“People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.” Oliver Goldsmith
Mentoring is an important part of leadership because it nurtures and develops employees in ways that set them up for long-term success. It also allows them to better fulfill their core purpose, and gives them tools to be more effective. Leadership is about empowerment and developing others.
Mentoring is associated with a wide range of favorable behavioral, attitudinal, health-related, relational, motivational, and career outcomes. There is a general consensus among literature that there is a significant correlation between workplace mentoring and attitudes, work attitudes and some career outcomes. Mentoring assists employees in these areas resulting in more satisfied employees. (J Vocat Behav. Author manuscript: 2009).
The USGS supports mentoring and has devoted a lot of energy and resources to its development in the Survey. Continually mentoring is offered as a tool for growth and development. It is also critical in succession planning. Mentoring benefits all who are involved and ultimately the entire survey. Protégés benefit from having a trusted source to guide them. Mentors benefit by gaining renewed energy and a fresh perspective. The Survey benefits by having employees who are more productive and effective, with an overall increase in job satisfaction.
Protégé Benefits:
- Personal and Professional growth
- Acquisition of new technical, interpersonal and/or leadership skills
- Acculturation
Mentor Benefits:
- Opportunity to hone own leadership skills
- Expanded network
- Personal satisfaction
- Re-energized
USGS Benefits:
- Deliberate, systematic knowledge transfer
- Reinforced positive organizational culture
- Satisfied employees
- Structured specific learning for new employees
Some Facts and Figures
CMSI Mentoring Solutions, a leader in mentoring research and development conducted a survey of 378 companies. What they have found is that mentoring programs have been proven to improve job retention, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. Among the companies using mentors:
67% reported higher job retention;
63% reported reduced absenteeism;
52% reported that mentoring resulted in a cost savings for the company
One of the top three factors affecting career growth is mentoring.
CMSI Mentoring Solutions, a leader in mentoring research and development conducted a survey of 378 companies. Mentoring has been related to positive career outcomes for protégés (CMSI Mentoring Solutions, 2005).
- 71% of Fortune 500 companies and private companies use mentoring in their organizations to ensure that learning is happening within their organization
- Training alone increases managerial productivity by 24%; the combination of mentoring and coaching increases productivity by 88%.
- 15-20% of standard formal training is relevant to employee needs; 100% of mentoring is relevant as it is tailored to the individual needs of the employee. Mentors can impart specific knowledge and expertise which contributes to protégé learning and skill development (Kram, 1985).
