Mentoring (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
Second, more job applicants are becoming aware of their need to improve their skills to maintain a competitive edge. As a result, they are looking to join organizations that will help them do just that. And they will want to make sure you are on the same page before they agree to work for you. “Today’s applicants are telling prospective employers they want personal development in their work life,” says Richard Avdoian, an employee development consultant in metropolitan St. Louis (richardavdoian.com). “It’s all part of a changing business environment: As people move more rapidly between employers they are looking ahead to their next stop.” This trend is visible as early as the job interview. “Gone are the days when interviewers would ask more questions than candidates,” says Avdoian. “Now applicants are lead- ing the way by asking for key information such as ‘What does your business do to enhance and develop employ- ees’ skills? Does it offer additional education? Training?’” Think Business
takes and more quickly acquire technical and non-techni- cal skills needed to become valuable players,” says Lois P. Frankel, President of Corporate Coaching International, Pasadena, California (corporatecoachingintl.com). Finally, mentoring can result in a more productive work environment. “Businesses with a mentoring program often end up with more solid succession plans, as well as bet- ter procedures for workplace problem solving and conflict resolution,” says Lauran Star, a business consultant based in Bedford, New Hampshire. (lauranstar.com). Develop Skills Two workplace trends are making mentoring programs more critical. The first is the retirement of the baby boom- ers. When older people leave your workforce they will take along their considerable expertise unless you have taken steps to capture it.
Does mentoring sound a lot like coaching? It’s true that both initiatives attempt to improve employee performance. But they differ in their details. Confusing the two can be costly. “Coaching is much more proactive than mentoring,” explains Alan Weiss, President of Summit Consulting Group, East Greenwich, Rhode Island. ( alanweiss.com ). “Very often a coach will reach out to an individual exhibiting a specific workplace development need. May- be the person’s sales or evaluation skills need improvement.” Once that skill is improved, the coaching initiative is over. Mentoring, in contrast, is a longer-term ef- fort intended to help individuals engage more successfully with their workplace environment. It often serves to assist a mentee’s climb of the career ladder. As such, it tends to promote a spirit of loyalty in the business organization. Coaching and mentoring make different de- mands on the person being trained. “A coach will ask questions such as ‘What do you think your next step is?’” says Star. “The idea is to empower the coached individuals to come up with their own solutions. A mentor, on the oth- er hand, might make a more direct statement, such as ‘This is what you need to do.’” Select the right candidates for each initia- tive. “If you try to mentor someone who needs coaching, they will not learn,” says Star. And opposite holds. “If you try to coach someone who needs mentoring, their needs will not be met and they will feel frustrated. Their job sat- isfaction will deteriorate, and they won’t stick around.”
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