Why Mentoring? The HR Imperative

What would be the impact of losing one-third of your workers over the decade? And what if those that left were your most experienced people? What tacit knowledge, what undocumented information and what lost skills would walk out the door with them?

Three related HR issues are receiving popular press and have significant implications for organizations:

• The so-called "war for talent" - attracting and retaining graduates and experienced workers - show no sign of de-escalating;
• The skills shortage continues, with demand outstripping our ability to supply trained and experienced people in a range of essential areas; and
• Population trends for Australia indicate that in the next decade up to 35% of workers in some organizations will reach retirement age. At the same time, there will be more skilled jobs than people to fill them.

These factors mean that:

• Organizations may no longer be able to buy the skills they need;
• Employers will have to find ways to unlock people's potential - their human capital; and
• Strategies that enable people to create synergy, share knowledge and build skills will be imperative

Investing in Talent

Smart organizations have long recognised the need to use comprehensive recruitment strategies. More recently, "on-boarding" processes have proved to be successful in influencing new-hires to stick around. It has also been recognised that, while attractive remuneration is important, it is not enough to keep highly mobile and aspiring employees satisfied. Employee engagement is a key factor in productivity as well as retention. Opportunities for on-going professional and career development and workplace relationships are high on the list of reasons people stay. Mentoring programs can be designed to facilitate career planning, professional development and building relationships to meet employee needs. Mentoring enhances the relationship skills of mentors, making them better managers, coaches and co-workers.

Unlocking Potential

Most employees have untapped talent just waiting to be energised and empowered. Recently a scientist in a workshop told me that no-one in his workplace knew that he had just completed a degree in counselling. He had privately pursued his personal interest. He had a wealth of knowledge and skill that was of value to the organisation, available but unused.

A desire for personal growth, learning and development is innate but often unrecognised. Mentoring enables both partners in the relationship to acknowledge their ability, set and achieve goals and unleash potential. This is inspirational and very satisfying for the people and highly valuable to the organisation.

Aging Population

At the same time that the bulk of the Australian population hits retirement age, it is predicted that there will be more jobs than people to fill them.

If older workers are to stay, they will need to be engaged contributors, not pasengers. They will need to pass on their corporate and professional knowledge. They will need to develop new skills. They are potential mentors. As well as sharing their experience with younger workers, fulfilling a valued and respected role as a mentor keeps people engaged. So mentoring could impact on the productivity of both mentored employees and the mentors.

Mentoring relationships can also bridge the generational divide that sometimes occurs. Teaming older and younger people, equipping them with skills and providing an opportunity for communication, understanding and appreciation, builds mutual respect.

When people become skilled in one-to-one relationships they are also more effective in teams. Better team members and team leaders contribute to productivity.

As organizations assess their future workforce capability, mentoring stands out as a strategy for sustaining human resources