Yes, we are on a roll with this topic because it is on everyone’s minds and the subject comes up in pretty much every conversation I have with providers. As a huge fan of “retention”, I have read pretty much everything published on the subject and one thing continues to ring loud and clear. How we connect with our staff AFTER they are onboarded is more important than anything we can offer them during the “dating” period.

There was an interesting article published in Forbes regarding the importance of mentoring programs. Mentorship is a dynamic relationship where a more experienced employee provides guidance, support and knowledge to a less experienced employee. This relationship is built on mutual respect, trust, and open communication. Forbes identifies six (6) benefits to mentoring including:

1. Boost employee engagement and productivity – you can’t replace 1:1 support.
2. Improves employee retention – yay!!!
3. Builds a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration – statistics show that employees who had a “mentor” were five times more likely to be promoted.
4. Develops high-performing employees and a leadership pipeline.
5. Build a healthy work environment – a Workplace Happiness Survey found that nine of 10 employees with a career mentor “feel happy at work”.
6. Increase company profitability – 70% of businesses reported an increase in productivity due to mentoring.

A few things to consider. The most important thing is to remember a mentoring program is NOT a one-and-done exercise. You need to carefully plan, monitor, and measure its impact. Already have a mentoring program? Maybe it is time to evaluate it, tweak it if needed? Here are a few suggestions for implementing a mentorship program:

1. Outline a goal – this is needed to bring mentors and mentees together to achieve the impact you want.
2. Get buy-in from company leaders – this is a must have, period.
3. Use technology to implement your mentoring program – there are mentoring software programs that automate the “match-up” process to assist in pairing employees successfully.

Is this a lot of work? Maybe, but if it was easy everyone would be doing it! You could be the difference maker, the “employer of choice”, the employer who is celebrating employee years of service versus being caught in the recruitment hamster wheel! Look at the resources included above, you’ve got this! Stay well and stay informed!