Why Do We Need Mentoring?

This is a question I am often asked while talking with professionals about the importance of Mentoring in

organizations. So I decided to write about it, in the backdrop of a few transformations that we are witnessing

around us.

Millennials (persons born between early 1980s to early 2000s) have become a majority of the workforce. Yet

organizations have a difficult time hiring members of the youngest professional generation. In a survey

commissioned by Elance oDesk, the world’s largest online workplace, 53% of the Hiring Managers said, it’s

difficult to find and retain the Millennials in their organizations.

Since Millennials were raised by their parents with a lot of praise and recognition, they have a lot of

confidence, which some call it as entitlement. They want to step into the leadership roles right away. For

these people to assume leadership roles and do well, they need to understand what are the challenges of

leadership and what it takes to demonstrate leadership in tough times. Mentoring can be a great tool to

develop their leadership competencies wherein senior people in the organization share their insights into

leadership with the Millennials.

The survey by Elance oDesk also revealed that Millennials appreciate good Mentoring at the workplace, over

money. Hence, a culture of Mentoring will go a long way in keeping them engaged at the workplace and retain

them in the organization.

Of late, a few organizations have started doing away with the Bell Curve or the Annual Appraisal Process for

multiple reasons. It is expected that Managers will engage with their team members on a more regular basis

as a result of this change. It has been observed that Millennials prefer coaching over supervising and this shift

from the Annual Appraisal Process can make that cultural change happen.

Mentoring can be a strong catalyst to this cultural change. Mentoring can create an environment of sharing

knowledge and skills with people who need them the most and can foster a more collaborative culture in the

workplace.

NxtSpark’s Mentoring System allows Mentor-Mentee matching through skill-based criteria. The system allows

a structured approach to Mentoring in terms of creating goals and related activities, scheduling sessions and

draw from a mutually curated library of resources. The Management and the HR Team can view a dashboard

with all relevant metrics to monitor the health of the Mentoring Program and take necessary course

correction if required.

Organizations like Cisco, Intel, Sun Microsystems and DHL have seen outstanding results with Mentoring

Programs in terms of higher engagement, increased retention and faster growth of both the Mentors and the

Mentees. It’s time organizations embrace Mentoring in order to stay ahead and stay relevant.