For example, there is formal mentoring, which are structured programs designed to bring mentors and mentees together. Peer mentoring exists, in which colleagues provide advice, guidance, training, and support to their learners in similar professional situations. We'll go over the most important ones in this blog post. Peer mentoring occurs when colleagues who may be similar in age or work level advise each other.
The purpose of this is to create a formal support system and hold colleagues accountable for their professional goals and objectives. In simple words, it's a relationship where colleagues can learn from each other and offer advice based on their past experiences. Traditionally, these two types of mentoring have been difficult to organize, especially when these mentorships can include individual and group sessions. But with MentorCruise, you can bring your mentoring programs for groups and teams online with the best experts out there.
Identity-based mentoring has gained popularity in recent years, after companies realized that their employees, who come from diverse backgrounds, felt that their needs were not being met, within a structure that doesn't allow the voices of minorities to be heard. However, one drawback of traditional mentoring is that it can be difficult to scale, as it requires a lot of human resources. In other words, this model is unsustainable as the company grows. As a result of opting for traditional mentoring, employees may not get the same treatment.
Many companies advertise the inclusion of diversity as a key quality of their workplace. If companies want to appreciate the fact that people come from diverse backgrounds, they can choose identity-based mentoring. Traditional mentors focus on bringing out the best in specific individuals. However, due to the expensive nature of traditional mentoring, this program is feasible if established in small businesses or startups.
Mentoring programs for subject matter experts can be a good investment if companies want their current employees to become industry experts (instead of hiring experts). It can only be effective if employees are confident that they will follow the same career path in the long term. Identity-based mentoring is one of the most popular types of mentoring today. It comes from the need to recognize each employee as an individual with their own relevant background, culture, identity and habits.
While mentors and mentees work to set goals and create a work plan, the negotiation stage isn't quite simple. It involves talking about soft topics in a relationship, establishing ground rules, confidentiality, boundaries, and shared responsibilities. These are the topics that are usually left out of conversations because they are not very easy to talk about. However, these are critical issues that need to be discussed.
If a mentoring couple isn't compatible, negotiation is the stage where they can amicably part ways. Once trust is built and expectations are discussed, a mentoring relationship enters the third stage: growth. At this stage, mentoring partners start working to achieve the goals that were set. This stage provides the greatest opportunity for learning and development.
Another key responsibility of a mentor is to provide honest, honest, and constructive feedback to the mentee. Because feedback is the most important part of a mentoring relationship. It allows mentors to recognize the strengths of learners and help them identify their weaknesses, which is crucial for learners' growth. When analyzing formal mentoring, there are more methodical approaches and structured techniques that allow us to measure and achieve objectives with a clear and concise path.
As a mentoring platform with a thriving community of passionate people, at MentorCruise, we've seen how mentoring experiences can be satisfying, revealing, useful, and rewarding for both mentees and mentors. Considering employee retention and satisfaction, onboarding as a form of mentoring is an excellent first step for employers to present themselves as a company that takes its people and its future seriously. Check out the latest information on industry trends and get tips for running an online service business. Usually, there is a certain format to adhere to, regular meetings, and some ways to concretely track the progress and professional development of trainees.
Formal mentoring is generally used in companies that recognize that the way to safeguard the future of the company is to share and transmit knowledge and skills. In an informal sense, this type of relationship tends to evolve naturally, just like a friendship would, and advice and guidance are sought in a casual way, especially to begin with. Both formal and informal mentoring programs are scalable, so the program can be replicated throughout the company and across multiple offices. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mentoring Options and Affinity Circles are also an innovative mentoring format that is exceptionally popular and highly desired by younger workers.
Informal mentors are usually friends, family, and colleagues, but these relationships can evolve between company leaders and even “rival” executives for greater guidance in business decisions. .
