…sorry for the delay,not been feelin’ well.  Maybe it was that 100+ degree heat in Scottsdale.  Maybe the lovely September days in Indiana.

…Anyway, back to Scottsdale and a conversation I had with a manager at a mid-sized company.  I think I mentioned that P2 Energy Solutions is in the Oil and Gas industry.  The users of their software solutions and enterprise services face a very difficult proposition:  they have very few middle aged workers, no one to “hand the business” over to.   The oil and gas industry is in retreat, workers are getting older and retiring, while fewer and fewer are joining the industry after college, or moving to the industry for a career change.

The employees in a couple of multi=generational panel discussions I facilitated talked about some of the difficulties this age gap can have on the relationships of the employees.  They said that some newer employees feel the need to quickly pick up the skills, abilities and competencies required for the job, even though they may have no experience in the industry.  Some “youth challenged” workers (one of the panelists phrases, THANKS BILL!) were upset with the hiring package the new employees were receiving, in some cases significantly better than what they were offered when they started their careers.

At the end of the second session, a manager of one of the attending companies came to me and asked about another topic we briefly touched on during the panel discussion, a mentoring program.  This company had one, but it wasn’t really being used to any serious degree.  I gave the following advice:

• First, determine when the “turnover spikes” are with employees.   At what point in their tenure do employees voluntarily leave your organization?
• Second, pay the mentor, especially when the “mentored” employees pass one of the turnover spikes.  It costs six months of an employees salary to replace them, so giving the mentor a couple of hundred bucks is just good math.
• Next, make sure the mentor’s “production expectations” are decreased, due to the 3-5 hours per week they will spend mentoring the new employee.  These coaches should not be penalized when they are asked to take on the additional responsibility of developing new staff.
• Next, make sure the mentor’s manager is not penalized due to the slight, short term decreased in production of their team, division, or department.  Managers should look for these development opportunities, not hold their best people back from them. 
• Make mentoring part of an employee’s development plan, especially those employees looking at opportunities for advancement.  Being a mentor requires supervisory skills, and coaching/mentoring is a great way to enhance those competencies. 

A well planned mentoring initiative pays dividends right off the bat.  New employees will be more productive more quickly.  They will integrate faster into the organization.  They will be less likely to “self-select” themselves out of the company.  Mentors learn new skills, and are paid for their assistance in increasing retention and improving customer loyalty and retention.  Everyone wins.  For a change.