Who is involved in the mentoring process at the institution. An example of a mentoring program for front-line staff in a sales organization. Who can be a mentor

Currently, when describing the mentoring system, they rely on one of the definitions. Yes, David Meister believes that mentoring is an investment in the long-term development of the organization, its “health”.

According to Gareth Lewis, mentoring is a system of relationships and a series of processes where one person offers help, guidance, advice and support to another.

In general, mentoring can be defined as the process of transferring knowledge and skills from a more experienced person to a less experienced one.

We are mentoring We will understand assistance to young specialists in adaptation and / or assistance to experienced company employees in changing their job responsibilities in the event of appointment to a new position as a result of career growth or rotation . Let’s call these categories of company personnel “ wards ”.

Elements of a mentoring system

The entire mentoring system in the company can be roughly divided into three components: mentors to the external and internal conditions of the business environment, them and subsequent support.

All of these processes can occur simultaneously and/or overlap each other. Even if the mentees have mastered a certain set of operations, when moving to another position or mastering a new area of work, the entire process is repeated from the beginning, developing in a spiral. In general, the entire mentoring system is a tool for including employees in the company’s business processes.

Contents of mentoring system elements

System elements	Definition	Goals and objectives
Adaptation	The process of including new employees in the company’s external and internal business processes. Changing employee behavior in accordance with environmental requirements	Facilitate the entry of young specialists, new employees, and reservists into positions. Used to immerse them in corporate culture and business processes
Education	The process of mastering knowledge and skills	Use it to unlock the potential of existing employees and their further personal and professional development, for example, when moving to a new position or being included in the personnel reserve. Employees must acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to work in accordance with established corporate standards
Escort	The process of improving the quantitative and/or qualitative characteristics of skills or knowledge in a specific area. The use of already acquired knowledge and skills in a specific situation or for a specific purpose. Consulting and supervision	Bridging the gap between learning and achieving results. To become an important system element of the company, giving it a new quality of a self-learning organization in which employees constantly improve their skills

A study conducted by Grant Thornton shows how relevant the issue of introducing a mentoring system is in Russian companies.in 2016. It showed that Russian entrepreneurs began to think more often about finding qualified employees and personnel development. 35% of respondents said they plan to invest money in development, and 23% are thinking of introducing a system for identifying talent in the early stages of their careers.

As experts note, in recent years, Russian enterprises have changed their attitude towards employees. This is explained by the fact that many former managers of large companies, including international ones, came to small and medium-sized businesses and transferred the culture of running large businesses there. Management concepts borrowed by small and medium-sized businesses from large ones will only contribute to the growth of small businesses.

Company executives and owners agree that recreating and developing a mentoring culture within an individual enterprise does not require huge investments. And given the shortage of qualified specialists that medium-sized businesses have been facing for many years, this is also a good way to train and develop staff.

Case studies

All of the above is confirmed by our many years of experience in business consulting. At many Russian enterprises, mentoring has already become an integral part of corporate culture. Constantly working with companies from different sectors of the economy, we are convinced that there are enough examples of the development and implementation of effective mentoring systems. Here are some of them:

Example No. 1.

In a regional restaurant holding with a staff of 750 people, up to 70% of the staff are line employees, namely: waiters, cooks, bartenders. These are young people, mostly students who have never worked anywhere, who came to learn a profession and work in the company for two to three years at most. There are only a few people with real practical experience. Therefore, one of the main tasks set by the holding’s management is to train employees in the shortest possible time so that they can solve the tasks necessary for the company.

After an adaptation period, two paths are open to young specialists. The first is to remain, for example, waiters, be good sellers and receive decent remuneration for your work. And the second is to develop further and become mentors. It is the mentors who are included in the personnel reserve, provided that they have successfully trained a certain number of trainee waiters, completed the appropriate corporate training program and have high levels of personal effectiveness.

Then the development of mentors occurs in a spiral: they are included in the personnel reserve for managerial positions, then transferred to the “novice manager” level, where they have mentors of a different, higher level, etc. Thus, they can reach the position of manager of a cafe or restaurant.

Example No. 2.

There is also a view on the mentoring system in interregional development company with a staff of 130 people. This company is truly socially oriented and one of the main values it promotes is caring for its employees. A practice that has proven itself is that from the very first days they strive to surround newcomers with attention, support, a warm atmosphere and give them effective tools so that they can quickly join the team and get comfortable with business processes.

The personnel management system is structured in such a way that middle managers are interested in the further development of employees and are responsible for their subsequent personal, professional and career growth. They are the ones who form and train the company’s personnel reserve, including for their positions.

According to the HR service, up to 80% of top positions are occupied by employees who grew up within the company. In the “Project Managers” category, 100% of managers began their careers in engineering positions.

Thus, the company operates on the principle of a self-learning organization, which allows it to effectively respond to changes in the business environment through the creation of innovative construction technologies and the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.

Example No. 3.

At a large production enterprise of the military-industrial complex employs more than 8,000 people. After the hard times of the 90s of the last century, they recreated the Soviet mentoring system almost piece by piece, taking the best from it and adapting it to the laws of the market.

Today, work with personnel is carried out in three directions:

- Accelerated adaptation of newcomers to the production process. This work is built according to individual development plans and under the guidance of specially assigned mentors. Mentors participate in assessing the success of their mentees in completing the probationary period. They express their opinion, which is decisive, on the advisability of further work for new employees at the enterprise;
- Conducting regular advanced training in the form of trainings and internships for existing employees. This allows the company to effectively develop a new generation of engineering and technical specialists;
- Systematic formation and development of the personnel reserve. It includes the most motivated and loyal employees of the enterprise who have the necessary set of competencies to occupy management positions in the future. As a rule, the period of stay of specialists in the personnel reserve is no more than 2–3 years.

