The Business Roundtable today released a statement on the Purpose of a Corporation and investment in our employees was top of mind. “It includes supporting them through training and education that help them develop new skills in a rapidly changing world,” stated the document signed by Chairmen and CEO’s of Anthem, Accenture, EY, JP Morgan , Apple and 100s more.

We agree. Today’s workforce is more innovative than ever and faces unique challenges. In order for businesses to succeed, they require robust employee development and engagement strategies—strategies that must be as diverse and creative as the workforce for which they were built. Corporate mentorship initiatives are a cost-efficient, highly effective addition to training programs, ERG groups and engagement strategies that may not be reaching their full potential. Utilizing your best employee(s) as company mentors allows them to share their knowledge and experience as they help shape less experienced employees or advance high-potential talent. Here are some more reasons why corporate mentoring is vital to your company’s success:

1.    Improves Onboarding and Recruitment

It can be difficult assimilating into a new job and adapting to a company’s unique culture. Mentoring during onboarding is appealing to new hires because it exhibits a strong commitment from their employer to their development and training. This also enables employees to learn and adapt faster, resulting in an increase of productivity and career satisfaction. Research by Deloitte shows our younger workforce looks to work for people and companies that mentor and 79% of millennials want their managers to be mentors. There is an adage that when leaders climb the ladder they often forget the ladder is there. It is our children and our employees children on those ladders. Who will mentor them?

2.    Improves Development

More than three quarters of employees have said there is a lack of career development opportunities at their companies. Corporate mentoring programs are a time- and cost-efficient method of both developing and engaging all levels of employees at the company. More experienced employees benefit from not only the satisfaction of helping mold and develop their mentee, but also by learning from and be mentored by their mentee through reverse mentoring. A mutually beneficial alliance if done right. A study on Sun Microsystems (now Oracle), by Wharton / Gartner found that people who mentored were promoted 6x more often and mentees were promoted 5x more often than people who did not participate in a mentoring program.

3.    Higher Employee Retention

Many people leave their job because they don’t feel appreciated or don’t see a chance to move forward. Creating a highly effective managed mentoring program allows veteran employees to feel valued while offering career development opportunities. High potential employees thrive in businesses that provide favorable environments where they can grow. Deloitte found that retention rates are 25% higher for employees who have engaged in a company sponsored mentorship program, and mentorship decreased the odds of turnover in U.S. Army Officers by 30%. Higher retention rates mean that companies spend less money on hiring and training new talent, which is estimated by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) at 1-3x salary.

4.    Increasing Diversity & Inclusion

Businesses with a diverse workforce and inclusive company culture are more innovative, perform better and achieve higher revenues than less diverse companies, according to the World Economic Forum (and many other studies). One of the biggest benefits that mentoring offers is the increase of employee engagement throughout the company, and for people of all backgrounds. The support and advice of senior employees will help new employees have a better experience and feel a greater sense of belonging. The Sodexo Corporation integrated a mentoring program into its D&I initiatives and found a return of $19 spent for every $1 invested in mentoring. As people tend to seek mentors who remind them of themselves and visa versa, a little strategic planning to drive more diverse relationships goes a long way. CXO’s need to be more deliberate in who they mentor and sponsor with action planning. Did you know 86% of male executives and 64% of females who make over $249,000 a year share they have a mentor.

5.    Increased Knowledge Sharing & Succession Planning

Knowledge is power in today’s fast-moving economy. Top executives need to share their knowledge if they want the business to continue to succeed after transition professionally. Corporate mentoring programs are the best ways to develop and groom high potential employees to replace leaders who retire, are promoted or leave the company for other causes.

Lastly, it’s a health matter. The World Health Organization recently diagnosed ‘corporate burnout’ as a disease. One of the leading causes of ‘burn out’ is the lack of human connection. Mentoring breaks down these human barriers. In our global work, we have found that less than 30% of executives share with us that they have a professional mentor and under 10% are mentoring others. Engineering human connection is not a ‘nice to have,’ its paramount to the health of your team and our companies.

If you are ready to invest in your employees and take your company to the next level, Twomentor LLC has the proven solution for you. We can help you build a happier, more inclusive and engaged workforce through mentorship. Our experienced team will develop a customized managed mentoring program based on your company’s needs. Our ratings from our last nice clients are in the 90^th percentile in terms of people’s confidence in being a mentor/mentee. We work with all types of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, mid-size business, and associations. For more information call 1-833-5-Mentor, schedule a call with sophiaD@twomentor.com, or visit us at https://twomentor.com.