Sustain Your Organization Through Employee Mentorship
Your organization is unique. You are successful because there is something different about what you do and how you do it. How can you best communicate that to your next generation of leaders?
Employees with the potential to become tomorrow’s top talent probably don’t have all the skills and knowledge they need walking through your doors. But I bet they have the drive and determination to get there if you help them out.
Plan for the future by mentoring new leaders today
The experience and insights of your best employees cannot be passed down through an instructional manual. Pair up the best of the new and the experienced for a seamless transition of information. Mentorship programs allow you to retain the knowledge collected over the years by your senior employees.
Mentorship programs help you attract and retain top talent
Offering mentorship programs shows your employees and potential employees that you value their growth and are willing to invest in helping them get what they need to take you into the future. Millennials probably aren’t working in their desired career now. They struggle to get the experience and skills they need to become the leaders they desire. Providing them support to learn and grow with you is a great way to attract and retain them.
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Create better employees through mentorship
Mentorship programs encourage participants to become aware of their strengths and skills so they can share them with others. This practice gives your employees an opportunity to learn about themselves; they might develop talents and strengths they didn’t realize they had.
Asking participants to share with others shows that you value your employees for their skills. Organizations with mentorship programs have committed, productive, confident employees poised to move into leadership roles.
Start a mentorship program in your organization
As you create your program, you need to consider a few important questions:
What do you want from the mentorship program?
What will the structure look like; who will participate?
What will be the nature of interactions between mentors and mentees?
How will you evaluate if the program is working?
Be as creative as you like; mentorships don’t necessarily need to pair the experienced with the inexperienced. Take Microsoft, for example; they implemented an innovative mentorship program to attract outside talent by pairing up people at the same level.
We naturally form mentee/mentor relationships. I’m sure you can think of a mentor you’ve had who helped shape who you are today, whether it be professional or personal.
Your organization is likely already filled with casual mentee/mentor relationships. Developing a formal program shows that you value these relationships and provides structure to ensure that they are as beneficial for your employees and your organization’s future as possible.
Do you have a mentoring program in your organization? Share your mentoring successes here. We’d love to hear from you!
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