Mentoring

Mentoring and Succession Planning in the Workplace

Mentoring & Succession Planning in the Workplace

Linda is aspiring to attain her career goal as a business manager. To progress her career, she will need to focus her efforts and improve her work performance. She knows that the career journey will bring challenges and issues to confront. Linda is committed to the industry and her chosen career and is keen to progress quickly

Craig is planning his retirement next year. To ensure a seamless transition for his retirement and for the organisation succession, he will support Linda to pass on his valuable knowledge and insight. He is supported by the organisation to retain the organisational wisdom, engage and develop Linda’s talent and career.

Research by National Seniors on the ‘baby boomer’ generation, states that almost 5.6 million Australians born between 1946 and 1965, are now aged in their 50s and 60s – over 800 baby boomers are turning 50 each day. As they grow older, they are leaving the paid workforce to take up their next stage of life – retirement.

As experienced workers leave their jobs and take their valuable knowledge and skills that have been built up over extensive employment, a gap will occur in the workforce. This has a profound bearing on the workforce, with fewer working people with the necessary skills, and the continuity of organisational wisdom and competence being threatened.

As organisations address workforce challenges such as: enabling succession plans, increasing employee retention, career and leadership development, organisational mentoring and development programs enable senior staff to transfer their knowledge and skills to less experienced employees.

Vital knowledge and organisational wisdom are retained and distributed to staff at all levels of the organisation.

Organisations are realising the benefits of aligning individual career goals with organisational goals to create a more productive organisation that continuously transforms itself to the needs of its staff and external events and challenges.

For individuals, mentoring offers support, knowledge and guidance during their career journey to enable them to develop their professional practice and attain their career goals. The learning curve to learn the knowledge and practice is shortened.

The mentoring relationship is not a modern fad. Historically, individuals learned through older members who passed their knowledge and insight whilst in the workplace. Patiently, the mentor provided the time and energy to serve as the teacher and overseer of the mentee

Modern mentorship programs transfer business knowledge and skills. Employees engage with each other and a pipeline of future leaders who understand the skills and attitudes required to succeed within the company are developed.

An organisational mentoring culture is a valuable human resource tool for workforce planning and development, for spreading knowledge and best practices throughout the organisation. The benefits of a mentoring culture can be seen with a Plus, Minus, and Equal model.

  • PLUS – Mentoring develops individuals by those who have already ‘been there and done that.’ A mentor offers their knowledge and experience and offers advice to guide and support the individual during their professional career journey. As individuals develop, knowledge, skills and valuable organisational and industry wisdom are retained, rather than lost, as experienced staff leave.
  • EQUAL – As peers share their experiences and challenges, there is recognition that staff at all levels of the organisation have valuable knowledge and experience to share with others. The qualities of a learning organisation facilitate the engagement and learning of its staff. The accumulation of learning builds higher levels of business performance that enables the organisation to continuously transforms itself.
  • MINUS – We can gain fresh perspectives from younger individuals. Reverse mentoring occurs when a more experienced employee partners with a younger, less experienced individual. It distinguishes from traditional mentoring because the new employee becomes the mentor who provides senior members of the organisation with up-to-date information on the latest business technologies, technical skills and workplace trends. This makes sense as the so-called digital natives, the dot-com kids are the most technologically literate generation of children.

Increasingly, organisations are creating formal mentoring programs to ensure that it has the right people, with the right skills, at the right time – now and in the future.

Encouraging an organisational mentoring and development program will engage and inspire individuals at all levels of an organisation to attain higher level thinking and performance for their career development and will recognise the Mentor’s expertise and leadership skills.

Linda and Craig are committed to their mentoring relationship. They have collaboratively established clear and realistic goals. They have developed an action plan to focus their efforts in a consistent direction. They are motivated and excited to their commitment to progress and develop. Craig is looking forward to the opportunity to ‘give back’ to his organisation to ensure that his organisational wisdom is retained, so that he can retire with an organisational succession plan in place.

two men looking at a laptop

Category: Mentoring

Mentoring in the Workplace – What are the Benefits for your Career Development?

