To borrow from a well known quote about training employees:

Mentor them and they will leave; don’t mentor them and they will stay.

Like any quote, it only holds merit if the cause and affect are compatible. However, managers across the board have seen a trend where if they spend the time and resources providing development initiatives for their employees, the ones who develop into leaders leave for more challenging opportunities. Whereas, organizations who do not provide development opportunities for their employees have observed stagnation in their less than stellar performers.

However, in the age of branding, why not spend the resources developing employees? If they leave, they will share their experiences of the development opportunities their former company provided. The upside is that your company’s name becomes branded as an employer of choice, dedicated to the development of employees. The downside? One of your leader’s has left the building, leaving a space open for the next leader in the queue to come on board.

It has been said many times, and proven through studies and history that the success of an organization (community, country, etc.) is driven by its culture. Not only the culture purposely or inadvertently set by the leaders of the organization, but the unspoken, under-current culture that comes from the verbal and non-verbal communications of all the members. The key to a successful culture is common agreements and beliefs between all members or participants of the overall mission, goal and direction of the organization.

This key is owned by the leaders, while at the same time also a responsible aspect for the community to own, develop and encourage. In other words, a large part of cultural success is having a mentoring program be a part of the strategic plan for employee development. The employees will know it’s valuable and be interested and engaged when they see the leadership does the same.

The quality of candidates brought into the culture is also an impactful part of that success. The quality is not limited in parameters of skills and job experience - it’s also the personal attributes of the candidate. Do they demonstrate a certain level of emotional intelligence? Do they demonstrate a level of self-efficacy (Did they during interview? From observations from their references? In how they’ve handled issues, problems and mistakes, as related in the behavioral questions of the interviews? Etc.)

What about similar measurements for the current staff?

A mentoring program doesn’t start and manage itself, it requires buy-in from the leads, interest from the employees and a committed position/dept. to manage it, market it, providing the structure and ongoing training and development to keep the program fresh, interesting and engaging. It also requires a program dedicated to matching the needs of the Mentee and Mentor and ensuring it’s not a ‘one program fits all’ approach, but one that takes individuals into account and enlists a healthy level of customization without catering to niche needs.

A mentoring program is not an absolute, nor is it an obligation. It’s best when on a voluntary basis. Ask employees who have been in the company for over a year or so if they would like to participate in being a mentor to new hires and/or mentors to employees who have already been with the company for less than a year (+/-).

Invite the more tenured employees to join the mentor program and provide the invitation for mentor trainings. This training could be a meeting, a training forum, a book, webinar, coaching, handouts, etc. (Depending on time availability and learning structures of one’s organization)

Ensure that whatever mentoring program developed for your organization has a clearly defined intention, mission, goal, etc. It’s imperative that all parties involved understand why the mentoring program exists and why it would be beneficial to both the mentor or the mentee. Both parties should have access to tools and exercises that assist them in defining the relationship, setting expectations (not just for the outcome but for the process as well). ((time-line, meetings (how often and where), guides, trainings, etc.))

Last and one of the more important development tools for keeping a mentoring program alive and engaging is to have a timely assessment process. Some kind of survey or question/answer opportunity that allows both parties to measure the program in terms of effectiveness, support, progress made/not made, what could be different, what isn’t working, etc. Encourage participation in these scheduled feedback mediums, letting both parties know that their feedback creates a better program for them and for future participants.

There are many books, websites and white papers written to guide one in developing a mentoring program. Create a program that best reflects the leaders in your business and ties into your mission and goals. Designing a mentoring program is an engaging development process, one where creativity, inquiry and a lot of fun will be the dynamic cornerstones that assist in the development of your organization’s extraordinary culture.
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Copyright. Tuesday, August 4th, 2009.
www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/08/mentorship-for-company-brand