Introduction of Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

            The article selected is “Improve Workplace Culture With A Strong Mentoring Program”. This was published in Forbes on 23rd- Jan- 2019. The article as the title suggest talks about the benefits that mentoring programs bring for both the employer and the employee. Mentoring programs are where the mentors have some skills and the employees require gaining those skills as well so they initiate such mentoring programs. The article is based on the fact that only extrinsic needs are not enough for the employees; if an organization wants its employees to be truly satisfied then they have to meet their intrinsic needs as well. These intrinsic needs can be met if the employees feel that the job is also helping him in his personal development. The Harvard school of public health has declared January as the national month of mentoring. Mentoring programs have become too common now. According to a research around 70% of big companies have such mentoring programs however the issue is that they are all the same that turn out to be stale and not effective (Hiring. monster. com, 2019). There are several advantages of mentoring programs for instance, employees that take mentoring programs are likely to earn more, get promoted and have higher retention rates. Moreover, mentoring programs have proved to be really useful when there are issues of diversity present in an organization. Considering that now a day’s diversity is an issue that almost every organization faces this is a big advantage. As we have already studied that the benefits of mentoring programs decrease when they are the same for everyone hence, it is better if they are tailored in order to meet the objectives of the organization and the employee (Chronus. com, 2018).

Types of mentoring programs of Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

The three common types of mentoring programs are peer mentors, career mentors and life mentor. Al these are not mutually exclusive.

Peer mentors are usually used to new employees as they are given information about the organization.

Career mentors are basically coach that aids the employee in fulfilling their goals and objectives.

Life mentors create a link between the employee’s personal development and overall life.

        If the organization wants to make sure that the mentoring programs turn out to be successful it is important to meet some conditions (Half, 2017). Firstly, the program needs to be personal and tailored for employees because if it will be all the same then employees will think of it as another mandatory HR obligation. The question is that how can the organization figure out the best mentoring program for employees? Mostly organizations use the algorithms or give options to the employees and then let them make a decision (Inc. com, 2017). Secondly, the organization and employees need to have some well thought expectations in order to make sure that the mentoring programs are useful. Truly these mentoring programs are a proof how the organization is concerned about making sure that their employee’s aims and objectives align with the organizations. This is important because when the organization and employee goals are similar then the culture of the organization will be really good. ("Improve Workplace Culture With A Strong Mentoring Program", 2019)

Critical analysis for the support to mentoring programs of Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

        Clearly the article encourages the use of mentoring programs. When it comes to my opinion I too think that mentoring programs are really useful and should be used in every organization so I agree with the article. However, the articles do not mention a lot of benefits of these mentoring programs (Pinpoint news. net, 2013).  The biggest advantage that mentoring program have is that it enables the organization to effectively utilize their biggest assets that are its employees. When employees are mentored they help greatly in growth of the business through innovation and motivated work that they perform. The employees get motivated when they are offered mentoring programs because they then believe that the management is concern about them hence, is investing their time and resources all to make sure that the employees are satisfied. In retaliation the employees become more loyal to the organization by working on their performance (Trinet. com, 2017). From looking at the employee’s perspective we can see that they feel like such mentor ship programs will reduce their stress and anxiety issues. This is because most of the times whenever an issue comes up employees hesitate going to the management or their teammates for consultation whereas; they can always go to their mentors for guidance. Furthermore, sufficient research has been done that has proven that these mentor ship programs benefit the mentors as well (Counterrevolutionary. com, 2018).

