If you've read the economic headlines lately, you know the labor market is turning over every rock to find quality employees. Nowhere is this demand for qualified employees more evident than in the professional services arena. Corporate governance regulations and the impending mass exodus of baby boomers have greatly increased the demand for the next generation of finance professionals. Yet in this high demand for quality professionals, the bigger question becomes: How does a company keep the staff it has and avoid becoming another firm searching for top talent? In an era plagued with high turnover and expensive employee training sessions, keeping employees is just as important as recruiting new employees.
So what is an employer to do? And what is the secret to keeping those good employees? According to a study conducted by the Hackett Group, a global strategic advisory firm, organizations that are successful in attracting and retaining top talent consciously create a culture of engagement. In addition, research has shown that engaged employees are more likely to stay with their employers and to contribute in ways that improve business performance.
One example of employee engagement is instituting a mentoring program to help your employees develop their career. Employee learning is accelerated when on-the-job training is supplemented with informal coaching on the side by a trusted mentor. Mentoring enhances relationships with employees and also allows companies to be more proactive in identifying potential issues and resolving them. The result? Employee retention improves and client service is enhanced. Better retention of staff results in more meaningful relationships with clients.
Workplace Mentoring Makes Sense
Streams of people enter and exit our lives every day. While some leave only the faintest imprint, others help shape and direct our outlook and actions. Mentors are those who lead us in realizing our full potential. Today, mentoring is becoming a core, value-added component of a company's commitment to employee development.
Organizations can see the positive effects of mentoring on employee attitudes, work environment and productivity. Mentoring is a two-way street, eliciting positive responses from both management and employee perspectives. Since implementing a mentoring program in 1999, our organization has received these comments in annual employee surveys:
"My Career Development Adviser/mentor is there for me when I need her to be. I feel I have a clear understanding of my career goals and how I can achieve those goals, alongside a mentor who cares about my career development."
"Other firms talk about their mentoring programs, but at Clifton Gunderson, it's not lip service. The mentoring program is a real and successful initiative. In my opinion, it's one of the best in the industry."
"I feel I have learned a lot from my mentor; and the program has worked in helping me develop my career."
Mentoring goes a long way. In fact, only a few hours a month can provide tremendous insight to the person being mentored. By using e-mail and phone, mentors and mentees can keep regular contact. The flexibility of e-mail allows a mentor to offer guidance at his or her convenience, but still in a timely manner. It also permits a mentor to be accessible if he or she is traveling or not often near the phone.
Time spent mentoring actually increases productivity, according to Peer Resources of Canada, a recognized mentoring authority. Better communication, goal clarity, increased commitment and succession planning all contribute to improved output. The return on investment for mentoring is high. Mentoring also benefits both parties—not just the person being mentored. Mentors are recognized as individuals with valuable knowledge, and mentoring is a validation of their worth in the company—a mark of respect and recognition. Also, mentors are recognizing how they benefit when company employees are trained to work to the best of their ability. Effective, efficient workers make everyone's job easier.
Implementing a Mentoring Program in Your Organization
By recognizing employees as the firm's most valuable asset and sole conduit for serving clients, a mentoring program can improve methods for recruiting, refining and retaining employees. In addition to finding and keeping quality employees, a primary goal of our mentoring program is to cultivate exemplary behaviors of your staff. As part of the program's implementation, consider hiring a director of career development to establish the mentoring program as part of the corporate culture. Design the program to fit the culture of your organization.
The next step to implementing a mentoring program is establishing goals. What is the purpose of your mentoring program? What is your organization hoping to achieve or accomplish? What results are you expecting from the mentoring program? Once the goals have been established, it is much easier to make decisions regarding various program elements and it is possible to use the goals as a way of determining whether the program detail matches your business strategy.
Another key component to a mentoring program is one that encourages upper-level partners and managers to mentor the less-experienced professionals on staff. The program allows for individualized career development under the guidance of an accessible and trusted mentor. Employees may choose their own mentors and meet with them as often as desired. Connecting mentors with their mentees is crucial to the success of your program.
Access to someone in your career area who understands your situation provides much more value. The mentors should act as a source of information and support and help to those being mentored to plan their future and focus their career ambitions at the firm. Honest feedback and insight are crucial for employees to reach their maximum ability.
The success of pairing a mentor with a mentee is dependent on monitoring that relationship as it develops. Regular status updates with both parties involved in the mentoring program is a good gut check for an organization to determine how it is going, what each one is getting and not getting from the connection and ways to improve the program for the individuals involved. This also allows an organization to assess what participants need from others to help in their career development.
The final component of the mentoring program involves communicating the benefits for both mentor and mentee. Mentors must be assured that they will be getting something valuable out of being a mentor. The value should come from their time spent with their mentee and how they will learn and grow from the experience. For a mentee, the value of the program must also be recognized. Value from a mentee perspective may come from their infusion into the organization, or a targeted path for career development and goals.
Measuring Success
Success of your mentoring program may come in a variety of returns for your organization. Building relationships between mentors and mentees as trusted advisers, confidants will help to strengthen the culture of your company. Since its inception, our mentoring program has produced amazing results firm wide. The program has cut our staff turnover numbers and has been instrumental in recruiting and retaining skilled professionals. In our annual survey, we hear over and over again that the firm's focus on employee growth makes our firm a place where people want to stay to develop their career.
While there is no one way to maintain a top-notch staff at your organization, using a strategic recruiting plan and a mentoring process and making your employees a top priority are ways to help you remain competitive in one of the most rapidly changing work environments in history.
Lauren Malensek can be reached at Lauren.Malensek@cliftoncpa.com . Send story comments to customercare@alm.com .
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