Some truths transcend the ages

Much discussion has endeavoured to get to the root of exactly what mentoring is. Some may still think it a management fad.

But the only news is that while gaining a growing appreciation among managers today, it’s been going on for thousands of years. Across communities and cultures, people have always sought the wisdom of elders to fast-track their own experiences.

Around for as long as human society itself, mentoring will have been integral in building some of history’s proudest organisations.

In opening the minds of those who drive an organisation’s future creativity and productivity, a solid mentoring program can provide one of the most robust and reliable bulwarks any organisation can build against the winds of change.

Mentoring is core to the way your business develops careers and its plans for succession can strengthen an organisation’s attractiveness.

Researchers believe that when its functions are performed well, all parties to the mentoring relationship gain: the mentoree, the mentor, and the organisation.

And there’s little doubt that these days, making it known around town that mentoring is core to the way your business develops careers and its plans for succession can strengthen an organisation’s attractiveness to top candidates as a place to work.

Mentoring programs benefit organisations by reducing turnover, increasing organisational commitment, promoting knowledge transfer and making easier the early identification of key talent.

And in the intensifying war for talent, awareness will be acute among mature organisations that place a premium on stability and continuity that attracting – or losing top people is more costly and risky than developing what they already have.

Research suggests that mentoring’s effects on retention can be dramatic. Mentorees experience higher career satisfaction, career commitment, career mobility and positive job attitudes. And one of the prime needs a mentor can satisfy is the need for access to organisational power. A mentor has the power to influence events.