To prevent staffing gaps, the enterprise successfully implements the following practice. At least 2 years before reaching retirement age, each manager is obliged to select a specialist capable of taking his position and begin to immerse him in the specifics of his activities. If the manager cannot decide on a successor, the HR service offers candidates from the personnel reserve. She also carries out all subsequent coordination and control over the mentoring process.

Also at this enterprise there is a system for replacing old specialists with new ones, in which the former employee becomes an expert or advisor. At the same time, he retains his full salary, and his place is taken by a new employee, trained by the old one for additional remuneration. This system allows the older generation to painlessly give way to their younger colleagues.

From the above examples it is clear that Russian companies, different in their specificity and scale, use a systematic approach to mentoring. This allows them to develop in employees the ability to independently and efficiently perform the functions assigned to them. And also quickly adapt to working conditions and the corporate culture of the enterprise.

Who should act as a mentor?
What functions should be assigned to the mentor?
Should the mentor be paid additional remuneration?

Mentoring in the classical sense, it is considered as a way of transferring skills and knowledge to a newcomer from a more experienced employee of the company. As a rule, this is a qualified specialist who has been working in the company for a long time and can introduce a new employee to the course of work. Thus, mentoring activities may include:

a mentor can make the adaptation process more comfortable for a newcomer to the team;
promoting career growth and professional development;
The mentor also takes part in assessing the performance of new employees during the probationary period.

The role of mentoring is especially obvious in the activities of fast-growing organizations. However, it should be noted that mentoring does not exist in every company, even though this “tool” is free. This concept is usually associated with assistance in the adaptation of new employees to the team during the first three months of work. At the same time, this tool is not very actively used in the process of further development of the employee to help his potential reach its full potential.

Who benefits from mentoring in an organization?

Mentor – as a result of mentoring activities, a mentor specialist has the opportunity to develop management skills by participating in the formation of a professional team, improve his status in the company, and gain the trust of colleagues;

Employee – he is provided with timely assistance at the stage of integration into the company, support for career and professional development;

A company that organizes mentoring will help stabilize the team, reduce staff turnover and form a qualified team of loyal employees who will stay for a long time.

The HR service will receive a powerful supporting resource.

A mentor, first of all, is necessary for: newcomers who have joined a well-coordinated team of the organization; employees with significant potential for professional growth; employees with low labor productivity.

Labor productivity: simple rules for increasing it

What types of mentoring can be found in different organizations?

Mentoring-supervision – the mentor shares information about the organization, the protégé’s development prospects, and teaches basic skills. Relationships are built on the principle of control.
Formal mentoring - mentoring activities consist of explaining the goals of the work and training at specially organized trainings. Formal mentoring procedures and rules are in place.
Situational mentoring – providing the necessary assistance in difficult situations.
Informal mentoring. The mentor takes full responsibility for the “student”. Voluntary mentoring option without financial compensation.

Effective mentoring: Yota principles

If the company does not have a clear and understandable personnel training system, then mentoring will not solve the problem of low qualifications of employees.

Find out what advice Yota gives on effective employee training from the article in the electronic magazine “General Director”.

What techniques are used in mentoring?

“Support” - the mentor undertakes to provide assistance to the student, including participation in the development of professional skills during training;
“Seeding” - the student develops skills or knowledge that are not yet relevant, but will acquire value in the future when the situation requires it.
“Catalysis”: the student is immersed in an environment of change, provoking the student to expand his horizons, with a change in the order of values and perceptions. When learning reaches a critical level, it experiences a sharp jump.
“Demonstration”: the mentor, using his personal example, shows certain techniques, skills in performing certain actions, ways of solving assigned tasks, making work situations clearer.
“Harvest”: The mentor concentrates on providing feedback to the learner. To understand what was learned during the training, what conclusions were drawn.

How and who will work with an employee at first determines his loyalty to the company

Yulia Nemova, Head of Human Resources, Landia Group of Companies, Moscow

A probationary employee is like an implant that is inserted into the human body. To avoid rejection, “maintenance therapy” is indispensable. This becomes a mentor who tells the new employee about the specifics of his professional duties, introduces him to the structure of the company, and introduces him to the corporate culture.

Who can be a mentor

Not every company employee can be a mentor. This requires specific qualities:

Corporate spirit. A person in his work is guided by the strategic priorities of the organization. Finds a balance between the interests of the department and the entire company as a whole.
Ability to teach. The ability to structure work experience and transfer it to a young specialist. With a clear and consistent presentation of the necessary information and comments on the student’s work data.
Responsibility. The mentor should be interested in the success of his mentee, bearing personal responsibility for solving problems that arise during training.
Ability to motivate others.
Influence. Availability of trust from communication partners. Necessary personal qualities and skills to influence others.

The “Introduction to the Company” program sets you on the same wavelength

Nina Litvinova, Director of the HR Department at Arpicom, Moscow

Our educational system is generally simple. As part of the “ABS-restaurateur” program, you will have to go through 3 stages of training. The first stage is when an experienced lawyer introduces the newcomer to the standards of service and the contents of the menu. Next, in the training center, training takes place as part of a team - we attract waiters from different restaurants. The next stages are for the new employee to gain knowledge about dishes (products). In our company, the main focus is on professionalism, so the waiter must know everything about fish, meat, and all the dishes presented. In order not to overwhelm employees with unnecessary knowledge, information for personnel is differentiated - we highlight mandatory and additional knowledge.

