Jul 22'

How a Mentorship Program Can Improve Workplace Culture

Employees show high engagement in their roles when they feel that their individual interests and needs align with the organization they work for. As employers, we want to ensure that our employees remain engaged and nowadays a good salary doesn't cut it. Companies need to start thinking about other benefits and incentives they can offer their employees to increase engagement and reduce turnover. One way to accomplish this is by implementing a workplace mentorship program. Such programs provide the opportunity for employees to connect with highly accomplished professionals. Mentorship programs can act as incentives programs for employees because workers gain invaluable insight from their mentors, and ultimately can boost employee engagement in their roles.

In this post, we will share the benefits of workplace mentorship programs and how to implement one in your organization.

Benefits of Workplace Mentorship Programs

There are many benefits associated with workplace mentorship programs, including increases in career development, workplace productivity, retention rates, and employee satisfaction.

Increases Career Development

A mentorship program can increase career development because it allows employees to hone their skills. The mentors that employees receive are well-trained in their field. By working with a mentor, either one-on-one or in groups, employees can learn new techniques, gain industry-relevant information, and understand how to work more efficiently and effectively. In a Forbes article, it states that employees who participated in mentorship programs were five times more likely to be promoted compared to those who did not participate in a mentorship program. This is one reason why mentorship programs can act as incentives programs for employees because it offers career advancement.

Boosts Productivity

You can boost productivity in your establishment by investing in a mentorship program. Since mentors help employees better their skills, they are motivated to work harder and more adeptly, thereby increasing productivity in the workplace. According to research by the National Mentoring Day Summit, 67% of businesses witness a rise in productivity due to mentoring. Also, a Gartner study estimated that the minimum return on investment (ROI) for a workplace mentoring program is 600 percent of the program's cost.

Improves Retention Rates

Mentorship programs can increase retention rates. Employees often feel that their employers care about their personal and professional development when they see them implement a mentorship program. Employees who believe their employers value them are less likely to leave their jobs voluntarily. Based on a case study at Sun Microsystems, retention rates were significantly higher for mentees (72%) compared to employees who did not participate in a mentorship program (49%).

Ameliorates Employee Satisfaction

Mentoring can improve employee satisfaction rates. According to a CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workplace Happiness Survey, 91% of workers with a mentor are satisfied with their jobs, and 57% of these workers reported they were "very satisfied" with their jobs. Further proof that mentorship programs can act as incentive programs for employees. The positive correlation between mentoring and employee satisfaction may be a result of mentors guiding employees on things that are beneficial to them, such as how to stand out at work and create a successful career.

How To Implement a Mentorship Program

You can implement a mentorship program in your organization by following these tips:

1. Create a mentorship program application
2. Get internal or external mentors
3. Gather feedback from mentors and mentees
4. Evaluate your program's efficacy

1. Develop a Mentorship Program Application

The first step is to create a mentorship program application. By doing this, you are able to send it out to your entire organization and give everybody the opportunity to participate. Oftentimes there is a limit to the number of employees a company is able to accommodate, so the way we do it here at Bucketlist is we run our mentorship program quarterly and accept 15 new employees each quarter. This allows us to offer the program to all employees, while still providing excellent mentors.

2. Acquire Internal or External Mentors

There are many ways that you can source mentors. Two popular options is internal mentors who work in your organization, and external mentors who do not. At Bucketlist, we have awesome mentors internally with years of industry knowledge and experience, and we also have external mentors. This is where you should really leverage your company wide connections to find external mentors. For example, we found a few of our external mentors from our internal mentors connections. Additionally, you can source mentors based on specific experience or knowledge you are looking for, whether thats industry related or field related.

3. Collect Feedback from Mentors and Mentees

Optimize your mentorship program by getting mentor and mentee feedback. Collecting feedback will help you pinpoint the pros and cons of your program. Your program's mentors may reveal that they need more time to meet with their mentees. Your program's mentees may claim their mentors were not a good fit. Use the information you get from mentor and mentee feedback to identify and address how you can continue to improve your program. Along with this, you can include survey questions regarding the efficacy of your program. Ask employees if they feel the program helps with their productivity or if it increases their satisfaction in their roles. Such data can help determine whether your program is fortifying your company and its workers.

Curious to learn about other strategies to help improve employee engagement and workplace culture? Contact us for a free product demo with one of our friendly Culture Evangelists to learn how Bucketlist’s employee reward and recognition software can help keep your team happy and engaged.