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How a mentoring programme benefits a business

How a mentoring programme benefits

Feeling overwhelmed on the first day is normal for any new employee. Assigning a mentor, also known as a buddy, helps to ease your entry into the company.

What is a mentor/peer or buddy?

A mentor is an established and committed employee who is willing to spend time, be accessible and support new employees during the first three months of employment. Anyone in the new employee's department can be a mentor simply by volunteering to join the programme. Typically, a buddy or mentor commits six to ten hours to the programme during the first three months of support.

A mentor:

  • Welcome the new employee on the first day of work.
  • She follows up with him weekly.
  • Displays resources in the workplace.
  • It provides information to help you feel comfortable and part of your new team.
  • It gives the employee the opportunity to interact with other colleagues.
  • Refer the new employee to their supervisor/manager if they have specific questions about the job.

Benefits of a mentoring programme

In addition to helping new recruits integrate into the organisation, the implementation of a mentoring programme in the company can bring many other benefits to employees and the company as a whole:

  • Facilitates making friends at work: a mentor will also help the new employee fit into the organisation by introducing him or her to other employees in the company.
  • Provides informal learning: new recruits can also develop new skills by observing how the mentor interacts with peers.
  • Attract and retain talent: having friends at work can make all the difference when deciding whether to leave a company, or even join it!
  • Improved working environment and productivity: a mentoring programme fosters better communication and collaboration between employees, laying the foundations for good teamwork that increases productivity in the short, medium and long term.

How to structure a mentoring programme

A company should be aware of the different phases of a buddy programme in order to monitor the success of the onboarding. A buddy programme can easily be structured in 4 phases:

1- Building the relationship between the buddy and the new employee.

In this phase, the buddy and the new employee get to know each other and start to build trust. They get to know facts about each other, such as hobbies or aspirations, which will help them connect on a deeper level later on. The two can agree on basics such as the frequency of their communication.

2- Exchange information and set objectives.

The mentor and the new employee exchange more information and begin to create the goals and objectives of the programme.

3- Define the work and actions to achieve the goals.

The buddy helps the new employee to achieve his or her goals through advice, conversations, written resources, documentation, learning activities such as training... This process is crucial to detect where to expect results and to implement tools to measure and track performance.

4- End of the relationship and planning for the future.

After three months, the buddy can help the employee set future goals and provide further support and channels for maintaining contact.

Technology to support a mentoring programme

A buddy can easily establish a bond with new employees by using technology as a support. Here are some ideas on how to use technology to connect a buddy with the new employee, or any other employee:

  • Internal communication: colleague and employee can get to know each other online even before the on-boarding process through chats or video calls.
  • Gamification: New hires can also receive rewards, such as praise badges, which is a great way to offer praise from peers.
  • Surveys: colleagues can be matched with new recruits on the basis of shared interests and feedback can be collected by submitting it.

Did you know that niikiis is the all-in-one solution that can help you implement a mentoring programme and its follow-up? In addition, our HR software focuses on facilitating internal communication through communication channels, micro-learning tools and surveys, which help take your mentoring programme to the next level. There's nothing better than a thank you! Giving kudos and connecting employees is easier with our social home! Request a free demo to find out how niikiis can help you.


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