Program "Introduction to the company". At the general meeting, the general director introduces newcomers to the strategic goals of the company, I talk about the peculiarities of working in our company as a whole and about the corporate culture. The instrumental part of adaptation is training in serving skills, studying the menu, standards of interaction at all levels, and resolving conflict situations.

The functions of a mentor can be performed by:

The newbie's immediate supervisor.
Personnel service worker.
Newbie colleague.

What are the rights and responsibilities of a mentor?

Introducing the employee to the corporate culture, with the transfer of the rules of business and non-work communication, traditions and standards of behavior;
Identification of problem areas in the professional training of a specialist;
Participation in the formation of a central development plan for the student, with the provision of practical and theoretical support during the probationary period and internship;
Making a proposal to reward the trainee in accordance with company practice;
Recommendation of vertical and horizontal movement of the employee;
Providing an oral reference for the student upon completion of training;
Transferring your gained “supervision” experience to colleagues in the company.

Mentor motivation

An indirect way to materially reward a mentor is to include relevant measurable indicators in the KPI (key performance indicators) system, the fulfillment of which determines the size of the salary and/or bonus. However, for professional services companies, non-financial motivation can be critical:

public recognition of the importance of employees for the organization;
attention to the problems of mentors from the company management;
various internal corporate insignia for mentors - in the form of diplomas, badges, etc.

Other methods of motivation are common in the form of identifying the best mentor, presenting memorable gifts during corporate events, etc.

Of course, ideally, mentoring activities should be perceived as an honorable mission that increases their status, without additional material motivation. This is possible when the external market perceives your company as a very prestigious place to work.

Organization of a mentoring system in the company

Among the most important issues in organizing mentoring are:

Quality of mentoring activities.
Conscientiousness in the performance of duties on the part of mentors.

In organizations in which the mentoring system is used for the first time, the role of mentors can be:

volunteers;
employees who best meet the specified criteria.

The mentoring process must be organized in such a way that the training of newcomers has a positive impact on the work of the mentor himself, otherwise the effectiveness of his main activities will significantly deteriorate. Ideally, the number of wards should not exceed 5-6 people.

CEO speaks

Dmitry Grankin, General Director of the Press Distribution Center company, member of the board of the Logos group of companies, Moscow

Employee training at the initial stage is the task of the HR department. The employees of this department have a high status in the company. If the employee’s qualifications are above average, the HR director becomes a mentor. If the level is below middle management, will report to the training manager.

Then it is expected to conduct classes in the specialty. There are no specialized universities in our industry, so we organized a corporate school to train specialists. The newcomer's mentor is his direct supervisor. The direct manager will not only be able to understand the abilities and characteristics of the subordinate, but also promote the protégé up the career ladder, understanding his abilities.

The CEO acts as a mentor for top managers: he sets tasks for them and prepares them on issues of corporate culture.

What mentoring methods are found in organizations?

1. Model “Guru and his follower”. When a worker finds himself subordinate to a guru with authority in the professional circle, he becomes a follower in order to learn from the mentor. The student must observe, try to imitate and remember. In this case, the gurus do not explain anything; you can simply watch their work. Advantages of the model: high professionalism of the student, if he can understand the principles of the guru’s work. Disadvantages of the model: the group’s involvement in the training is low, there is practically no feedback, the result can only appear after a significant period of time, and not always.

2. “Master and Apprentice” model. The master is ready to share with his apprentice. In the case of a responsive student, this model will be ideal. This includes equal proportions of “carrot” and “stick”. The number of students the master has is quite large, but the mentor also has sufficient experience. Advantages of the model: the involvement of the group is quite high, with rapid adaptation, achievement of excellent results at the end, a team of like-minded people is formed. Disadvantages of the model: when the master leaves, there is a possibility of losing the entire team. Some students are constantly guided by a mentor without developing independent qualities.

3. Model “Creative tandem”. Few mentors are ready for such a relationship. It is supposed to accept a new, young specialist as an equal, allowing him to feel it. Such a tandem works together, sharing responsibility for the result, becoming a single working unit. There is a synergy effect of 1 + 1 = 3. Advantages of the model: it promotes high group involvement, rapid adaptation, the formation of a full-fledged team, and excellent “output” results. Disadvantages of the model: the mini-group remains isolated in the team; Usually, the departure of one representative of a tandem from the company leads to the departure of the other.

Individual mentoring methods

Learning through role play. A relevant method for sales departments, customer service departments, and call centers. The training is conducted by a manager-mentor as a role-playing game. The mentor acts as a manager, and the trainee is the “client”.
Training through double visits. The employee and manager visit the client together. This visit is intended for effective employee training.

Group mentoring methods

1. Small group training. The mentor sends questions to employees in the morning - “What objections do you need answers to?”, “What typical situations in communicating with clients lead to the main difficulties?”

The main task of managers in this case becomes collecting information and sending the received information to the mentor. 3 days are usually given to collect information. Next, they gather together for the mentor to review the questions asked.

2. For Call centers. A group of three to four people gathers, with an audio recording of the negotiations turned on. When training newcomers, it is better to show tapes of successful negotiations so that they copy the best techniques. Analysis of questions involves consideration of:

What good did you notice in the negotiations?
What can be improved in the dialogue, what needs to be worked on?

Order and regulations on mentoring in the organization

Mentoring can be formally organized in accordance with the company’s regulations on mentoring, or it can be organized informally, becoming an element of the company’s corporate culture. Typically, mentoring regulations include the following sections:

tasks and goals of mentoring in the company;
a list of professions and positions covered by the mentoring system;
forms of mentoring;
requirements for a mentor;
incentives for the mentor (incentive method used, amount of bonuses or additional payments);
mentor responsibilities;
student responsibilities;
The result of mentoring is the development of the student’s career and testing of his knowledge.

