The merits of instilling a formal mentoring program are numerous, according to firms that have them in place. Not only do mentoring programs reflect well on the company as a whole, demonstrating that its leaders care about its newest employees, but it can also help these firms quickly identify who the next generation of leaders may be.

At 90-person engineering and architecture firm Beardsley Design Associates (Auburn, NY), the wheels of the mentoring program begin turning almost immediately when a new employee is slated to come on board. ’’Once an offer has been made, and we have a start date, we get the ball rolling,’’ says Beardsley HR Coordinator Karen Jones. ’’We talk to the discipline head in the area where the new employee will be working and find out who would be the best fit. Once the mentor is selected, we start going through the lists.’’

The lists at Beardsley Design Associates entail everything from what needs to be in the new employee’s desk when he or she starts, to what needs to be done the first day, first week, first month, etc. ’’The mentor has a big responsibility,’’ Jones says. ’’And, if the system is working and we did our job, the new employee will very comfortable from the minute they start here. It’s not just about making sure they new employee isn’t lost. It’s about providing a better overall atmosphere. They have a feeling, a sense that they belong here, and hopefully that makes them want to stay here for the long term.’’

Robert Wallace, president and CEO of 140-person engineering firm Berger/ABAM Engineers, Inc. (Federal Way, WA), says a good mentoring program is what helps his company attract the best and the brightest in new talent. ’’It sets us apart from other companies, especially with the new graduates,’’ he says. ’’It helps break them in, and we find it to be a real benefit in landing that star candidate.’’ As at Beardsley, Berger/ABAM selects a mentor who would be a good fit, usually someone of the same sex and within the same age bracket. The mentor is also given a set of goals to accomplish within the first days and weeks.

Identifying new leaders

Both Jones and Wallace agree that the mentoring programs are invaluable when it comes to leadership development. By getting younger workers into the system and comfortable with how things work, it allows the rising stars an easier way to climb into a leadership position because of their immediate familiarity and acceptance within the company.

For those experienced workers starting off in a leadership position in the company, the mentoring program can help get the worker acclimated with the unique way business gets done. ’’Having someone come in at the leadership level can be a hurdle,’’ Jones says. ’’They may have spent a number of years at another company, and they have a certain way of getting things done. If they aren’t taught how things are done at your company, they may have a harder time fitting in and, consequently, not being as effective of a leader.’’

Wallace says his mentoring program not only helps flag new leaders who are being mentored, but also identifies future leaders among those who act as mentors. ’’All of our mentors are volunteers,’’ Wallace says. ’’But just because someone wants to be one, doesn’t mean the automatically become one. We have training sessions that must be successfully completed for mentors.’’

Those mentors, in turn, are on the lookout for potential leaders among those they are mentoring. ’’The new folks, especially the younger folks, come in here very hesitant to ask questions. Of course, there are some who ask too many questions,’’ Wallace says. ’’The mentors are on the lookout for those who ask the right type of questions, and those who quickly grasp the meaning of what they have been told. It’s just one of the metrics we have them look at.’’

Making improvements

Of course, even the most successful mentoring programs aren’t 100% perfect, and companies with formal mentoring programs are constantly looking at ways to tweak them to get the best possible benefit. ’’We’ve had our program going on for about four years now,’’ Wallace says. ’’There are some things you wish you could have changed. The hardest part is making sure everything that is supposed to get done, gets done. But, by and large, it has worked out very well for us.’’