Examples of companies having mentoring programs of Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

        There are several examples of company that are making use of mentoring programs and getting huge returns. Intel is a big name in the technology industry. The company has around 95000 employees so to make sure that they are satisfied it runs long term mentoring programs. General electric is another such company that is successfully making use of such mentoring programs. General electric is a big company that operates in a number of industries like medical, healthcare, transportation and power. The number of people employees in this company are around 305, 000. Its mentoring program is known as the GE commercial leadership program. It is two year program that aims to maximize the sales and marketing skills of the employee. Another example of a company that makes use of mentoring programs is Boeing (Schneider, 2018). This company is involved in the production of security systems and jet line employing 50,000 people. The company has a mentor ship program that is aimed at creating a strong relationship between the employee and leaders of Boeing so that long term success is easier to achieve. The mentor ship program that Boeing offers enables early career professionals to experience the work life in some departments like the IT, HR and business departments for around two years. Employees are mentored by a senior employee usually. ("9 companies with solid mentor ship programs", 2019)

Role of big companies in mentoring programs of Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

        We can see that if all big companies are making use of mentoring programs that it is really useful and actually every company should make use of these. Culture means that way things are being done in an organization. If the culture of the organization is not right then the organization is less likely to succeed. Moreover, every new employee that enters the organization needs to have an acceptance and respect for the culture of the organization. As mentioned in the article one way of nurturing this acceptance and respect is through mentoring programs. When all employees work following the culture of the organization there are numerous advantages. Firstly, and internal and external identity of the organization is created, this basically means how the outside world like customers and people perceive the organization. Secondly, the culture of the organization makes sure that the core values of the business are maintained and are followed in day to day activities. Thirdly, a strong culture when followed in the organization it helps to keep employees highly motivated and the turnover rate is low (Schnieders, 2018). This is because employees feel like they are a part of the community. This is the reason to why most organizations now hire employees for cultural fit. By following a culture a mutual respect is created between the employee and the organization. This means better overall performance. With all these benefits of following a culture in an organization I think it will be beneficial of using mentorship programs to create and carry on these cultures.

Conclusion on Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

        Coming up with mentoring program is important. To ensure that the organization creates a good mentoring program several things need to be considered by the organization for example, the type or mentoring program that will benefit the most, whether it needs to be formal or informal, how the employees are going to enroll in the program, what is the duration going to be, what is the budget of this program and what goals this program should fulfill once it has been done.

References of Improve Workplace Culture with A Strong Mentoring Program

9 companies with solid mentorship programs. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/9-companies-with-solid-mentorship-programs-0816

Improve Workplace Culture With A Strong Mentoring Program. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2019/01/23/improve-workplace-culture-with-a-strong-mentoring-program/#3b0a0eaf76b5

Chronus. com. (2018). The Top 5 Workplace Mentoring Program Types. Retrieved from chronus.com: https://chronus.com/how-to-use-mentoring-in-your-workplace

Half, R. (2017, 12 04). How Mentoring in the Workplace Can Strengthen Your Company. Retrieved from www.roberthalf.com: https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/how-mentoring-relationships-help-strengthen-your-company

Hiring. monster. com. (2019). How a Workplace Mentoring Program Can Benefit your Company. Retrieved from hiring.monster.com: https://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/workforce-management/employee-performance-management/workplace-mentoring-program.aspx

Inc. com. (2017). How to Start a Mentoring Program. Retrieved from www.inc.com: https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/start-mentoring-program.html

Learningsolutionsmag. com. (2018, 03 19). Tips for Establishing a Successful Mentoring Program. Retrieved from www.learningsolutionsmag.com: https://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/tips-for-establishing-a-successful-mentoring-program

Pinpointnews. net. (2013). Implement a mentorship program to improve the workplace’s safety culture. Retrieved from www.pinpointnews.net: http://www.pinpointnews.net/wordpress/implement-a-mentorship-program-to-improve-the-workplaces-safety-culture/

Schnieders, A. (2018, 05 25). Tips for Establishing a Successful Mentoring Program. Retrieved from www.entrepreneur.com: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/314875

Trinet. com. (2017, 06 18). 7 Things to Consider When Building a Mentor Program in the Modern Workplace. Retrieved from www.trinet.com: https://www.trinet.com/insights/7-things-to-consider-when-building-a-mentor-program-in-the-modern-workplace