What is mentoring?
Across the country, senior managers are influencing young talent by being matched up with junior staffers interested in the opportunity to understand the corporate culture.
The mentor and mentee relationship is one of mutual benefit. The mentor gains the satisfaction of helping develop the talent and mentees get access to "someone who has been there" as knowledge and experience is shared from one generation to another. This knowledge sharing is important today as Baby Boomers exit the company for retirement.
Companies are hot on the practice these days, believing it encourages loyalty, diversity, and cohesion. Fully half of the 500 biggest businesses in the U.S. now offer mentoring, up from about 10% five years ago, according to Menttium Corp., which sets up such programs for corporations.
Mentoring takes on many forms. Mentoring can be a one-shot intervention or a lifelong relationship. It can be carried out informally, as relationships develop on their own, or formally as part of a highly structured program. One of the most common problems, especially with formal programs, is simply that the mentor and mentee are incompatible. Even the best intentions and most thorough questionnaires can't always identify what might really irritate you about the other person. Many companies have discovered that it is best for the mentee to choose his or her mentor rather than having the company do the matching.
Mentoring programs can be very helpful in achieving corporate objectives:
* Retaining highly qualified employees
* Used as a recruitment tool and getting new staffers up-to-speed
* Provide guidance on work-life balance, navigating company culture, handling conflict resolution and learning specific skills
Sources: BusinessWeek, January 29, 2007, www.MENTORINGandCOACHING.com