Five-step mentoring method using the example of teaching cash register skills

First stage: “I’ll tell you, you listen.” Theoretical information is provided, for example, about the principle of operation of a cash register. First, we consider the structure of a cash register, how different operations are carried out, and what difficulties arise when using it.

Stage two: “I’ll show you, you look.” For a beginner, we demonstrate the principles of operation, which keys should be pressed, with explanations of each step.

Stage three: “Let’s do it together.” All operations are carried out together with a beginner.

Stage four: “Do it yourself, I’ll tell you.” The beginner follows the procedure - if he is confused or missed something, we prompt him and help him. This stage should be completed several times until the beginner is able to use the procedure without errors.

Fifth stage: “Do it yourself. Tell me what you did." In addition to mechanically pressing buttons, it is important for us to hear whether the newcomer understands why he is performing certain actions, and what he plans to do next. After all, consolidating conscious skills turns out to be more significant.

Personnel training - what a manager needs to know

Mentoring is the most effective tool for staff training

Tatiana Kuzmina, Director of the Department for Organizational Development and Personnel Management of the AvtoSpetsTsentr group of companies, Moscow

If the mentor is not an experienced colleague, but a professional consultant, then this is called coaching. We decided to train our coaches on the company’s premises. We are sure that a talented employee must share his skills and knowledge, otherwise he stops developing. When teaching others, he often makes discoveries himself, because he has to study a lot of information.

However, mentoring can also be built according to a more simplified scheme, which is widely practiced by the military. Involves 3 stages - story, demonstration, training. In fact, this is an analogue of the five-step system.

You should be sure to break long instructions and steps into small steps, working on each step taken separately, to avoid overload.

The main requirement is regular feedback from the newcomer. Tell him what was done wrong, what still needs to be worked on, etc.

How to evaluate the results of mentoring

To determine the effectiveness of the mentoring system and the work of specific mentors, different types of surveys can be used:

Targeted - to determine the degree of satisfaction with the mentoring system, and in particular with the work of mentors;

More general – with incorporated questions about mentoring, including:

satisfaction and engagement surveys;
“360 degree assessment.”

It is quite difficult to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of a mentor. Formal criteria include the number of meetings with the trainee and how timely assessment forms were completed. It is unlikely that one can judge the quality of training by formal indicators. Therefore, indirect assessment indicators are also common, including:

how successfully the new employee adapted to the company;
how effectively the new employee performs professional duties;
obvious professional growth, employee development, etc.

But the success of the mentee cannot be regarded as the only evaluation criterion. After all, both the qualities and motivation of the employee himself influence a lot.

Typical mistakes when organizing a mentoring system

Underestimation of the level of discomfort of the mentor's mentee's working conditions. To prevent this mistake, a trusting environment should be created, with careful training for the new employee;
Imposing your opinion on the learner. To prevent problems, you should ask questions about the evaluation of various actions, but you should not first express your value judgments;
Overloading the mentee with recommendations and comments on an extensive list of issues. To prevent errors, it is necessary to highlight key issues and focus on them so that the student does not have to deal with a lot of different information;
Insufficient attention is paid to setting tasks and their further control. It is necessary to formulate S.M.A.R.T objectives - (S) specific, (M) measurable, (A) achievable, (R) relevant or relevant to the activity, (T), setting a clear time frame. Systematic control is needed, and not limited to random checks. Based on the results of control, it is necessary to analyze the situation with the wards, if necessary, making adjustments to the initial tasks, taking into account changes in the current situation;
“Do as I do” - when the student has to simply copy the actions of the mentor without explaining the reasons and relevance of a certain action. Any abnormal situation that goes beyond the template can disrupt the main process.

It is safe to say that mentoring is one of the oldest methods of knowledge transfer, which is still widespread today in the practice of personnel training and adaptation of new employees. In human resources, mentoring refers to a method of training staff directly on the job. Recruitment agency "Favorit" organizes internship programs for beginning specialists.

The learning process takes place in a real working environment, examples are real professional tasks that the student solves under the guidance of a highly qualified specialist with the opportunity to ask for the expert opinion of an experienced professional. Mentoring is used to train employees, whose level of training can vary from a complete lack of any professional knowledge to completely competent specialists with a solid reserve of knowledge. In the latter case, this method is used to help newly hired employees adapt to a new workplace, get to know the team, master the specifics of working in a given organization and adopt the company’s corporate culture.

Mentoring as a method of staff training has become especially relevant in our time due to the emergence of such a concept as a learning company. Such a company achieves success in the market and in the fight against competitors through a timely response to changes in the business environment. The management of such organizations creates and implements new technologies and takes care of the professional development of their employees. Severe competitive conditions in the market require the integration of new developments for the practical activities of the company in the shortest possible time. This, in turn, dictates the need for continuous training of employees.

The above circumstances require the learning organization to create a highly effective training system that would combine methods of training personnel outside the workplace, as well as a number of techniques for transferring knowledge directly in the workplace. Theoretical training is carried out through the creation of an internal school, in which classes are held in the form of lectures, seminars, trainings conducted by our own trainers or invited specialists. The implementation of the acquired theoretical knowledge into practical activities occurs mainly through the mentoring method. At the same time, the role of teachers is no longer played by trainers, but by more experienced employees of the company itself. Such teachers can be managers of all levels, highly qualified and experienced specialists.

