Creating a Mentoring Culture at your Organization 

Mentoring culture is when an organization continuously promotes collaboration, in turn, empowering individuals to develop themselves through informal mentoring. Individuals are actively engaged, feel valued, and are open to participate in knowledge sharing. 

As the American author Napoleon Hill said, “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed,”. A mentoring culture creates a synergistic relationship where employees are engaged in meaningful work, while the organization is successfully achieving business goals. 

Why create a mentoring culture?  

When you have a mentoring culture, everyone is a participant. Not only do the mentees have a chance to develop their skills, but the mentors gain value as well. With that in mind, more individuals will volunteer to be available as a mentor to other individuals in their organization. A few other benefits to having a mentoring culture include: 

1. A natural increase in learning and development.  
2. Increased employee engagement. 
3. An increase in employee promotions. 
4. Increased employee retention. 
5. Less reliance on formal training which leads to cost efficiency. 
6. Attraction of top talent to your brand. 

How to create a culture of mentorship

Mentoring culture at an organization doesn't happen merely as a result of implementing a mentoring program. Rather, mentoring culture is a mindset that influences every aspect of the organization. Consider this mindset the foundation of effective mentoring practices. We've put together out top tips for integrating mentoring culture at your organization.

Tips to integrate mentoring into your company culture 

1. Use mentoring in your onboarding process. Not only does this promote a positive experience for new hires from day one, this also establishes the expectation that mentoring, formal or informal, is engrained in the company’s culture.
   
   
2. Communicate. Build awareness of mentoring within your organization by explaining to everyone that mentoring is more than just an optional program. Share the importance and benefits to not only the stakeholders, but also the mentees.  
   
   
3. Leadership support. When there is buy in from executives who act as sponsors, the promotion builds awareness. Having executives place great importance on the use of mentoring on a daily basis will come across as more personal and meaningful to employees and future talent.
     
4. Make mentoring inclusive. Your organization may run mentoring programs targeting high potentials or future leaders. However, be mindful that mentoring programs can be used widely for a variety of objectives. Including all new hires in an onboarding mentoring program is a great start, but creating other opportunities for individuals to participate will go a long way for your organization's mentoring culture.
    

When your organization is ready to implement formal mentoring, make it easy by using a mentoring software platform. Organizations can facilitate mentor matching, gather feedback for improvements, provide online support, and many more. Chat with one of our experts to learn more about what Insala’s mentoring software solutions can provide. Request a demo to get started.