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Peer Assistance | Mentoring | Coaching | Join the Peer Resources Network
The Mentor News (September 7, 2005)
TOPICS
Solving a Multi-Billion Dollar Problem with Mentoring In 1995 Peer Resources conducted a national study of the 2000 most productive corporations in Canada to determine the extent to which they were involved in mentoring (Carr, 1999). Almost 1700 of these companies participated in and completed our interviews. Our findings revealed that the two primary reasons for establishing a mentoring program in these highest producing Canadian corporations were (1) to provide opportunities for the career development of employees; and (2) to identify and nurture leadership potential in employees. We also found one other result. Unfortunately, we did not pay sufficient attention to this additional finding because at the time we were too focused on how to bring mentoring youth in the community and corporate mentoring experience together. Today, however, this finding could be considered a multi-billion dollar oversight. What we found was that less than five percent of the sampled corporations reported that mentoring served either the purpose of (1) attracting and retaining employees; or (2) establishing systematic leadership succession planning. Ironically, these two infrequently noted mentoring strategies can be more easily examined in terms of cost implications or return on investment (ROI) than either of two reasons that led most companies to initiate mentoring programs. Today, for example, more and more companies are recognizing the cost of losing an employee. Turnover or employee loss can be as high as 50 percent in some industries. Previously all the costs associated with recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and training a replacement employee remained obscure. Now, however, business analysts have consistently calculated that for every employee that leaves a company the cost to the company will be about 1.5 times the employee's salary to hire a replacement. I don't shop at Wal-Mart very often, but I'm always impressed by the range of products and friendly service. Yet I noticed something that seemed at odds with the friendly service: I hardly ever encountered the same employee when I returned to scout out another product. My observation was verified by a stunning figure that appeared in a recent business newspaper. Wal-Mart has to hire between 500,000 and 600,000 employees a year to replace employees who leave. While the article I read was focusing on the progress unions were making in organizing workers (not much), the turnover figure left me wondering about Wal-Mart and how much this turnover is costing them. Wal-Mart employs close to 1.6 million associates worldwide. The average salary of a Wal-Mart employee is estimated to be between $US13,000-15,000. Managers average between $80,000 and $106,000. Using the cost-of-turnover formula, this means that Wal-Mart spends approximately $1 billion dollars annually just to replace employees! Replacement cost also includes the costs associated with (1) a staff managing the existing work load when an employee leaves; and (2) the time staff must take to orient a new employee and bring him or her up to speed. If turnover is extensive, it can severely disrupt the workplace and have a dramatic impact on productivity. These factors, which previously were not considered part of turnover cost calculations, are now more likely to be estimated when assessing how turnover impacts the dollar value of productivity. Recognition of this cost has prompted many companies to search for better ways to reduce turnover and increase an employee's commitment to and connection with the organization. Some of these companies rely exclusively on strategies that improve pay, bonuses, perks, or other financial incentives. But a rapidly increasing number of corporations are relying on mentoring strategies to prevent or reduce turnover. The primary reason for choosing mentoring is because study after study of new employees, questioned about what attracts and keeps them associated with their employers, has shown three consistent needs: (1) opportunities available for learning; (2) associations with people who care about the work they do; and (3) ability to engage in meaningful work. No other workplace strategy can fit more snugly with these needs than mentoring. Employees are not the only ones who leave a corporation. One of the results described in a recent study by Booz Allen Hamilton (2004) of the world's 2,500 largest companies has shown a dramatic rise in the number of CEO's (14 percent) leaving their corporate position. European and Asian countries have even higher percentages of revolving door CEO's. A recent study (Bloomberg.com) showed that the average CEO pay in 70 of the 100 largest companies in the US is $14.1 million. Yet too few of these corporations have in place any type of leadership succession plan. The number of companies that hire an external CEO far outnumbers those that hire from within. Yet data from the Booz Allen Hamilton study shows that external hires are more likely to result in an unsuccessful tenure