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Why are companies implementing mentorship programmes, and what are their advantages and drawbacks?

About mentorship programmes

Mentorship programmes involve assigning existing employees at a company to provide support for new recruits. These assigned employees are different from the new recruits' direct superiors and are selected from people around the same age or with a similar employment history as the new employees. These programmes ensure that new employees have someone who they can easily talk to if they have any issues.
Typically, the more experienced employee who provides support is called a "mentor," and the new employee who receives support is called a "mentee."

Differences from coaching programmes

Coaching programmes are similar to mentorships, in that they involve experienced employees called “coaches” who provide support to new recruits or younger employees.
However, mentoring is different to coaching in the following way: while coaching programmes focus on providing support in terms of tasks at work, mentorship programmes mainly function to give support regarding personal worries about work and interpersonal relationships, as well as career development. To put it in simple terms, mentorship does not involve support for the actual work at hand. As such, people are not selected as mentors if they belong to the same division as the mentee, because they may have direct vested interests in how tasks progress.

Goals in implementing mentorship programmes

Factors attributed to the increasing trend in resignation rates among young employees include issues where these employees have no senior peers with which they can easily discuss their troubles at work, as well as conditions where young employees feel that it is difficult to raise concerns. In addition, with seniority-based payment and promotion systems beginning to vanish in the current climate, there are instances where existing employees fear being overtaken by new recruits or younger employees and interact with them as competitors or rivals, leading to employees becoming isolated from each other.
In light of these circumstances, more and more companies are implementing mentorship programmes in order to alleviate issues related to internal relationships or personal issues, thereby revitalising the company, enhancing employee satisfaction and ultimately reducing resignation rates.

Guidelines and training for implementing mentorship programmes

Companies are taking a wide range of approaches with regards to guidelines for implementing mentorship programmes. Some are producing guidelines on an in-house basis.
Some companies preparing their own custom guidelines seek to develop mentorship programmes in a way that is tailored to their circumstances. This is achieved by initially encouraging employees to understand the goals and the significance of mentorship programmes, and then to work towards gaining new insights and successful case studies each year.

Advantages of mentorship programmes

The greatest advantage of mentorship programmes is that they stimulate communication within the company. There is also an ongoing bond between each wave of employees and the next, with new recruits changing roles from mentees to mentors and guiding younger employees, who go on to become mentors as well. This process is called the “mentoring chain” and is indicative of how mentorship programmes help cultivate interpersonal relationships that span across departments.
Employees serving as mentors strive to work in a more independent manner and act with responsibility, as they wish to set a good example for the new wave of employees. This may also encourage mentors to consider how to shape their careers in the future. In this way, mentorship programmes promote growth among mentors as well as mentees.
In addition, the presence of a mentorship programme enables employees to feel free to discuss anything with each other, making them feel more comfortable at the company. This contributes to lower resignation rates.

Drawbacks of and areas requiring caution in mentorship programmes

Mentorship programmes do have disadvantages, as well as areas that need careful attention from those looking to implement them. These issues are listed below.

  • Mentors need to offer support for their mentees on top of managing their daily tasks, increasing their workloads.
  • If the mentor employee works together with the mentee, then the mentee may find it hard to discuss work issues out of concern for how future tasks may be affected.
  • Different mentors will provide different degrees of support to their mentees.

In order to alleviate these issues, it is crucial for companies to create dedicated initiatives and to ensure that all people in the company understand what their mentorship programme is aiming to achieve. Examples of actions that can be done include incorporating the level of contribution as a mentor into employees' evaluation criteria, encouraging all staff including managers to understand the goals of mentorship, and holding company training sessions about mentorship.

How to find and appoint mentors

When assigning mentors for college graduates and other young employees, it is ideal to focus on employees in their third year of work or later. If a mentor is able to communicate well with the mentee and demonstrates capability in their role, it may be productive to have them work as a mentor for two years in a row, or on every other year. It is also helpful to appoint promising mentors to give advice to other employees who have just started as mentors.
The most important thing that any mentor-to-be needs is the ability to listen to what other people have to say. It is crucial to ensure that all mentors have a strong understanding about the role of mentorship programmes. This helps avoid situations of mentors not paying due attention when mentees seek counsel on serious issues, or mentors speaking about themselves when they ought to listen instead to what their mentees have to say.

