On this episode of On the Job, VP, Assistant General Counsel, ADP, joins Cheddar to discuss how to successfully find and cultivate a mentor-mentee relationship.

On the Job

The Many Mutual Benefits of a Successful Workplace Mentorship

one effective strategy to keep and grow top talent is to encourage mentoring a practice that bills can be mutually beneficial working relationships between employees and leadership by helping others realize their own goals and uncover new ways to achieve them joining us now is Meg Ferrero VP, assistant general counsel of A. D. P. Welcome to the show, let's dive right in house hybrid and remote work changed the way people approach having or being a mentor Mag. Thanks for having me. There's a lot of things that can go into creating a great mentorship relationship and I think in our new environment with hybrid and remote work we have to keep in mind that mentorship becomes even more important to help employees develop and grow people have changed the way that they work and where they work and both employers and employees need to have insight and visibility into what employees are doing and also what the company is doing. Uh The the employer can gain that insight bye bye having these mental relationships and um keeping the employee aware of what's going on within the company and the employee can give visibility into what they're doing through these mental relationships. It's also a best practice because having visibility into what the employee is doing can also help to combat any proximity bias that could be in play when you're working remotely or in a hybrid model. You know I have a lot I've heard a lot of people say they would love a mentor. It's a little bit harder now because their remote or they're just a little intimidated to go up to somebody and find someone, what advice would you have for an employee that is looking for. That mentor meg I would tell you that I think the best thing that they can do is to make sure that they are setting the framework, it's really up to the employee to be clear about what they're looking for to set their goals and to make sure that they share those with their mentor the men he has to be responsible and accountable and and know what they're looking for out of the relationship right from the start and then they need to make sure that they're checking in with the mentor every once in a while to make sure that they're achieving those goals that they set out. So what are they doing, how are they doing it and what can they do differently to make the relationship better. I also highly recommend that individuals join business resource groups. I am a leader of A B. R. G and I also am a member of many others and those those br g relationships can help to build mentoring relationships that can then help you to get involved in foster connections, what does a successful relationship between a mentor and a mentee look like there's a lot of things but I think when you look at when both the mentor and the mentee are learning then that's a success and a good mentoring relationship also helps to foster other connections. Sometimes both the in a mentoring relationship. It can then lead to a sponsorship relationship which is something that as we progress in our careers we know we need even more and so once as you're going through a mentoring relationship the key is to mentor those relationships and hope that they'll grow so you can then carry it forward into that sponsoring relationship. We talked about what mentees should do when they're looking for a mentor but what steps can leaders take that foster these mentor relationships? A successful one especially it's so important mentoring I think is really um something that we all need to be responsible for as leaders and so what I would say to you is going back to the V. R. Gs get involved, make yourself visible, let people know that you want to and expect to have these types of relationships be available. Be willing to collaborate partner and grow together with your mentee and then seek to understand so once you enter into this relationship, know that you are there to listen and then once you've listened to be willing to share your experiences that relate to what the mentee is doing? You a glued it to this a moment ago meg but what are some of the top benefits of having a mentor, not just for the employee but also for the mentor themselves? I think there's a lot so it's for the employee, the mentor, I mean for the mentee, the mentor and for the company from a mentee perspective they can gain visibility, they can get increased opportunities, promotion skills development for the mentor, it's really about building those relationships and helping others to grow and then the company will see not only for the mentee but also for the mentor, I think greater engagement retention and it can also help to identify great talent, Tell me about, we talked about a successful relationship but what should mentees and even mentors maybe not do in this situation? Well That's A Good one. I think the key is to stay, not to stay quiet, so not to assume that just because um the mentor is leaving it up to you as the mentee that there's not much you have to do you as I said earlier need to own that relationship, you need to set the the tone and and the goal of the relationship and make sure that there's that open communication and then the mentor has to be open and willing to share and and share information about where they've been, what they've done and how that can relate to what the mentee is doing. Meg Ferrero VP Assistant General counsel ADP fantastic advice mike thank you so much and to learn more about the top trends that are reshaping the future of work visit ADP dot com