In companies where internal schools are organized, theoretical training and retraining courses take place approximately once every six months. All conditions are created for new employees to undergo a course of lectures, seminars and trainings in the first three months of their work. Beginners immediately, in the workplace, consolidate their acquired theoretical knowledge.

Mentoring is designed to solve a whole range of problems

Firstly, this method is an effective system for transferring the experience and knowledge of the most qualified specialists to new employees. Secondly, thanks to the personal approach to mentoring, corporate values quickly spread throughout the team. The mentor can also monitor the success of his mentees’ mastery of theoretical knowledge.

In addition, mentoring performs a motivating function, since for experienced employees the position of a mentor is recognition of their professional merits and helps to increase respect in the team.

On the other hand, the position of a mentor places special demands on such specialists. They need not only to be able to professionally perform their job functions, but also to be able to effectively and clearly convey them to other employees. For this purpose, companies are developing entire systems for training mentors. In internal schools, mentors undergo special training, the purpose of which is to understand the importance and uniqueness of the mentoring system, familiarize themselves with the methods of training trainees, and also acquire mentoring skills.

Not every person is capable of becoming a mentor. In addition to excellent mastery of professional skills, mentors must have a number of personal qualities, of which, first of all, it should be noted a sense of responsibility, dedication, responsiveness, patience, a sense of tact, mastery of communication techniques, and high self-organization.

The task of a mentor is not only to always be close to the mentee and support him, but also to demonstrate by his own example the correct approach to work. In the first days, the mentor devotes more time to the theoretical preparation of the trainee, bringing to his attention all the necessary information useful in solving professional problems. Then the mentor introduces his student more and more directly into practical activities. Various role-playing games can be used here to help practice various work situations, followed by their analysis and discussion of the pros and cons of the decisions made by the trainee.

It is important for a mentor to be able to captivate and interest his student. This significantly increases the motivation and efficiency of the learning process. Even after the internship period has successfully ended and the student has begun to work independently, the mentor must monitor him and be ready to help in difficult situations.

For performing additional duties as a mentor, a company employee receives a number of privileges. These include trust from the company's top management, the status of leaders in the team and the growth of reputation. Financial remuneration for the functions of a mentor is also important, the amount of which depends on the success of the trainees in passing exams. All employees of the organization who have proven themselves in the role of mentors are included in the company’s management personnel reserve.

In turn, the company also has a number of advantages from using the mentoring method. Firstly, thanks to this system, the organization has its own team of internal trainers who can convey not only professional skills, but are also carriers of the corporate culture of this company. The company receives loyal employees who create its image. As already noted, from among the mentors you can select well-prepared employees to occupy leadership positions.

Mentoring has proven its effectiveness over a long period of its existence as a method of training staff. The attractiveness of this method lies in the fact that it benefits all parties involved in the process: the trainee, the mentor and the company itself. Therefore, despite the emergence of new developments in the field of personnel training methods, mentoring does not lose its relevance today.

The average age of workers in such professions as electric and gas welders, mechanics, and milling operators is much higher than that of lawyers or marketers. Experts note: the supply of blue-collar workers in the labor market is falling, but demand is constantly growing... In addition, training young people in blue-collar professions causes the most problems - both in industrial enterprises and in the education system.

Listen - and you will forget, look -
and you remember, do it - and you will understand.
Confucius

Increasing demand for workers (especially in mechanical engineering, metallurgy - in general, in the “real sector”) may soon lead to the fact that in the near future they may become the highest paid in the country. But where to look for these people? Now? In our small city of Berdyansk, their shortage has long become a serious problem: there are many industrial enterprises in the city, and the city mechanical engineering college is not able to satisfy the growing need for personnel...

What should managers do in a situation where the ability to recruit “ready” workers for blue-collar jobs has decreased? There is only one real way out - to look for alternative ways:

self-training (on-the-job);
sending employees for training at vocational schools/technical schools;
professional retraining in a corporate training center.

We decided to train people ourselves, directly at their workplaces. At the same time, such training became effective largely due to the involvement mentors: the introduction of a newcomer to a specialty and training directly on the job was carried out by another, more experienced employee with the same specialty.

The main “advantage” of the mentoring system is that an experienced master can convey to the student knowledge about the specifics of work at a particular workplace, with which he is well familiar. This form of training was very common during the Soviet Union, as it made it possible to quickly train the required number of workers in a certain specialty. It was important for us that our “old people” themselves once went through the mentoring system.

It would seem that what could be easier for an HR specialist than to introduce a mentoring system: we write the appropriate Regulations, coordinate it with management, inform the team, and then all that remains is to control the process. Unfortunately, in reality, along the way of project implementation, various pitfalls were discovered every now and then, and many more problems appeared than expected.

At our enterprise, the main difficulty turned out to be selection of people, who could become mentors (although at first no one thought that this could be a problem at all). Why? Experienced workers had enough qualifications and skill, but a mentor must also have many other qualities (for a list of criteria for selecting mentors, see table 1)…

