Benefits of Mentorship
One of the best ways to improve leadership in the workplace is through mentorship. Employees are not the only ones who are learning, but also leaders through the experience and advice they receive from colleagues.
Most of the time, employees get promoted as leaders allow better retention rates. In fact, according to a report, employees that are given the opportunity for promotion and internal advancements are 41% more likely to stay with the organization. And one great way to prepare them is to teach them how to be responsible by mentorship.
Definition of a mentor
Having a mentor helps you grow in terms of your skills, making better decisions, and gaining other essential insights on your life and career. Career mentors share their knowledge and expertise with you to help you set goals, solve problems, and make good choices. They as your advisor and provide you with a more experienced perspective.
Some basic lessons that you can learn from them are some interview tips and how to adjust to different kinds of work setups, such as hybrid work arrangements.
What is mentorship?
Mentorship in the workplace means collaborating with other employees to help you learn and progress. It improves employee retention, promotes professional and personal development, and even creates a happy workplace. Having a great mentorship at work means providing assistance throughout the process.
Importance of Mentorship in Leadership
Organizations with a strong presence of mentorship tend to stand out from other companies. But besides that, there are numerous other benefits that mentorship can offer. Here are some:
1. Encourages continuous learning
Mentorship provides an opportunity for you and your mentor to learn and grow. You can constantly learn new skills, gain new knowledge, and have new experiences from your mentor. On the other hand, mentors are able to gain valuable insights from you that can help them with their decision making and responsibilities as a leader of a team or an organization.
2. Creates great business results
In mentorship, it does not only benefit you or the other employees, but most importantly, the company. It helps attract candidates and encourages current employees to stay loyal to the company. Based on research, 87% of millennials rate professional career growth and developmental opportunities as part of the most important factor in choosing a job. This means that mentorship improves job satisfaction and retention rates.
Moreover, a study shows that 91% of individuals who have a mentor are satisfied with their job. Their needs for formal development are being met through training and coaching.
3. Strengthens soft skills
Mentoring encourages mentors to empathize with you and the other employees since it usually requires putting themselves into their mentees’ shoes. This teaches the mentors how to be compassionate and open-minded with every situation. These soft skills will help in building the employees’ trust.
4. Increases job proficiency
Another benefit that mentoring offers is that it helps mentees get better at their jobs. Employees are able to do their tasks efficiently with the guidance of their managers and leaders. They are more focused, and less time is allotted to worrying if they are doing things right. This is not only helpful to the employees, but more to the company.
5. Builds strong relationships
Mentorship is a great way to build relationships at work. Both mentors and the other employees can get matched up to people they otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to at the company. For instance, you can get paired up to someone you barely talked to. This is the chance for you to reach out and get to know them more. You get to meet different types of people, get to know their background, personalities, and even interests.
6. Promotes credibility
Being a mentor means sharing your knowledge and skills to help your colleague. Which means that it can boost the mentor’s credibility since it shows his or her confidence, abilities, and willingness to lead others.
7. Creates better leaders
The practice of mentoring produces and shapes great leaders. It allows current leaders to be more effective in their own jobs. It teaches them how to interact with their team members, how to properly lead, and how to empathize with their colleagues. Being a mentor demonstrates your dedication to the company’s growth. In addition, it also helps in keeping mentors updated about what fresh talent in your line of profession is learning and where the industry is headed.
How to effectively build a mentorship program
1. Define the goal of the mentorship
A good mentorship program must be aligned with the company’s goals. Usually, senior leaders are paired with more junior ones to support and help them grow within the company. This can further increase promotion rates.
2. Pair the right people
This is the most exciting part when building a mentorship program. You need to identify th egood qualities that the mentors have and pair them with the mentees with the same personality or interest. Both should have the drive to succeed, show initiative, and communicates effectively in order for the mentorship to be mutually beneficial.
3. Support both mentors and mentees
To build a successful mentoring relationship it is important to also focus on each individual’s goals. Know what they want to learn, what they want to share, and what they want to gain at the end of the program. Encourage them to talk to their partner so that they can work on the things they want to achieve.
Mentorship has a long list of advantages to the organization, mentors, and mentees. It has been proven to be a great way of strengthening relationships at work, improving retention rates, increasing job satisfaction, and achieving company goals. It is a critical component of business success today because it creates great people and promotes partnership.
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In Support Services Group, we encourage leadership and partnership. We ensure that all employees are given the guidance and assistance they need in order for them to expand their career. We value our mentors that continuously train and teach our employees new skills to reach their full potential.
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