Methods for matching mentors with mentees

Decisions on which mentor should be appointed to support each mentee are often carried out by HR departments based on the personality and characteristics of each person involved.
If the mentee has just graduated from university, then the HR personnel involved in recruiting will have a grasp on the nature of that mentee, as well as of the employee who will serve as the graduate's mentor.
However, in large organisations it may be difficult to keep up to date on the characteristics of each and every employee. In this case, it is advisable to aim for combinations where each mentor and mentee can meet each other easily, such as by making matches between employees who are on the same floor but from different divisions or governed by different departments.

The significance and advantages of becoming a mentor

One of the advantages of being a mentor is that you can develop your own brand upon having been chosen by the company.
For employees who have worked at the same company since graduating university, becoming a mentor can signify being recognised by the company as a capable worker.
Not everyone is fit to be a mentor; people are only selected if they can offer suitable advice to others and can empathise with them.

The drawbacks of becoming a mentor

As mentioned earlier, mentors need to support their mentees while also carrying out their own tasks, leading to an increased workload. In addition, serving as a mentor may not directly affect an employee's assessment on performance at work. Older employees will almost always be asked to serve as a mentor, and it is vital to consider this role as an important part of nurturing new employees, rather than focusing on the downsides.

What actually happens in mentorship programmes?

Mentors hold regular sessions with their mentees, listening to their concerns on how to make progress in their tasks as well as general concerns about work, and ultimately aiming to help mentees reach a solution. When offering guidance, it is best for mentors not to present a definite answer straight away, and instead work to encourage their mentee to think on their own so as to find a solution that suits them.
Of course, when it comes to concerns about work, it is the mentor's role to listen compassionately to what is on the mentee's mind. The most important element in mentorship is creating an environment where mentees can easily talk to their mentors.
In many cases, there are no strict rules on how mentors should create opportunities for communication with their mentees. It is perfectly fine to schedule formal meetings with mentees, or to have a relaxed chat over a coffee. While different companies may have different guidelines, the most crucial element to focus on is to develop an environment where mentees can easily consult with mentors.

What to do if you notice a mentee experiencing distress

Many mentors will contact HR if they notice that their mentee is experiencing distress. It is advisable to contact HR personnel with the right to manage employees and wait for the HR department to take action.
Mentors should aim to foster a strong relationship of trust with their mentees, so as to avoid issues where mentees may object to their mentors having spoken with HR, or where mentees may take offence at their mentors talking behind their backs.

When mentoring a new employee

If the mentee has just joined the workforce after graduating from university, it is ideal to focus mainly on advice about how to approach work and the responsibilities that it involves, as well as on how to communicate with companies and how to manage interpersonal relationships in the office.

When mentoring a younger employee with less than five years of experience

Mentees who have seen other new employees join the company after them and who have gained competence at their work may seek to test their new skills at another company. Focus on offering advice on how to shape their future careers while working in their current company.

Points to consider for mentorship programmes aimed at women in the workplace

Mentorship programmes aimed at female employees often feature sessions with advice about working while raising children, improving work skills, and other issues faced by women at the workplace.
When selecting mentors in these programmes, it is ideal to appoint women in managerial roles as well as women who continue to work while also taking care of their children. These mentors can help develop the next wave of female employees, serving as inspiration for many more women to work in the office.

Points to consider for mentorship programmes aimed at executives

Some companies have mentorship programmes where executives—and even the head of the company—take the role of mentees, with regular employees offering them advice as mentors. These programmes aim for employees to give guidance to executives about the latest trends on social media and other modern platforms. This helps to bridge the generational gap, as well as to close the distance between employees and their managers.
By holding sessions about raising children and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, executives can learn about the issues faced by employees, and can leverage their authority in order to create new company systems to accommodate employees' needs.
Mentorship programmes provide attractive results in reducing resignation rates, though careful effort is needed to ensure that the company and its employees appreciate the merits of these programmes. Companies experiencing difficulties with employee retention may wish to consider steps towards implementing mentorships.

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