Why is mentoring so important?
Mentoring has been found to be useful for the organization, people who do the mentoring i.e. the mentors, and the people who are being mentored i.e. the protégé/mentee. Mentoring usually takes place when people first enter an organization and the need for guidance and support is paramount. In continuation with an induction program, a mentoring program helps the protégés in: learning; gaining an understanding of the organization; understanding of the competencies required to succeed; development of the competencies with the help of the mentor; development of a sense of confidence and empowerment; development of an emotional attachment to the organization; and the development of a sense of belonging to the organization.
It is beneficial to the organization in many respects including: greater employee commitment to the organization; reduced employee turnover; faster socialization of the employees; enhancement of employee productivity; promotes knowledge management; and promotes organizational learning.
For the mentor it helps in: promoting a sense of self-worth; promotes learning; promotes affective commitment to the organization i.e. promotes emotional attachment to the organization; and enhances his/her social standing in the organization amongst other benefits.
Excerpts taken from ‘Designing Human Resource Management Systems: A Leader’s Guide’ by Jayant Mukherjee, Response Books, SAGE Publications.Reproduced with permission