Every business has the opportunity to run ‘in house’ mentoring programs, big, medium or small and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
You don’t actually need lots of ‘in house’ senior staff to do this. Utilising network connections, people who you have admiration for, will no doubt create a better mentoring program with varied input and a wide variety of expertise.
Inviting contemporaries to be part of your innovation will put you in the limelight as a real leader in your community.
Most companies don’t do this because it’s outside their usual sphere of activity and because there is a common misconception that mentoring is for graduates to connect them with more experienced staff who have the same type of degree and can guide their future choices within the company. The problem with this is not every business is based around university degrees and in most cases don’t have the same number of senior staff as they do junior staff and even more to the point, most company owners don’t understand the value of improving their business through the sharing of knowledge this way.
Creating mentoring connections based on common interest is far more useful than basing it on hierarchy within the company.
Allowing external influences into the mix gives you greater opportunity.
Great mentoring programs create so much more than one dimensional relationships. I want to share with you the three actions that will make your Mentoring program so valuable and the tools to make it so.
- Networking
While I am a massive advocate of one on one mentoring, using these relationship pairs as part of a bigger learning experience will turn your program into a networking group where you mentors and mentorees will have opportunity to explore each others knowledge. Invite each member of your group to be guest speaker at program meetings including the mentorees as the experience is invaluable in confidence building. Creating uplifting interaction will create a buzz.
2. Regular contact that leaves them wanting more…
Sharing experience and creating friendships will ensure people feel included. Create a way for them to have more regular contact (not necessarily face to face) such as a Facebook group where they can share information on events or wins that they have, or more importantly ask questions in a forum where everyone can see the answers.
3. Training
Bring in external trainers to provide extra value. There are a host of topics that will be interesting to your mentoring group. Give the group so much value that they can only rave about it. Investing in mentorees futures will ensure growth and adding relevant beads of knowledge will create future leaders and isn’t that what mentoring is all about.
Running a mentoring program is not a lot of work for a whole lot of reward. Yes, there will be some financial investment into creating the program, but when it’s done right, the benefits are enormous.
Give of yourself to gain complete loyalty.
If you are interested in creating a mentoring program for your business, please contact me via email fiona@barefootmentor.com.au I would be more than happy to share my knowledge with you.
Share to be inspired, be inspired to share.
