By Kylie Parks, Arvada Chamber Director of Talent Pipeline Development
As we continue to discuss ways to attract and recruit an expanded talent pipeline, it is also important to consider the retention side. Mentors within an organization are a critical component to retention. A recent MentorcliQ article notes that 100% of the Top 50 Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programs. The median profits for Fortune 500 companies with mentoring programs were over three times than for those without mentoring programs.
Having a mentor program in place helps to set up new and current team members for success. An Indeed article provided some quick tips on how to create a workplace mentoring program in four steps:
1. Define the program’s goal
First, it’s important to identify your goal. Are you seeking to simply support new hire onboarding or are you wanting to build more leaders? It can be both, but there may be different processes for each.
2. Outline the mentoring process in the workplace
Outline what your process looks like from intake mentee process, to mentor/mentee relationship and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). For instance, if your mentoring goal is to onboard better, a KPI in this process may be to decrease the time for new reps to hit a full sales quota by 4 weeks.
3. Select program participants
Remember: just because someone has been there the longest, does not mean they are the best mentor! My recommendation is always to do an open application process for mentors to self-select/raise their hand. This encourages three things:
- Equity in your mentor selection process.
- Those not in leadership roles to raise their hand and show interest.
- Those in leadership raise their hand on taking on additional responsibility because they want to not because they have to.
Some example questions you can ask include:
- What motivates you to succeed as a mentor?
- What do you enjoy most about training?
- Why are you interested in being a mentor?
4. Provide mentorship training
Once you have selected your mentors then it is important to ensure that they feel confident in the training and understand all of what is expected of them.
Mentorship is one of many forms of work-based learning opportunities that you can build at your business. Learn more about the benefits and steps to get started with work-based learning programming at arvadachamber.org/wbl-toolkit.
B.O.L.D. 2026 is a five-year regional economic strength and resiliency initiative of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber developed BOLD 2026 in consultation with private and public sector leaders and partners in Arvada, Jefferson / Adams Counties, Metro Denver and the state of Colorado. One goal of B.O.L.D. 2026 is to grow our talent to meet the needs of employers and job seekers. Learn more about our talent challenges and work here.
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