Mentoring in the Workplace

Developing a mentoring program is one of the best opportunities to promote a culture for employee development. Generation Y and young professionals are particularly motivated by career development, and they desire the insight that more experienced workers can provide. In this relationship young professionals learn about patience, work ethic, and the evolution of your company. A mentoring program assists in the transfer of knowledge, and it also presents an opportunity for mentors to learn from the younger generation. More experienced workers can benefit from the technological knowledge of this generation, and their ideas for relevant technology implementation in the workplace.

Mentoring Benefits:

• Generational Exposure – Removes any barriers and misconceptions between generations in your workplace
• Transfer of Knowledge – Facilitates a two-way exchange of information and expertise improves the sustainability of your company’s competitive advantage
• Improved Retention – Encouragement, teaching, coaching, and role modeling positively influences employee retention
• Enhanced Communication – Mentors play a key role in communicating what it means to work for your company, and they provide relevant industry insight and advice

A mentoring program will be successful if your leadership team supports the initiative, and a senior leader is committed to the implementation. Key goals and objectives should be established, benefits to mentors, young professionals, and organization should be clear, and you should provide opportunities for early “wins”. When implementing a mentoring program, consider these steps:

• Develop a matching system – Identify individual goals, strengths, and preferences to facilitate matches, and be flexible to allow for re-matches
• Sell the Benefits – Openly communicate the organizational benefits of a mentoring program to your participants
• Manage Expectations – Be sure to communicate expectations and commitments to mentors and young professionals
• Provide Development Opportunities – Facilitate discussions and off-site opportunities for mentors and young professionals to develop a strong relationship
  

Get in the Game

Young professionals - I am convinced that there are three major types of groups in our generations. I know this might be too broad of a generalization, but bear with me.

1.) YP's who are frustrated with their employers' leadership development programs, career opportunities, and opportunities for input (or the lack thereof). This group is taking their frustrations however, and they are trying to change their culture. They are pushing for mentoring programs, creating their own personal development opportunities, and they are presenting new ideas any time they have the chance. This group is full of energy and optimistic.

2.) This group is frustrated, just as group #1 - but they aren't doing anything to change the culture. They are sitting by the wayside, uninspired, and content with giving an average effort to their company. If interesting opportunities come by, their frustration allows them to quickly turn up their energy level and give 100%.

3.) Group #3 is my least favorite. They are indifferent, complacent, and hardly ever voice a concern about their personal and professional development. They are convinced that everyone needs a job, and most people never find a job they are passionate about.

While each group is different, and they contribute varying levels of value to an organization, I am convinced of one thing - They can increase their performance and energy levels if they work in a culture that cultivates and develops them.


----There might be a fourth group of people who are just fascinated by their employer's career development opportunities in the workplace, but I haven't met anyone from this group yet...

Leadership Gap

In traditional industries such as banking, finance, and accounting there is a standard practice of promoting employees based on tenure and experience. This has worked over the last 50 years as there has been a steady supply of workers - and they have been willing to wait for these promotions. If companies want to be successful in the future, they will have to modify their approach. If not, a substantial leadership gap will begin to surface as more experienced workers retire.

Fewer young people entering these fields, and they are willing to leave their company if HR departments and managers continue to follow the same trend. Of course the economic slowdown might temporary restrict young professional attrition, but it will certainly come back in full force when the job market returns.

What are you doing to create an environment that clearly communicates career development opportunities to your young people?

My Generation Consulting

Throughout the last year of research and young professional discussions, it has become clear that many companies are not prepared for the generational change in the workplace. Ambiguous career development opportunities, limited personal development investment, and weak employment brands continue to saturate our organizations. However, companies that are taking deliberate steps to attract, develop, and retain young professionals are improving turnover rates, creating a talent pipeline, and they are intentionally shaping the next generation of their company.

I assert that there are two primary reasons companies aren't successful in their current practices.

(1) Responsibility hasn't been assigned. Employee development is often a Human Resources function, but this is typically focused on task-based training. Further, benefits costs, diversity, and ethics are usually higher priorities and any true personal development activities aren't addressed.

(2) Best practices aren't shared or sought after. There are plenty of successful companies that have developed an inspirational workplace not only for young people, but for an entire workforce. In my experience, I have suprisingly found that HR professionals and managers don't actively seek this information. Further, leaders in these companies are not proactively seeking insight from their own employees. I am fascinated by companies that hire talented people for specific roles, but they rarely poll them about workplace and workforce issues.

My Generation Consulting will work to bridge this gap by providing insight and strategies for successful young professional development from a valuable perspective - my generation.

Excuses

I recently had a meeting with my Director of Human Resources, and was very disappointed in the outcome. As a manager and young leader in the organization, I offered to develop a mentoring and cross-training program for our staff. Currently, our employee development solely focuses on task-based training, and doesn't include a speck of personal development.

The HR person finds value in the concept, and actually considered implementing a program several years ago. However, the excuse was that it has "never made its way to the priority list". Over the years, marketplace situations have occured that have resulted in aggressive hiring, or more recently - downsizing. As a result, HR is always in a reactive mode, and our employees are suffering.

Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to create an informal employee development group that meets every two weeks, and focuses on personal development. We are committed enough to the idea that we are meeting well before work hours, so we can strive to improve ourselves. We have already discussed our ability to positively impact morale, how to motivate others, and set long-term professional goals. This is basic material, but unfortunately we're having to take it upon ourselves to develop these skills.

I can't express how disappointing it is to see an organization spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on salaries, and not invest a fraction of that into their employees.

Employee Development in a Recession

A recent survey published in the Wall Street Journal indicated that 23% of companies have cut training programs, and another 18% planned to do so in the next year. However, during a recession, employees are less likely to jump ship because of the increased uncertainty in the job market. Therefore, I think the prudent thing to do is to continue to invest in employee and leadership development, as it will benefit the company's ability to navigate these challenging economic times. Further, it will equip your employees with better skills that will dramatically affect the way your company responds to market opportunities when the economy begins growing again.

I encourage you to carefully consider any cuts to employee development programs, and if you are a young professional - push for more opportunities to enhance your skill set. It will be worth it.

Investing in Your Talent

In today's economic environment, I find it frustrating that investment dollars are being taken away from employee development. In the public sector, cities, school districts, and others are eliminating education reimbursement and travel expenses to industry related seminars. Corporations are also reducing tuition reimbursement for employees who want to pursue their MBA's.

Clearly, there are some areas of a budget that should be reviewed for cost-cutting measures. However, education and employee development should not be considered expendable. I think in today's environment, these development opportunities are what will keep employees motivated and optimistic for future opportunities.

These actions reinforce a fundemental issue that while organization's preach that "our employees are our most important asset", not many of them actually have proof that they make significant investments in these assets.