Mentoring: a cost-effective retention tool.

If it's true that you "win with people," there may be nothing more cost-effective in attracting and retaining top talent than mentoring.

A recent report in Business Finance suggests that 77 percent of companies that sponsor or support mentoring programs credit mentoring with increased

With that kind of positive impact, perhaps it's time to put a mentoring program to work, or dust off the program that's been up on the shelf.

What It Is

Though it's just as commonly applied in social, educational and interpersonal environments, mentoring in the business world is typically a professional development exercise. In most cases it brings together colleagues with different levels of experience within a company, industry or specialty to work together to improve their job performance and prospects for advancement by asking and answering questions, seeking and offering advice, and sharing their experiences.

Mentoring is primarily a one-on-one initiative, though it can just as easily be enacted in groups. The typical relationship involves a mentor, who's an experienced member of the organization, and a mentee, who's an associate with more to learn. The role of the mentor is to help the mentee set professional development goals and develop the skills needed to reach them. The role of the mentee is to drive the relationship, learn as much as possible, and act on the counsel the mentor provides.

Why Mentoring

Employee retention may be the biggest reason, but it's just one of many why mentoring programs make businesses better, according to psychologist Linda Phillip-Jones, Ph.D., a principal in the mentoring service firm The Mentoring Group and a widely published author on the subject.

"We've found that in well-executed mentoring initiatives, mentees learn faster, adapt to their jobs and work environments better, develop self-confidence, and are more productive and satisfied with their jobs," she said.

Mentees aren't the only ones who benefit.

"Mentors learn, too," Phillips-Jones said. "It validates their career learning and accomplishments, allows them to pass along their intellectual capital, and provides them the fulfillment that comes from giving something back to their organization and their profession."

The business gets a boost as well.

"Mentoring initiatives make organizations more attractive from a recruiting standpoint," she said. "They also reduce the cost and time of training and are a great way to perpetuate company culture."

Program Types

There are both formal and informal approaches to mentoring. According to Phillips-Jones, an informal mentor provides coaching, listening, advice, sounding board reactions, or other help in an unstructured, casual manner. A formal mentor agrees to an ongoing, planned partnership that focuses on helping the mentee reach specific goals over a designated period.

The arrangement that works best for the individual and the organization will depend on the goals and the participants.

Among the diversity of informal mentoring programs offered by leading national professional associations is the American Inns of Court program. Founded in 1980, the program is designed to provide continuing legal education for attorneys of all experience levels as well as a valuable networking and professional development resource for young lawyers. It could lend itself well to other professions such as accounting.

Local Inns decide on a legal issue of interest to examine during their September-through-May program year and then meet monthly to socialize, network and discuss a specific aspect of the issue. Each Inn is then divided into teams and each team is assigned one aspect of the issue to present. A team is comprised of attorneys with varying degrees of professional experience--from law students and young associates to senior attorneys, judges and magistrates. The process of researching, reasoning and presenting the issue is both a personal and professional learning experience for all involved.

"Preparing each program allows the younger attorneys to work with our senior members, learn research skills, examine the legal process, receive useful insights and feedback, and gain valuable stand-up experience in making their case," said Columbus, Ohio, attorney and Franklin County American Inn of Court President Belinda Barnes. "Equally important is the invaluable time they spend meeting, talking with and receiving advice from our older members."

Ohio-based Nationwide believes so strongly in formal mentoring that it makes a mentoring guide available on its human resources Web site, sponsors an employee leadership program, and conducts independent mentoring initiatives within several of its business units.

According to Kim Lux, a senior human resources consultant with Nationwide, 500 high-achieving employees per year are selected to take part in the leadership program. They are assigned mentors at the start of the program and become mentors when they complete it. The company's systems area pairs everyone with a mentor to help them integrate as well as improve technical savvy and job skills. The financial services business unit has its own mentoring Intranet where interested mentees can search for and connect with potential mentors--a program Nationwide is considering taking company-wide.

"We see a great deal of value in mentoring," said Lux. "It contributes to organizational learning, skill building and job performance. And the value goes both ways. Our mentors gain as much from the experience as our mentees."

Getting Started

Mentoring initiatives may seem simple, but they take quality planning, persistent execution and meaningful evaluation to produce the kind of results the organization will appreciate. Dr. Phillips-Jones offers some suggestions for creating a program that delivers for all involved:

* Start small. Try a pilot effort with good targets like new hires or budding leaders.

* Plan ahead. Take at least six months to plan and get senior-level "buy in."

* Link the program to the organization's goals. Mentoring efforts that aren't linked to the mission of the organization are less likely to succeed.

* Don't let one person do everything. Create a task force that's excited about mentoring.

* Don't re-invent the wheel. Find good design and training materials.

* Be structured. Have roles, processes, objectives and activities.

* Evaluate everything. Get baseline data before beginning and measure change over the course of the program.

Being A Mentor

Being a mentor is more than a time commitment. It's a personal commitment to facilitate the growth and professional development of a mentee.

Gordon F. Shea, author of Mentoring: A Practical Guide, offers these ideas for what good mentors should do for their mentees:

* Set high expectations for performance.

* Offer challenging ideas.

* Provide growth experiences.

* Encourage professional, winning behavior.

* Confront negative behaviors and attitudes.

* Explain how the organization works.

* Share critical knowledge.

* Teach by example.

* Provide encouragement and inspiration.

* Listen.

"Ask 50 people who had great mentors what attribute they found most crucial and 49 will probably mention their mentors' listening," says author Chip Bell in his book, Managers As Mentors. "Effective mentors are like friends in that their goal is to create a safe context for growth."

Finding a Mentor

Finding a quality mentor doesn't have to be difficult. It's a matter of identifying someone in the organization or industry who sincerely wants to be a mentor, clearly understands the needs and interests of the mentee, and can dedicate one or two hours a month to his or her development.

"Core things to look for are someone who is well respected by peers, has strong interpersonal communication skills, and is willing to give you tough feedback," said Lynn Sontag, CEO of mentoring program development firm MENTTIUM. "Make sure they want to do it and have the time. It's not about immediate chemistry, it's about learning and growing and being comfortable. The key question to ask yourself is, 'Can this individual help me?'"

"Make it easy for someone to help you," Phillip-Jones advises. "Know what it is you want and be specific when you make your request. Take responsibility for your development, have realistic expectations and be sure to offer assistance and express your appreciation for any help you receive."

One person may not be able to provide all the help needed, so consider several individuals who each can play a part in mentoring. "Those who get the most out of mentoring relationships are often those who develop relationships with multiple people," said Phillips-Jones.

Ensuring Success

Ultimately a mentoring program's success depends on partnership. It needs to meet the needs of all involved in order to succeed. And though mentees may be the junior members of the partnership, Phillips-Jones says the success of the relationship lies ultimately in their hands.

"Mentees have the most to gain, so it's right that they bear the most responsibility in the relationship," she said. "They need to initiate the relationship, negotiate the arrangements, set the goals, do the work, monitor their progress, and end the mentoring aspect of the relationship when the time is right."

And, lest we forget, the biggest player in the mentoring partnership--the organization--needs to see some benefit as well. Retention and performance improvements will meet that need.

RESOURCES

Chip R. Bell

Managers As Mentors

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996

Gordon F. Shea

Mentoring: A Practical Guide

Crisp Publications, 1992

Kathryn Tyler

Find Your Mentor

HR Magazine, March 2004

Scott Reisz is president of Forthwrite Communications, a Columbus-based communications consulting and commercial writing firm. He can be reached at at forthwrite@columbus.rr.com or 614.486.8903.

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