Choosing the best workers to mentor others

We’d like to establish a peer-to-peer program to mentor our new and junior workers on the job as our line supervisors are fully occupied in their respective jobs. Could you please help us determine all the things to consider so that we can come out with an ideal mentoring program? – Very Specific.
There’s a saying: “It’s hard to soar with eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys.” That alone tells you that you must first be an eagle so that you can help and teach others on what to do before they can teach other workers. In other words, you can’t give what you don’t have, even if you’re busy.
Ideally, your line supervisors and managers must be assisted by their senior workers because they can’t handle everything. But the greater reason is that you want your senior workers to prepare themselves to assume greater responsibility in the future. After all, who else will your logical successors be but your senior and most qualified workers?
A formal mentoring program is a must for every organization for many reasons. Whether it’s on-the-job training to learn new work processes, understanding how to operate a new machine, or know how to interact with customers or whatever, all line executives may not have all the time to do individual mentoring of all workers.
However, the task of mentoring others can’t simply be assigned to anyone, regardless of length of service or supposed knowledge of the job. There are many things to consider before you can appoint your assistant mentors. They include the following:
One, willingness to assume greater responsibilities. Not all workers, even those with extensive years of service in the company, may not like the idea of teaching others. There are many reasons for this. Even if you ask people why they don’t like the idea of mentoring others, they may not tell you the whole truth. If that happens, you simply leave them alone and look for other people who are more than willing to share their expertise.
Two, patience is key to teaching others. Some workers can readily understand everything in one blow, while others may take some time before they can fully comprehend what is being taught. This means that people don’t learn at the same pace due to language barriers, educational attainment, work experience, and other related issues. Therefore, a mentor must have plenty of patience to cope with the demands of the job.
Three, a mentor must like working with people of all types. People come from different backgrounds and therefore possess varying personalities. This requires the mentor to be socially oriented and get along easily with others, including problem employees or issues may have been brought about by difficult life circumstances.
Four, a mentor must not create unforseen problems. Remember that you are delegating mentoring to another person. This means that your line executives are still responsible for the education and training of all workers under their departments. Therefore, avoid appointing people who may create problems in the future or those who may sabotage your mentoring program.
Five, a mentor must know the technical aspects of the job. There’s nothing more critical than the mentor’s ability to explain the nitty-gritty of the job to others. However, equally important is the skill of communicating clearly and concisely with the learners. It’s not knowledge or skills alone but rather the ability to easily communicate the said information to others.
Last, a mentor must be willing to listen to all kinds of issues. At times, learners, in their desire to learn, may ask difficult questions. Don’t take it as an affront, but consider it another opportunity to question your own beliefs about how things are being done. Chances are, due to your closeness to the issues, your line managers may have been blinded by the fact that there’s also a need for your organization to review certain work process.
Creating a mentoring program requires close attention. You don’t have to create a perfect program that avoids mistakes. There never seems to be an ideal set-up for a mistake-free program. Aiming for zero mistakes only delays the process and contributes to more issues. It is enough to have a basic framework, then adjust it accordingly in due time or as the need arises.
You may even make the program part of your succession planning policy and performance management system. If you do, it will send a message that you have the common interest of the workers, their line executives, and the organization.
But even if your line executives are busy, they must be fully responsible for the result of the mentoring program to be performed by their appointed mentors.
ELBONOMICS: Learning from a mentor is the shortcut to success, provided that the mentor has experienced failure.
 
Send feedback or any workplace question to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting