishing mentors and mentees who can rely on one another, the associated stress, anxiety and sick days taken in a workplace may be reduced. Furthermore, training costs are reduced as mentorship programs leverage existing employees to help new employees get up and running.
The synergy created within a mentorship program can be felt organization-wide. There are various ways to establish a mentorship program, based on preferences. When creating a mentorship program, start by defining the particular need you want to address. For example:. Once the program is up and running, you can gauge success by analyzing metrics, tracking results and requesting feedback from those involved.
Launching a mentorship program poses some challenges and requires consistent work to keep it running smoothly and effectively. Be sure to avoid these common pitfalls:. Regardless of how long it takes to get the most efficient approach established, you can rest assured that mentorship programs offer employees benefits and satisfaction that is otherwise unachievable.
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Online Learning at UoPeople. How will you choose the "best and brightest" for fast-track mentoring? Or you may want mentoring for all employees at a certain level of the company. Allow mentees to have a say in selecting their mentors. The mentoring process won't work if the two parties are mismatched. Set up a training program. Few people are "natural" mentors. Have an HR staff member or outside consultant help managers develop the necessary skills.
Give mentors guidelines to follow. Aim to make the process as easy as possible. They may find it helpful, for instance, to have on hand useful suggestions for dealing with certain personal and professional issues that arise with the mentee. Provide a "shadow mentor. The shadow mentor — perhaps your mentoring trainer — can help coach both parties back together. Allow enough relief time for mentors. They shouldn't feel so squeezed by other responsibilities that mentoring becomes just a nuisance or an added source of stress.
When setting up a mentoring program, encourage your company mentors to: Listen at least as much as they talk. With encouragement, mentees will ask lots of questions. Make sure the mentors don't interpret a question as a challenge. Instead, encourage them to answer as openly and honestly as possible. Share information generously. Of course you'll want them to keep certain information confidential; but the more trust they are able to place in mentees, the stronger the relationship can be.
Stay focused on helping their mentees grow. The goal should be to provide guidance not to impress by displaying knowledge or expertise. Have your company mentors treat mentees as equals. Be flexible. Encourage mentors to set regular times to meet or talk on the phone, yet be ready also to give spur of the moment assistance. Mentees might occasionally ask for a last-minute breakfast or lunch meeting to discuss an urgent matter.
Cut it off if there is a clash. Personality differences may be so great that the mentoring relationship suffers. Have mentors discuss the situation with their mentees and suggest others who could take their place. Walk the talk. Make sure mentors model the behavior you want to see encouraged in the company.
Let's say a mentor urges a mentee to show respect to people at all levels of the organization. The lesson would be lost if the mentor treats subordinates offhandedly. Be ready to learn. Mentees can teach, too. By listening carefully, the mentor could get fresh and helpful perspectives on your company.
Advice for mentees: Don't be shy. Successful people are generally pleased to be asked to share their knowledge and expertise. Encourage the mentee to seek mentors.
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