The demand for workplace mentoring has soared amid the pandemic to boost employee engagement, inclusion and retention, according to recent research.
In fact, reverse-mentoring alone rose by more than 200% in 2020 reveals a new survey carried out by MentorcliQ. The study also outlines the top three employee mentoring trends for 2021, to coincide with National Mentoring Month in the US.
One of the key mentoring trends for this year is that the role of reverse-mentoring is expected to continue to accelerate this year to boost workplace inclusion, allyship and sponsorship. The Black Lives Matter movement accelerated a trend that was already happening in terms of companies’ focus on addressing diversity and inclusion practices within their organisations. That will continue this year to support an open dialogue that will help companies build more inclusive business practices where all employees can flourish, according to MentorcliQ.
BOOSTING ENGAGEMENT & RESILIENCE
Another key trend is that mentoring programmes will remain vital in 2021 to keep the virtual workforce engaged, productive and resilient, confirmed the study. As a result of the social distance movement there was an uptick in the number of companies offering new mentoring programmes or scaling existing ones to boost employee resilience and meet the demand for social interaction and career growth in spite of the pandemic.
Currently, a high proportion of companies still report their workforce will remain virtual through 2021, and highlight the need to continue virtual workforce engagement through mentoring.
MENTORING CRITICAL TO TALENT STRATEGY
Lastly, senior leadership believe that mentoring will becoming critical for the future of work. Leading Fortune 500 clients have improved employee retention by as much as 75% over the past few years through their mentoring initiatives, reveals the study. To continue advancing employee retention efforts, executives are leading by example and becoming more involved in mentoring as “mentors or sponsors”, which accelerates participation enterprise-wide and leads to a company culture of learning, development and camaraderie, the study noted.
“As we look forward to 2021, mentoring will continue to be a critical part of the talent strategy at any company that prioritises the employee experience,” stated Phil George, CEO of MentorcliQ. “MentorcliQ is proud to continue helping enterprises worldwide use employee mentoring to improve employee engagement, development and employee retention.”
Check out the recent interview with BBBAwards Co-founder Melanie Eusebe who shares why sponsorship and allyship are key to success, particularly for women and staff from minority backgrounds, here.
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