Mentorship for Employee Satisfaction

Not long ago, we noted that there are indications that mentorship programs for new hires may be a very useful way to improve long term employee satisfaction, both in terms of trends and in interpreting the value of the scores. Today, we’ll look at CAI’s recommendations for how to create a successful programs and what needs to be involved in order for it to succeed.

Goals/Timelines Setting goals and timelines helps ensure that there is a clear understanding between the mentor and the new hire about what needs to be accomplished, in how long, etc. These goals can help drive both participation and how the programs themselves are operated. Dedicated Staff Good mentorship programs also have at least one staff member whose goal it is to make sure these programs work.

This helps encourage participation, matches people the right mentors, etc., providing ways to streamline the process and get the best results. Good Matching Criteria Another CAI recommendation is the idea that the companies utilize good matching criteria to ensure that the mentors and new hires are going to benefit as much as possible. This means matching with people that are not going to be competition for jobs, but also not going to be inside tracks to promotions.

You both don’t want to raise the new hire’s expectations too high, while still getting them to benefit as much as possible, and you also want to make sure they are matched with someone they can communicate with freely. There are also personality aspects of matching that will need to be considered, among other things. The better the match, the better the outcome.

Testing the Success You will also need to find a way to make sure that these programs are successful – something beyond simply employee satisfaction surveys. New hires need to experience good satisfaction levels and indicate that this was a learning experience, and there should be some type of measurable result for your company. This will make sure that the programs are working correctly, and that everything in place is performing exactly as it should.

It’s already been discussed how employee satisfaction can benefit from mentorship programs, especially with new hires. But it’s not a stretch to think that a well-run program may improve the satisfaction of the mentors as well. If they’re matched with the right people and get a chance to share their knowledge, they may find that they are also more dedicated to the workplace, and enjoying themselves as a result.