5 Benefits of Mentoring for New Starters and Employee Onboarding

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The sad truth is that many organisations don’t take onboarding seriously, thinking of it as a one-time thing where the new starters fill out a few forms and watch a few videos. A recent study by Gallup proves that this is becoming a common problem faced by new starters, with 88% of employees surveyed stating that they felt their organisation didn’t do the onboarding process well. However, this should NEVER be the case, with onboarding being a crucial step in the recruitment procedure and a key factor in determining the overall success of the new employee.

When it comes to onboarding, a popular new trend seen by employers is implementing a mentoring program. Organisations are now realising the value of a mentoring program that focuses on employee onboarding. Mentoring for employee onboarding is when a mentor is partnered with a new starter during their first 90 days of employment. They work alongside the mentee, to offer the advice and support they need to make the onboarding process seamless.

Throughout this article, we will be discussing the impressive benefits associated with mentoring programs for new starters.

Benefits of an Onboarding Mentoring Program

1. Knowledge Transfer

When a new employee starts at your organisation, a lot of time and resources are needed to get them started. Having a mentoring program in place for onboarding means that their mentor can ensure the new employee has all the tools and information they need to hit the ground running. This reduces the need for expensive training for the mentee, as they can work directly with their mentor, who can provide them with any advice and feedback needed to ensure they adapt well to their role.

By working with an experienced member of the team, the new employee will have first-hand experience and knowledge shared with them, learning what they should do and how to avoid any mistakes the mentor may have previously made in the past.

2. Increased Retention Rates

Over the last few years, various research has been conducted into the benefits of mentoring and the impact it has on the mention rates of organisations. Studies show clear indications between mentoring and retention, with 86% of professionals claiming that having access to mentoring is a factor in them staying with an organisation.

One of the most important parts of the onboarding process is making the new starter feel special and welcomed into the organisation, and offering them a mentor is a great way to show that you truly care about their development. Showing your employees you care about their training and overall success, long-term, creates employee loyalty and thus improves retention rates.

3. Improved Productivity

Having a mentoring program in place for onboarding actually will improve productivity within the workplace. These programs are a great way to get new starters up to speed faster than if you were to use traditional onboarding training methods.

Having someone there to offer support and feedback to the mentee, is more impactful than watching a few training videos. Having an experienced mentor in their corner to guide and advise them on their journey in your organisation will make the new starter more enticed to ask questions if confused, have open conversations and learn more efficiently.

Having someone who’s been in their shoes will make them feel more comfortable within the workplace, which will help greatly improve the productivity of new starters within your organisation.

4. Enhanced Company Culture

One of the most important factors in having successful onboarding of an employee is helping them understand the culture within your organisation. An onboarding mentoring program can do just this, helping educate and train new employees on the organisational goals, aspirations and direction.

Without having a mentor by their side, new starters will have to do this by themselves, which can take a substantial amount of time for them to adapt, especially if they had been in their previous role for a few years. A mentor is there to share with them inside knowledge about the culture, the working style, ethics, inside jokes and workplace policies, which helps speed up the initial process instead of having to learn it all by themselves.

5. Networking and Making Connections

We’ve all been there, starting a new job and coming to the realisation, that we don’t know anyone. A new workforce is a brand-new environment, and for a new starter can make them feel uneasy and influence their willingness to open up to people and their stress levels.

When a new member joins the team, we want to make them feel welcome, but making connections with people in the first week of a new role can be intimidating. A mentoring relationship helps ease the uncertainty the new starter may feel when they join a new team, as they already know one person in the organisation. The mentor will get to know the mentee on a personal level, and be able to connect them with people they think would be best suited. Making connections in the workplace is incredibly beneficial for employee satisfaction.

Final Thoughts

Onboarding doesn’t need to be complicated but is something we should all be doing to help new starters to adapt to their role. Mentors give the support new employees need to switch from being a candidate to a new starter within your organisation, we’ve all been there and know the uncertainty of starting a new role, and mentoring as shown can greatly help new employees thrive.

If you want to learn more about how mentoring can be used within your organisation, you can book a free demonstration with PushFar today, the world’s leading mentoring and career progression platform.

Or if you want to know more about mentoring for onboarding, you can watch our latest video on the topic here: