18 May Mentoring – Key to Employee Development
Think back to when you started your most recent job. Were you essentially told: here’s your desk, here’s your phone, let us know if you have any questions? Fortunately, that is not as common as it used to be. Today, probably more so than ever before, agencies are much more focused on providing staff with a detailed onboarding process. I would have to believe that the success rate of new staff is also higher than in years past. One thing that could increase the success rate of these new staff (or even some of the intermediate staff) even more is a formal mentoring process.
During E&O Plus annual reviews, I regularly encounter veteran agents that preach virtually all the E&O loss prevention best practices. These agents are often producers. I am always highly impressed with this and will ask where and when they received this E&O education. Invariably, their response is, “when I was new to the business, a mentor was assigned to coach me and ensure I did the right thing. I was taught early on that there are no shortcuts in this business.” There are indeed no shortcuts in this business. This is something that more staff (especially the sales team) need to understand and embrace fully. I then advise that veteran producer that it is now time for them to mentor the next generation of staff. It is time for them to give back.
Several of the agencies I am honored to work with have a mentoring program focused on leadership development, which is a positive sign. In fact, in my research on this topic, I found that mentoring programs are one of the most effective tools for increasing and accelerating leadership development and that managerial productivity increased by 88 percent when mentoring was involved, versus only 24 percent with training alone.
With this level of success at the managerial level, is it realistic to think that the same positive results could occur with new agency staff, including new producers? Definitely. Some of the benefits noted on www.gqrgm.com are:
Creates a learning culture – By publicizing a workplace mentoring program internally, you are creating a company culture that values learning and development. Employees know their future is being invested in if they’re paired with a mentor who can help guide their career development.
Promotes personal and professional development – By pairing employees with a mentor who is tasked with guiding employees, you create a safe place for employees to learn.
Reduces cost of learning – Coaching/mentoring was rated the most effective method of learning. And its cost is minimal.
Decreases stress and anxiety – A workplace mentor is someone they could always turn to for guidance no matter what the issue. Knowing a mentor is always there to lend an ear can put an employee at ease.
Other benefits noted an increase in job satisfaction and reduced turnover. Also, when someone has been mentored in their early development, it is more likely they will become the mentor for a future new staff member.
There are a wide variety of mentoring resources available online or through human resources associations.
Your agency’s future E&O culture is going to be heavily influenced by the degree to which your newer staff are trained and coached. Including mentoring in this process should enhance that success even further.