Far too many Australian organisations are jumping into mentoring and not reaping the benefits says mentoring expert Linda MacGregor.
“I have been called in by several organisations after they have run a mentoring program for 12 months and achieved very few measurable results or benefits,” Ms MacGregor said.
She said too many of the programs she had seen lacked proper structure and therefore struggled.
Pitfalls included the organisation’s culture not being ready for the concept, lack of clear purposes and measurable outcomes, poor selection of mentors and proteges, failure to involve line managers in the program, lack of training, support and resources and time management issues.
“The American experience shows those who are part of a structured mentoring program stay longer with the same employer, give greater output and have a quicker career progression,” she said.
Ms MacGregor will lead the Mentoring in Action workshop in Perth on May 10. See the Business Planner for more information.
