By IAN FERGUSON
MANY Fortune 500 companies have experienced the power of Corporate Mentorship Programmes, and are beginning to document and highlight the tremendous benefits of this powerful talent management tool.
While a few companies have recently been adopting and implementing structured mentorship programmes, sometimes coupled with Succession Planning or Cross and Immersion Training Initiatives, mentorship in and of itself is not a new tool. In fact, the role of a mentor nurturing the mentee has existed for thousands of years. Even sacred scripture records scores of mentorship-type relationships, where someone postured themselves at the feet of another to experience growth: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and His Disciples, and Paul and Timothy, just to highlight a few.
Corporate mentorship, by definition, is a career development relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. Impactful and effective mentoring is more than just answering occasional questions or providing ad hoc help. Growth will not take place in an environment of happenstance but, rather, deliberate attempts to engage employees towards development. It is about an ongoing relationship of learning, dialogue and challenge. Mentoring involves the informal transmission of knowledge, skills and the psychosocial support relevant for career and professional development. Mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the prot�g�). That is according to Wikipedia’s Online Encyclopedia.
So, the question, then, is what does this look like in the work environment? How should companies use this powerful tool in growing and developing their human capital? Here are three practical uses of mentorship in the work environment:
New Hire mentorship
New-hire mentoring programmes are set up to help new employees acclimatise more quickly into the organisation. In new-hire mentoring programmes, newcomers to the organisation (prot�g�s) are paired with more experienced people (mentors) in order to obtain information, good examples and advice as they advance.
It has been claimed that new employees who are paired with a mentor are twice as likely to remain in their job than those who do not receive mentorship. Caution: Ensure the employee you have identified as a high potential is committed to the process. You do not want that employee ruining the fresh new employee.
High Potential
mentorship
High-potential mentoring programmes are used to groom up-and-coming employees deemed to have the potential to move into leadership roles. Here the employee (prot�g�) is paired with a senior level leader (or leaders) for a series of career-coaching interactions. Caution: The Leaders must demonstrate buy-in for the process. Threatened and incompetent leaders can sometimes deflate the high potential employees.
Struggling Employee
mentorship
Sometimes companies use mentoring as a developmental tool for struggling employees. These employees may demonstrate issues with attitude, competency gaps and technical skills. Caution: Much like Training and Coaching, employees must be ready to engage in these processes. The mentee must place himself in a place to receive the instruction of the mentor.
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