While mentoring programs are an
effective way to help employees
get up to speed, it is an uncommon practice for companies to match new hires
with mentors — either formally or informally — according to a recent survey conducted by Accountemps, the world’s first
and largest specialized staffing service for
temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. The survey, which
was conducted by an independent
research firm, included responses from
more than 1,400 chief financial offices from
a random sample of U.S. companies with
20 or more employees.
“New hires are often left to take it upon
themselves to find someone to help them
up the career ladder,” says Lisa Morgan, an
Akron branch manager with Accountemps.
Morgan noted that 58 percent of those surveyed said that mentorship programs were
not common in their companies.
Smart Business spoke with Morgan
about her own valuable experience as a
mentor and mentoree, and the importance
of establishing formal mentorship programs in a company.
Why are mentorship programs uncommon
among the U.S. companies that were surveyed?
I don’t think that companies are completely unaware of the benefits of mentor-ship programs, but I believe that the major
roadblock is time. Typically, the best mentors in an organization are also, not surprisingly, top producers or model employees. Their supervisors may not want these
employees to take time away from their
normal day-to-day business activities in
order to mentor a new employee.
That said, I believe that mentoring is really a valuable way to transfer the wisdom of
these individuals to the next generation; it
is also a great way to get new hires integrated quicker into the culture of an organization. And a confidant mentor is invaluable for explaining the nuances — and the
unspoken rules — of a company and its
expectations to a newcomer.
Could you explain, from your experience, the
benefits of being a mentor and a mentoree?
From the mentoree perspective, it helps
new hires learn more about how they can
fit into the organization and see the bigger
picture. It also helps to have a mentor who
is not a direct supervisor because the newcomer can talk to the mentor more freely
about any concerns or challenges without
holding back or feeling like comments may
have an negative impact on his or her
career. An added benefit is that when the
formal mentor program is over, often the
mentor/mentoree relationship continues.
In my case, I still contacted my mentor for
advice even after the formal 12 week program was over.
It is also beneficial for those doing the
mentoring as well. From my personal perspective, it certainly was an honor to be
asked to be a mentor. And it turned out to
be a rewarding experience to help someone who was struggling with some of the
same things I struggled with when I was a
new hire. There is also pride when the people you mentored get promoted — and
become mentors themselves.
What are some steps that a company can
take to start a mentoring program?
The most important thing is to talk to
employees at all levels, from veterans to
the newly hired, to get input on how they
would see a mentoring program and how it
ought to be structured. The mentoring program will look different for every business,
and even vary from department to department within one business because needs
are different.
Once information is gathered from
employees, you need to clearly define the
parameters of the program. Some questions to ask include: How long does the
program need to be? What are the top
three goals — for both the employee and
the company? When do you want employees to start a mentoring program (ideally, it
should be when the employee has settled
into the job for several months)? And how
long should each mentoring session take
(for example, one hour once a week)?
Without these parameters a mentoring
program can easily become just two people talking with nothing to gauge whether
it is effective and what it needs to accomplish.
What should employees do if there is no
mentoring program available at their work
place?
The next best thing is to join professional
organizations, which is a great way to align
yourself with individuals in your field who
are serious about a profession. Employees
can also take it upon themselves to do their
own internal networking; this can include
trying to find an informal mentor by picking out key employees and aligning themselves with them (asking them out to
lunch, asking their advice, etc.).
LISA MORGAN is a branch manager with the Accountemps
office in Akron, Ohio. Accountemps has more than 350 offices
throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region,
and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com.
Reach Morgan at (330) 253-8367 or [email protected].
