Mentoring employees step by step

Mentoring employees step by step

Many organizations prefer reviewing their employees once a year. When this happens, the managers look at what the employees have been doing and make necessary comments and adjustments. However, this means that the employees remain unchecked for the rest of the year. A different approach to this is mentoring employees.

Mentoring employees allows your staff to grow and reach the maximum potential in their career. This growth can be achieved through constant feedback and counseling. It is important to know how to mentor your employees. When done correctly, this will be a huge catalyst for the growth of your organization. When done wrong, the employees end up feeling demotivated. In this article, we take a look at ways of mentoring employees successfully

Delegate

One of the important tips for mentoring employees is delegating responsibilities. The best way to do this is by giving your employees the desired results in a well-articulated manner. This should be coupled with set parameters of operation and good support whenever they need it. You should also set aside time to conduct reviews during the course of the project. Delegating responsibilities makes employees feel valued. Giving them tasking roles will challenge their problem-solving skills and improve their abilities to deliver quality work.

Give Performance Feedback

One of the most efficient ways of mentoring employees is by giving them feedback. In any organization, feedback is essential. Not only does it reinforce good deeds, but it also serves to point out areas that need improvement. As a manager, you should learn to clearly say what you have observed. You should also do this in a manner that is direct and specific. Your comments should be as sincere as possible but at the same time considerate. Lastly, you should communicate face to face to promote transparency.

Ask Questions, don’t give answers

Asking questions is a crucial part of improving the quality of your employees. You should allow your employees to solve problems on their own. This challenge will help them grow in their career. They will begin to see new solutions and ways of bettering their work. These questions should, however, be targeted towards making them better. This should be done by asking open-ended questions. A good way of asking targeted questions is by using past scenarios from the organization. As a manager, you should use these past scenarios to teach your employees to solve future challenges. This is a proven and successful way of mentoring employees.

Make mentoring employees part of your company’s culture

As your company progresses, it is important to set a culture. This culture should encompass things that should be passed down across all generations of employees in the organization. One good item to add to the culture is the act of mentoring employees. As new employees join the organization, it is important that they start being mentored as soon as possible. This will only be possible if it has been taking place within the organization prior to that time. Many young employees look for mentors as they join the workforce. Setting mentorship as a norm will promote the name of your organization.

Set the example

Model behavior is a crucial component of mentoring employees. As a manager, your employees will always be looking up to you. This means that your attitudes and actions should be aligned with the standards, ethics, and values that define your organization. These attitudes and actions should be what you would like your employees to take up. Depending on your organization’s size, this might not be possible for one person. You should, therefore, look for opportunities to set examples different sets of employees. Alternatively, you could schedule weekly or monthly meetings with all of your employees. Here, you could share successful stories, ask for feedback or give updates on the progress of the business.

Agree with your employees

Another great step you should take towards successfully mentoring employees is agreeing with them. However, this does not mean that you compromise. This tip is applicable to performance issues. It is important to get your employees to agree that there is a problem within the organization. This will shift your discussion from a monologue to a conversation. As a manager, you should be able to persuade your employees that a performance issue exists. This should be done by defining the nature of the issue. You should also make the employees see the consequences of their actions. The process of clarifying consequences should be done by probing the employee for his or her understanding of the consequences.

Commit to one plan

In any venture, one important value to embody is commitment. Showing your employees that you can dedicate your time and effort towards something is crucial. If you are willing to commit, you should choose one person that you would like to mentor. You should then set goals for what you want to achieve by a certain period of time. As a manager, you should also schedule regular check-ins to monitor your employee’s progress. Lastly, you should align your employee’s goals towards the company’s agenda. This will make them know that they are directly contributing towards the company’s bottom line.

Foster connections

After you begin the process of mentoring employees, it is important to sustain the connections that you have with them. This connection will ensure the longevity of your progress and the company’s success in general. Moreover, you should also strive to create new connections for your mentees. These new connections will improve their network and help develop their capacity as future leaders.

Let people fail.

This is perhaps the most important tip in mentoring employees. Managers usually make the mistake of being bent on perfectionism. This environment discourages growth. You should allow people to make mistakes. Mistakes help to engrain lessons into a person. You should then help them out of the mistake and offer a better solution for the next time they are faced with a similar challenge.

Mentoring employees can be very beneficial to your organization. Following these tips will ensure you do it successfully.

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