Table 1. Criteria for selecting a mentor

No.	Group	Criterion	Note
	Work results	Execution of planned tasks high labor productivity compliance with product quality requirements absence of defects and complaints from management	The mentor himself must demonstrate consistently high performance results. This is especially important for areas where there is a high probability of defects, and its elimination is expensive.
	Qualification	Extensive work experience rank in specialty (not lower than fifth) diploma/certificate of education age - at least 30 years	Without work experience and the necessary qualifications, it is impossible to teach someone how to work correctly.
	Work organization	Ability to organize your workplace and keep it in proper order discipline, accuracy	The student must learn to keep the workplace clean and come to work on time. If the mentor himself does not know how to adhere to these rules, the student will never be able to understand their importance
	Personal qualities and position in the team	Respect from team members decency, conscientiousness ability to build relationships with strangers	An employee must build normal working relationships with colleagues not only in his own department, but also in other departments, and help others in solving current issues
	Motivation	Desire to help others with professional development need to gain new experience desire to move up the career ladder interest in receiving additional remuneration	A person must be focused on his own professional and personal development, as well as the development of others, be interested in teaching others, be able to transfer accumulated knowledge and experience, and also provide moral support to the student
	Organizational and pedagogical abilities	The ability to set the student to the desired result ability to teach, speak and listen	The clearer the mentor is able to express his thoughts (and in simple and accessible words), the better for the student. In addition, the mentor must be able to defend his beliefs in conflict situations
	Work experience in the company, product knowledge	Work experience in the company - at least three years knowledge of technical documentation, product range	The mentor must know the company’s products, the specifics of all processes, the principles of interaction between departments, etc.

The mentor must be able to:

familiarize the new employee with the enterprise (territory, organizational structure, accepted rules of conduct, corporate culture, colleagues, etc.);
familiarize yourself with the product range and requirements for manufactured products;
show the workplace, conduct a full briefing of the new employee on the use of machines and mechanisms;
talk about job responsibilities and requirements for the performer at this workplace;
teach a beginner how to work so that he can produce products of the required level of quality.

They found the following way out of the situation: they decided to select mentors for new employees, taking into account what knowledge/skills they currently lack. For example, a newcomer has some experience in the profession, but he is not at all familiar with the products of our plant - in this case, the main criterion when selecting a mentor is 1) knowledge of the product (clause 7 table 1) and 2) length of service at the enterprise.

But choosing the right people does not guarantee that all of them will immediately join the new task, because training, control, and motivation of young people is an additional burden! You can get the expected effect from mentoring only if each master is interested in passing on his knowledge and skills to the next generation. As the “history of the issue” shows, attaching a young worker to a mentor “on a voluntary basis” is a deliberately losing option. What motivators will work?

Our practice confirms: currently the best means of motivation is material interest; without this, it is not possible to obtain the necessary effect from the mentoring system. Non-material incentives (new position, gratitude, portrait on the Board of Honor, etc.) are also important, but in a second place; The emphasis should still be on material incentives.

Search and selection methods of material motivation mentors in our company took place in stages: new approaches were introduced, then assessed in terms of effectiveness, then revised and refined... This cycle was repeated several times before we arrived at the currently accepted system. Here's what we tried until we found the best option:

I. Our enterprise uses a piecework-bonus form of remuneration: workers do not have salaries, wages are calculated for the volume of products actually manufactured at established prices. It was decided: to pay the mentor extra for the period of mentoring - in the amount of 10% of his monthly salary. In this case, during the training period, the student receives a minimum salary plus payment for the products he produces according to approved prices. The rationale was this:

the mentor, with the help of the student, will be able to make more products than he previously did alone (for each unit of production he will receive an additional salary, and in addition - an additional payment for mentoring in the amount of 10% of the salary);
the student receives a certain minimum, and also has a real opportunity to earn more.

We believed that since the mentor’s salary would actually increase significantly, this would be a good incentive for the successful training of new workers. But it turned out that in practice this approach ineffective:

the mentor was constantly distracted from work to help the student or control his actions, so he did not have time to fulfill his quota and lost money;
the student produced a large volume of work only thanks to the help of an experienced master: in the products he produced, a significant share of the added value was actually created by the mentor, although the student received money for it.

results : the mentor is demotivated; A trained young worker, having parted with the status of an apprentice, was not immediately able to independently fulfill the established production standards. For some newcomers, this came as a surprise, because they no longer had a specific rate, and their earnings were formed only by piecework rates. They came to the conclusion that they were “losing money” and quit without starting to work seriously. At the first stage of independent work, they actually earned less, but soon the salaries of former students increased significantly, they just had to get to that point...

The system clearly required revision.

II. Taking into account the failures of the first option, changes were made to the mentor motivation system. Now:

students were paid wages equal to the minimum wage;
the mentor received payment for all products made together with the student, plus (as before) a 10% additional payment.

The motivation of the mentors was improved - they saw the benefit in the rapid training of students, since the number of parts made with them in a pair (and, accordingly, the amount of wages) depended on this.

But this system also turned out to be “skewed”, now towards the interests of the mentor. Initially, it was agreed that the duration of training should be six to nine months, depending on the specialty, but could be extended “for objective reasons.” For example, if a) due to the peculiarities of the production process in a particular period of time, the master could not devote enough time to his ward; b) there was no order for the products; c) there was no work of a certain complexity, etc.

results : the mentors sought to extend the training period in order to receive increased wages (“for themselves and for that guy”). Of course, this option turned out to be unacceptable for the company, so the system was revised again.

III. Now we have decided to stimulate accelerated training for beginners: the amount of additional payment for mentoring was made inversely dependent on the period of training (that is, the longer a beginner is an apprentice, the less remuneration the master receives). At the same time, payment for different periods of training was approached differently:

1) six to nine months inclusive: the work of the mentor with the student was paid to the maximum (payment for all products made together with the student plus 10% of the mentor’s monthly salary);

2) 10–12 months: mentoring fees decreased (only 5% of the mentor’s monthly salary);

3) more than a year: mentoring was not paid.

results : By proposing these changes, we were afraid that mentors would “throw away” not fully prepared students after the first stage. But our worries turned out to be unfounded - the system finally worked normally.

