How to Build a Successful Employee Mentoring Program

By: Laura Mohammad
January 20th, 2012

According to Manpower Group’s 2011 Talent Shortage Survey, 52 percent of U.S. employers are having difficulty filling key posts within their operations. This figure represents a 14 percent increase from the previous year, and does not bode well for the futures of these businesses.

If it is increasingly difficult to attract and keep employees in critical positions, it stands to reason that professional development for existing employees would be a wise investment. One way to do this is to develop a mentoring program within your organization.

To create a successful program, you must first establish structured connections between managers and their employees. There must be consistent communication about improvement, regardless of how hectic the work environment gets. With a schedule in place for regular mentoring sessions, managers can have the greatest impact on their staff by rewarding, recognizing and critiquing their work.

When providing feedback, however, mentors must be prepared to say more than the standard “good job”. Employees who are truly interested in growth will appreciate an honest critique, which includes both constructive criticism and positive feedback with specific examples to support them.

Another way to boost your program’s chances of success is to make participation voluntary. “Unless [your employees] want to give or take the counsel, it’s not going to work,” says Mike Ryan, senior vice president of marketing and strategy at New York-based Madison Performance Group.

Ryan also suggests that mentors do not necessarily have to be managers. They can be co-workers, or even younger employees with unique skill sets and experience. “The mentoring philosophy can be reversed. You have people who are not as comfortable with new technology. The younger employee can mentor the older employee,” he says.

The final consideration when creating a mentoring program is recognition. Whether formal or informal, it is the key to success, Ryan says. “More people are working away from the office; they are being pulled into a variety of different projects and working with a variety of leaders,” he says. The opportunity for team leaders to be mentors is something that a solid recognition program can aid.

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