As business professionals we want our companies to have loyal customers and be efficient, profitable, nimble and ethical. As humans we want to be happy and for our careers to be successful as part of a healthy and rounded life. We also know that the young adults advancing through the ranks are the future of our businesses and our society. We want them to be successful too and also to learn from our mistakes. We need a win-win on both sides. Mentoring offers that bridge.
When you consider research on different sides of mentoring it shows that those who are mentored are overall more ambitious, more able, more loyal and form part of a more diverse group than those who aren’t.
Why mentoring?
x5 More
Employees who received mentoring were promoted FIVE times more often than people who didn’t have mentors.
94% would stay
94% of employees say they would stay at an organisation longer if offered opportunities to learn and grow.
24% Uplift
Mentorship programmes lifted the minority representation in management from 9% to 24%.
That can be combined with the research from the likes of McKinsey, Forbes and the American Psychological Association which shows us that companies which value their employees from a holistic point of view (well-being, values, job satisfaction, health) reduce costs, increase engagement and retention, perform better and are more successful in innovation and change management.
Why focus on employees?
50%
50% of 1400 US CEOs and CFOs said corporate culture influences productivity, creativity, profitability, firm value and growth rates
x6 Cheaper
It is 6x cheaper to build skills internally than to hire them from the job market.
What can we do?
For mentoring to deliver real results, we need to consider it differently:
- Mentoring of young professionals shouldn’t be a fluffy chat.
- Mentoring of young professionals shouldn’t be a mechanism to get them to take more on.
- Mentoring of young professionals shouldn’t be simply a way to pass on corporate information and structure.
- Mentoring of young professionals shouldn’t be confined to one conversation in their first week in the business.
For it to deliver on its promises: increase retention, improve job satisfaction, spark creativity and increase productivity it needs to be:
- Well-managed and supported (by the Talent teams and the wider business).
- Used to actively deliver healthy career management messages.
- Be structured and well-informed with clear objectives.
- Part of training and development plans for mentees and mentors.
- Celebrated and promoted.
- An on-going cycle.
- Supported by experts where internal capacity doesn’t allow
Start a conversation in your business on how mentoring could work for you. Look at which pain points in the business mentoring could help to change. Consider the impact of increased retention of graduates past the 2-year mark on costs and workload. Reflect on what skills the business is going to need in the future and how mentoring could encourage young professionals to bring those skills to the table and hone them.
We owe it to the future of our businesses. We owe it to young professionals who follow in our footsteps.
We can:
- Help identify a business case for mentoring.
- Give expert advice on the challenges and opportunities of working with 20-somethings and how mentoring can prove to be a game-changer.
- Provide support from a fully managed, 12-week mentor programme through to a modular course slotted into existing talent programmes.
- Help you train internal mentors to boost your own mentor programme.
Ask us how we can help you devise a mentor strategy suited to your needs.
You may also like to read..
Millennials – You’re the secret weapon for any business!
Millennials unique influences and fresh approach to situations are their superpowers. As a digital native you bring skills that businesses are desperate for. Here’s how to recognise them.
Do you have a H.E.A.L.T.H.Y career?
Do you have a H.E.A.L.T.H.Y career? As an employer do you offer a H.E.A.L.T.H.Y career? Let’s get better at recognising and avoiding the Big 3: Burn-out, Imposter…
H is for the HEART: Of a business.
The first H of H.E.A.L.T.H.Y career is for HEART. HEART captures our need for our work and our business to connect with us in some way.…