After some time, the first results were summed up. Despite all the improvements, the mentoring motivation system still had a significant drawback: the quality of training of young workers largely depended on the size of the master’s remuneration. We decided that this was burdensome for the enterprise, so we tried to make wider use of various methods of non-material motivation:

Firstly, organized a competition among students, the winner of which received the title “Best Prepared Student.” The mentor whose mentee won the competition received a) a certificate of honor, and b) a week of additional vacation. But, as it turned out, for the majority of experienced workers whom we would like to see as mentors, additional vacation did not become a serious motive for working with young people - older people have less need for additional free time (these needs are more likely to be high among young people, especially young husbands and fathers).

Secondly, tried to “stir up” the enthusiasm of experienced workers: they explained that the work of a mentor is recognition of high professionalism, a sign of high status in the company. But all our recognized masters with experience already knew that blue-collar professions are in demand, management values them, and they have the highest rank.

In the end, we promised to pay an additional one-time bonus for training the best student. This briefly changed people’s attitudes towards mentoring for the better - however, such a method could no longer be called non-material motivation. As a result, the program of non-financial motivation for mentors was completely curtailed because saving on education turned out to be unprofitable.

But motivation is not everything. While introducing a mentoring system in production, we also encountered other problems:

1. How to record the transition of a student to the category of “real” (full-fledged, independent) workers?

To establish the end of the apprenticeship period, we have developed qualification assessment procedure received by young workers.

This is how this process is organized at our factory. When the mentor is convinced that his student is ready for independent work, he informs the immediate supervisor about the end of the preparation period. Then a special commission is assembled consisting of the workshop manager, the chief engineer, the site foreman (to whom the student is assigned), a labor standards engineer, an economist, a technologist and an HR specialist. Members of the commission, in accordance with the established procedure, check the knowledge and skills of the young worker, and then confirm (or do not confirm) his qualifications.

To demonstrate the acquired skills, the student completes a practical exam, which is assessed by committee members. Then they test theoretical knowledge. If the results of the work are positively assessed by all members of the commission, the worker leaves the group of students and begins work in the “normal mode”.

Simultaneously with checking the readiness of a young worker to act independently, the work of the mentor is also assessed: how well did he cope with his task? Is it possible in the future to entrust him with training young workers?

2. How to ensure completion of the student training cycle?

What is the essence of the question? We had a case when, after the third month of training, a student complained to the site foreman (as his immediate superior) that the mentor required him to do 80% of the work independently and, in general, “forgot” his ward. But the commission did not find anything “wrong” in the mentor’s actions. How did the conflict end? The mentor himself demanded that the student be transferred to another master, after which the commission found a new mentor for the student.

In our experience, the question of whether a mentor can refuse to train a young employee in the middle of the training period is best decided in advance, stipulating this in the Regulations on Mentoring. Our decision: of course, the mentor has the right to refuse his obligations, but only if the student does not comply with his obligations.

3. Who should oversee the mentoring project?

It depends on the characteristics of the enterprise. In our company, methodological training of mentors is carried out by the HR service, which maintains a database of students and mentors ( table 2), and also prepares all the necessary documents (protocols on the assignment of a profession and/or work category, orders for inclusion in the mentor database, Regulations on mentoring) and measures to improve the training system. At necessary HR service employees together with the mentor they develop Plan of the education etc. Candidates for mentors are nominated by the heads of departments, and after consideration they are approved by the director (this decision is entered as a separate line in the order for hiring a new employee).

Table 2. Mentor database (fragment)

No.

FULL NAME.

Position, profession

Discharge

Date of Birth

Work experience in specialty

employment date

Number of trained

Statu with

FULL NAME. student

Period of study

start date

planned completion date

actual end date

Ivanov Sergey Viktorovich

Electric welder

Free

Yurko Andrey Anatolievich

Toolmaker

Sidorov Yuri Viktorovich

Vasiliev Petr Olegovich

Free

Petrenko Yuri Vladimirovich

Free

Andreev Vasily Vasilievich

Free

Yatsenko Yakov Andreevich

Electric welder

Durov Oleg Olegovich

Dmitrov Evgeniy Vladimirovich

Milling operator

Ivasyuk Ivan Sergeevich

Rublev Petr Vasilievich

Sharpener

Free

Which conclusions What have we done for ourselves by introducing mentoring at the plant?

The company's management considers the results of this program to be generally positive. Mentoring has proven to be the most effective method of training workers with the required qualifications directly on the job.
In-plant training - when properly organized - is a powerful tool for optimizing production. Often, training an existing employee - even if there are several applicants for a job - turns out to be much more profitable than attracting a new one. But this solution will be effective only if there is interest everyone parties: the enterprise, the student and his mentor.
Saving on labor costs will never lead to good results! According to various estimates, about 90% of employees will move to other companies if their current workplace pays lower than the market average - regardless of their level of commitment to the company or their job. Saving on mentors' salaries does not allow obtaining a positive effect from the introduction of a mentoring system.
Mentors also need to be periodically trained, upgraded (especially in the area of adult learning methods) and certified. At our enterprise, mentors are regularly given lectures by technologists, employees of the quality system department and the chief engineer. The frequency of lectures depends on the current needs of the company. For example, when the number of employees increases or the product range changes, they are carried out more often.
People need to be valued and protected. We are proud that in the midst of “optimization crisis measures” in our company a decision was made: “to save all employees” (although there were no jobs for people at that time)! And this is not charity: we understood that having fired experienced workers today, we would not find new ones after the crisis. Not a single person was laid off due to “redundancy,” which made it possible to preserve the team, including highly qualified workers who could be entrusted with working with young people.
Investments in the mentoring system are investments in “human capital”, and therefore in the development of the company. These investments bring real income to the company through increased labor efficiency and improved product quality.