Fiona is completing her university studies and is seeking a career as a social worker. She needs encouragement to enter the industry, with a reality check of what she can expect once she is working. She recognises the challenges and the professional responsibilities ahead. With the support of a mentor, a trusted counsellor or guide, who will share their knowledge, expertise and experience, it will enable Fiona to develop her abilities, and grow in the job role.

Who is a mentor?

A mentor is an experienced role model and trusted advisor who offers their knowledge and experience and provides advice to guide and support the mentee during their professional career journey. The goal of mentoring is to assist the mentee to improve themselves through skill and professional development to advance their career. Effective mentoring focuses on the needs of the mentee.

A mentor can be from the same industry, an employee from the organisation, or an industry network group. Importantly, the mentor will require personal attributes that facilitate the relationship and be well matched to the mentee’s needs and personality type.

How can Mentors Benefit Career Development?

The mentoring relationship is built on mutual trust, respect and communication to empower the mentee to progress within their role and set goals for professional development.

The mentoring relationship is built on mutual trust, respect and communication to empower the mentee to progress within their role and set goals for professional development. The mentoring journey commences by establishing goals – both long and short-term goals that the mentee sets for him or herself.

The long-term goal is the larger goal such as: attaining a job and successfully transitioning into the organisation or obtaining a promotion. Short-term goals are a series of milestones that form a step-by step approach to attain the long-term goal..

The mentoring process provides support for the mentee’s development that includes:

  • examining professional issues that impact on the mentee
  • obtaining exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking
  • advising on developing strengths and overcoming weaknesses
  • guiding professional development and career advancement
  • developing new skills and knowledge
  • obtaining recognition within the organisation

Mentoring is a fundamental process of human development. The benefits of mentoring are recognised for all parties: the mentee, the mentor, and the organisation.

Career Coaching and Training have developed an online Mentoring and Development course to support professional practice and high-level performance. The course consists of a core program, and two optional modules to address specific situations.

How can mentoring make a difference?

A mentee may be an INEXPERIENCED individual who is seeking to enter the industry, or EXPERIENCED seeking support to attain a promotion, or to identify their next step. A mentor provides valuable advice and encourages new perspectives, addresses workplace challenges to assist mentees to attain career goals, improve their professional practice with new knowledge and skills, and respond to industry challenges. The mentoring process identifies emerging talent and encourages continuous improvement through the ongoing relationship with the mentor.

Benefits to the mentee

  • Gain insight and valuable advice to get ahead – The mentor is a sounding board who ‘has been there and done that.’ They guide you to overcome challenges and move forward in your career.
  • Attain new perspectives – Through communication about issues and questions, you learn new ways of thinking to broaden your thinking and practice.
  • Develop knowledge and skills – during the mentoring process to progress your career. Where a skills gap exists, a mentee may be advised about studying a recommended training program.
  • Improve communication skills – Develop and tailor communication to address a range of audiences.
  • Build your network – A mentor can assist you to expand your network of professional contacts.
  • Advance your career – A mentor will support you to attain professional goals and overcome obstacles to advance your career.

Benefits to the mentor

Becoming a mentor offers the opportunity to develop professional qualities. These include:

  • Gain professional recognition, build leadership skills and selfworth. Your professional standing is validated as you supervise the mentee’s development and career progress. As a mentor, you share knowledge and address personal issues that a mentee experience
  • Advance your career as you communicate, coach and motivate a mentee. It will signal to the industry and organisation your role in ‘giving back’ to the industry, organisation and mentee. This is a powerful message and important in the business world.
  • Improve your communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Gain new perspectives by listening to the points of view of a mentee as they share their experience and background.
  • Gain fulfilment and satisfaction to assist a mentee’s growth and development. As you encourage, support and empower a mentee’s success – it is personally and professionally rewarding.

Benefits to the organisation

  • Provides a powerful message that the organisation values and is willing to invest in its members/employees.
  • Develop an organisational culture of learning that promotes growth, co-operation amongst staff, high morale, and career development. A mentoring program builds a positive learning community.
  • Encourage commitment and loyalty to the industry/organisation as it promotes engagement, retention to reduce turnover rates, and performance. It enables faster induction of new staff that overcomes and minimises early problems that individuals may face.
  • Promote desired company behaviours and attitudes that are shared throughout the organisation, creating consistency and professionalism.

Category: Careers, Mentoring