Mentoring Programs

 I do not disagree with the first interaction between Bob and his mentor. I definitely think that having someone who has been veteran to the work environment show you around and make you feel comfortable at your new second home is extremely helpful. In both of my last two jobs, as an administrative assistant and server, I had to jump into the position without any discussion with previous employees. At the office, this was because the secretary had left. At the restaurant, we were the first crew; it was a new place. This gave me the opportunities to be that mentor at each of these jobs for the new people joining the team. I think that what Bob was lacking in his relationship with his mentor, is a mutual understanding between mentor and mentee of what each of them is expecting provide and receive. However, the lack of communication apparent in their relationship is not very qualifying of the purpose of the mentor tool. One of the key important aspects of having mentoring is that each of the parties feels comfortable in communicating with one another. This communication extends to being able to specify the mechanics of meeting: when, why, where, and how they will communicate outside of meeting. Part of what supports a communicative mentor pairing is the company’s ability to match the new employee with a mentor that can provide interpersonal as well as technical skills that apply to the trainee’s position. This is important for the new employee in providing both career advice but also psychological support at time of transition and change for the new employee. If in Bob’s case the mentor was chosen on the basis of successful past employee development, there must have been a specific issue that was not addressed in the scenario. For the mentoring program to be successful, it is advantageous for the company to pick a mentor or provide a pool of mentors who will be dedicated to supporting new employees in their transition into the company. For the mentoring program to be meaningful to the company, it is recommended to have an evaluation of its success via questionnaire feedback, personal interviews with the participants, and reward of the mentors who dedicated time and effort in developing new employees to be successful.

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