Article provided to our portal
editorial staff of the magazine "HR Manager"

Education, Development, Trainings

Keywords:

1 -1

Training of young personnel- a labor-intensive activity, but undoubtedly effective. After all, the faster an employee understands and adapts, the sooner he will begin to benefit the company. You can, of course, give the new employee printed instructions and say: “Learn it yourself, brother.” And then wait a long time until he gets into the swing of things. Or you can assign an experienced specialist to the newcomer, who will transfer his own knowledge and skills directly during the work process. This is the essence of mentoring. Labor market experts spoke about how this method of training can be useful for an enterprise and in what cases to use it.

What is it, what do they eat it with?

is one of the effective methods of increasing the efficiency of company employees through their development in the workplace and providing assistance in resolving any work issues. This method is also used to reveal the potential of a new employee and its further implementation in the company.

“By mentoring we mean the assistance of one person to another in gaining new knowledge and increasing efficiency in work, not related to direct leadership. The main goal of mentoring is to help young professionals adapt to the team and provide timely assistance in professional development.”

Important point- the mentor is not a direct supervisor. If a manager is obliged by duty to ensure that new employees of his department organically integrate into the work process, then this is not included in the job description of the mentor.

So who is a mentor?

This is an experienced employee who takes the newcomer under his wing and helps him adapt to work in the company. The mentor is responsible for planning and organizing an effective professional development program for his mentee.

Who can be a mentor?

Not every company employee can serve as a mentor. Experienced assistants are employees who:

In the process of work, they are guided by corporate priorities;
Has teaching abilities;
Are ready to take personal responsibility for the mistakes of the mentee;
Able to motivate others;
They have influence and trust in the team.

“Among the main responsibilities of a mentor are counseling a young specialist, determining the direction of his career growth, drawing up a professional development plan, monitoring the implementation of assigned tasks, adjusting the plan, conducting additional training events, helping in the application of knowledge acquired outside of work, demonstrating a positive role model.” , the expert adds.

It is impossible to force one or another employee to officially become a teacher for a newbie. Mentoring is entirely voluntary. The benefits of this method for young employees are clear, but why should experienced employees waste time and effort on newcomers? It's all about motivation. It also includes remuneration (in the form of a small increase in salary), but still rests more firmly on the intangible part - gaining additional knowledge (mentors attend courses and trainings to improve their skills), attention and approval from the management echelon, various insignia that raise authority in the workplace. in the eyes of the team, and so on.

“Mentoring allows you to increase the motivation and professional level of the mentor himself, acquire new skills, and also get the opportunity to move further up the career ladder.”

Terms of mentoring activities

The mentoring period is set depending on the need and the specific organization of activities at a particular enterprise. As a rule, it is several months. Thus, new employees are often required to serve a probationary period, which is often 3 months. And during all these three months, the mentor appointed by the management of the enterprise will have to fulfill the duties assigned to him.

When to use?

Launching and maintaining a project requires the expenditure of both financial and human resources. The need to implement this method is advisable in the following cases.

- If the team consists mainly of young specialists.

“The use of mentoring techniques as a special form of staff training is most relevant in companies where the team consists of young employees. Such a specialist, having arrived at his first job in a certain segment, does not yet have the necessary professional experience, so the mentor should become the person who can convey to him the entire set of knowledge and skills he has, helping him adapt to the professional environment. That is why, for the most effective cooperation between experienced employees and young ones, it is necessary to build a clear and well-functioning system for organizing internship programs.”

- If there is a high staff turnover.

Hooray! It's working!

Individual for each company. The management of the enterprise independently decides how exactly to motivate mentors, determines the duration of training for newcomers, sets the project budget, and so on.

But for the most part, the implementation of mentoring comes down to three global stages: selection, training of mentors and evaluation of their work.

“We organized mentoring according to the following scheme:

development of a project plan and procedures, budget formation, analysis of the experience of colleagues from subsidiary banks of the RBI group, adaptation of the necessary materials;
selecting a pool of mentors and conducting their training, drawing up individual work plans;
selection of pilot cities/bank branches;
Conducting fresh-up trainings (sales and quality of service) for retail employees;
the presence of mentors in pilot bank branches, monitoring the work of employees, feedback on the results of work, training in the elements of mentoring for branch directors (the pilot lasted five weeks, then we monitored the process);
analysis of the pilot results, evaluation of mentors and trainees, adjustment of the mentoring system implementation plan.

In our regional centers, to implement the mentoring system, we:

determined the profile of the mentor (compiled an approximate professional and psychological portrait), selected mentors, trained in detail, tested and selected the best;
trained retail employees (sales and quality) and heads of retail departments (sales and mentoring);
introduced a mentoring system in a particular department and additionally trained the director of the department;
constantly monitored the work of mentors and sales results.”

Implementation difficulties

Of course, organizing a mentoring system does not always go perfectly. The main problems that may arise when implementing this process:

“Wrong choice of mentor pool. For example, we initially misjudged the expected workload and did not profile the mentor.
Lengthy and expensive training for mentors. These employees must be the best at what they do and must also be proficient in some training techniques.
Incorrect positioning of the mentoring system. Our employees initially perceived mentors as “overseers.” Motivation, especially among experienced specialists, was declining.”

Advantages of the mentoring method

Of course, the implementation of this method of personnel training is costly, because this project cannot be completed.

“The mentoring system is a way of life. Regular support for this process is required. If you do not control the implementation of the mentoring system, then the process “dies.”

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