Organizational mentoring is the type of mentoring used by organizations, whether public or private, of any size (although it is more common in medium and large companies), for the development of leaders and other employees.
The goal may be to prepare, retain and better utilize talent, form successors, increase integration between areas, and manage knowledge, typically held by more senior employees.
The mentor is the one who guides, advises, and inspires the mentee within a structured process.
SOME APPLICATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL MENTORING
- Programs to reduce prejudices, especially those arising from diversity;
- Preparation for retirement – preparing the professional who will retire or using their knowledge in mentoring young talent;
- Improvement of satisfaction and organizational climate indicators;
- Promotion of innovation and creativity;
- Encouragement of less hierarchical structures;
- Preparation for organizational growth;
- Strategic restructuring;
- Promotion of psychological safety;
- Consolidation or cultural change.
It is worth noting that much of the success of mentoring programs in the world is due to their alignment with organizations’ expectations.
ADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL MENTORING
Increasingly, human resources areas that think strategically are involved in developing talent, for a series of benefits:
- Sustainability: ensure the continuity and internalization of the process;
- Contextualization and applicability gains;
- Customized development tailored to the organization;
- In the medium term, there is a reduction in training costs, as it is done internally.
MUTUAL BENEFITS FOR MENTOR AND MENTEE
Organizational mentoring is a collaborative process with mutual benefits for the mentor and mentee.
In this method, the professional in the mentor role has experience and knowledge in a particular subject. The mentor structuredly transfers their experiences to another professional, called the mentee, who needs to be developed in their current or future demands.
Thus, mentors who share their experiences are also benefited: there is an extra motivation, as they feel they can share and add knowledge to the life of a younger professional. In addition, the mentor also realizes that they can learn and develop during this process. Mentoring also provides recognition to the mentor, contributing to their self-esteem.
Therefore, organizational mentoring programs contribute to the individual happiness of their employees, their level of satisfaction with the organization, and consequently, to the improvement of the organizational climate.
ASSUMPTIONS FOR A MENTORING PROGRAM
An important assumption for organizational mentoring is that the mentor is “an influential individual in their work environment, with advanced experience and knowledge, and is committed to providing support and guidance to the mentee.”
The mentee should be someone who has the willingness and commitment to their own development, and an affinity with the mentor, perceiving the necessary conditions to conduct their mentoring. We recommend that, for the good result of internal organizational mentoring programs, both the mentor and the mentee be volunteers (unlike professional mentoring processes). Even when invited, they should join or not the program voluntarily.
Because the process requires commitment and dedication. The chances of it working will be remote if it is considered only as an obligation to be fulfilled. In this case, the focus tends to be on completing tasks, conducting sessions, and delivering homework topics. But not on effective development, especially when it comes to consolidation in the medium and long term.
