5 signs that your business could benefit from instituting a mentoring programme
A lot of businesses are reluctant to invest in mentoring because they think it’s too esoteric. And, indeed, it can sometimes be difficult to see the tangible benefits of mentoring, but they’re there. It has been found that Fortune 500 companies that have mentoring programmes consistently outperformed those that didn’t during the pandemic. And for anyone who knows how powerful mentoring can be, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. If you have thought about instituting a mentoring programme in your organisation but are still hesitant, here are some signs that your business could benefit from one.
Your industry demands it
Mentoring is not as popular in all industries and is not efficient for all positions. There are some fields where it’s not very common to see mentoring and employees do not expect it. But there are many fields where employees will demand to have access to mentoring and development opportunities.
If you’re in any field where the development of personal skills is very important, then it’s almost certain that you will see benefits from a mentoring programme. Fields like marketing, consulting, and fitness come to mind. Fields that allow space for specialisation and advancement like IT can also benefit from mentoring. So, look at the specific development needs of your employees and see if mentoring could help you better compete.
You want to build a real company culture
Some businesses just say that they have a company culture while others are serious about it and want everybody in their company to sing to the same tune. This will be almost impossible to do if you don’t have a mentoring programme in place at least at the management level.
Mentoring is what will allow you to steer everyone in your management team in the same direction and ensure that they stay in line with the culture of the company. Having a mentoring programme in itself will also become part of your identity and show that you care about your employees.
Instituting a mentoring programme will be a bit more difficult if you want to extend mentoring opportunities to employees who aren’t in leadership roles, but it’s still possible if you use the right tools. You could use mentoring software to manage everything. Software from PushFar will allow you to match employees with the right mentors effortlessly and set up meetings. You’ll also be able to gauge the level of satisfaction of your employees and see if they’re actually making progress.
Lots of your employees are leaving
If you’ve noticed that your employee turnover rate is getting higher or that it’s higher than the average in your industry and you don’t have a mentor yet, then you may have found your culprit. Mentorship opportunities are directly correlated with high retention rates. Companies that offer mentorship are also more appreciated by their employees, and employees who feel appreciated are less likely to leave.
Your employees are disengaged
If your employees seem to be going through the motions and you see a deterioration in the performance, then these are clear signs that you have a disengaged workforce and that you may benefit from a mentoring programme.
Mentoring can help employees stay engaged by reminding them of their reasons for joining the company and keeping them on track with their goals. Mentoring helps employees find value in their work and see a future for themselves within the company or without. These are all things that will make a big difference in their engagement and how much effort you can expect to get from them.
You have highly motivated employees
At the other end of the spectrum, you may have employees who are so engaged that they seem to set unrealistically high goals for themselves. Here, mentoring could help turn these employees into top performers. Or you may have employees who think that they’re better than what they are who make unrealistic demands.
If you’ve managed a team for a while, it’s almost certain that you have come across employees who were delusional about their abilities. Delusions of grandeur are not always a bad thing, however. Employees who have this kind of confidence are rarely incompetent, but they might need a reality check and some structure, and this is exactly what a mentor will give them. They will help them assess their strengths and where they stand against the competition.
The average person or even you might not be able to convince them, but a mentor can with experience and raw data. They will also let them know if they’re gifted in certain areas and how they can hone their strengths while improving on their weaknesses.
If you own a business of any size and you have to manage employees, then there’s a great chance that you might be able to benefit from having a mentoring programme in your organisation. But before you institute yours, make sure that you know what a good mentoring programme should look like and set up a clear system for keeping track of results.