often resulting in the newly-hired CEO leaving before term, lowered overall productivity, and an endless string of bad hires. The situation has become so rampant at the top executive level, the authors of the Booz Allen Hamilton study called CEO's "the new 'temps' of the working world." The cost to replace a CEO is staggering. Yet the cost to create a leadership succession plan where top executives mentor less senior executives is minimal. Corporations must establish a way to groom future candidates for the chief executive position. The creation of an executive level mentoring system is essential to continue the productivity of the corporation and the accountability to shareholders. McDonalds (as reported in the Booz Allen Hamilton study) lost two CEO's to untimely deaths during one year. Yet they were able to continue on despite these tragedies because of their well-established executive mentoring program. Mentoring today is necessary at all levels of corporate life. While ROI isn't the only reason to initiate and maintain a mentoring program in business, the tools available now to measure such returns add considerable weight to the value of mentoring and its impact on benefits to corporate life. For further information about the studies cited in this article: Carr, R. (Winter, 1999). The status of corporate mentoring in Canada: A survey of the 2,000 most productive businesses. Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching, 15, 1, 13-19. (Retrieved from http://www.peer.ca/Compassinfo.html). "Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." ~ Warren Buffet ~ OWNERSHIP IS A KEY FACTOR IN SUCCESSFUL MENTORING PROGRAMS In 1979 we sent out our first set of requests to recruit high school students to act as peer mentors and peer coaches to other students. We spent a few weeks distributing announcements to be read in homerooms, plastered bulletin boards around the school, asked teachers and other staff members to recommend candidates, and placed a notice in a newsletter sent home to parents. In other words, we did all the traditional methods of getting the word out. When the date arrived for the information meeting, which took place after school, the room we had scheduled in a high school of 950 students turned out to be too small. A huge number of students showed up! What a shock. We were stunned by the turn out. We expected maybe 20 at the most and our training plan could only accommodate about 16. After moving to a bigger room, my program partners and I briefly huddled on what to do. Greg, the youngest of our team (and a graduate of the very same high school) said, "Why don't we ask the students why they've come to this meeting? It might help us to get some idea of what has caused such an unexpected turnout." After introducing himself and settling the group, Greg asked the assembled young people, "We are surprised and delighted that so many people are interested in peer mentoring and peer coaching, but we didn't expect this many. We'd really like to know what's prompted you to come to this after school meeting?" The most unexpected response occurred. What we learned from that response has since led us to know far more about how to recruit mentors and maximize their engagement in mentoring. What was it they said that provided such an insight? A majority of the assembly said that they had heard that they could take this mentor training instead of math! Our team had a good laugh and then cleared up the misconception, expecting that the room would drain of participants. A few students left when they heard the training was not going to be a substitute for math, but most stayed. "Well," they said, "what's this all about then?" What we learned in the instant when students wondered about the math replacement was a principle that has become one of three keys for mentor buy-in: whatever we said next had to focus exclusively on the needs and desires of the assembled group. We dropped our prepared recruiting text that focused on terms like "mentoring," "peer relationships," and "coaching." Instead, through a miracle of unstated agreement between team members (which probably had its foundation in very thorough pre-meeting preparation over a long period), we started to ask the students about their goals, their dreams, the challenges they faced, and what they believed could have helped them when they were younger to be able to do their best. The room erupted with comments. We asked them to share some of these ideas in small groups so that everyone would have a chance and then we could determine whether there were some common themes. The students did identify a number of common themes. And almost every theme or idea that was placed on a flip chart brought nods of agreement from other groups. We learned the second key of buy-in: careful listening to, and acknowledgement and recognition of the potential mentor's needs and interests. The students were beginning to demonstrate empowerment; they observed our attention to their comments; we didn't judge or evaluate their contributions; every one counted. When we reviewed the themes on the flip chart, we learned key number three: if something is worthwhile to volunteers, trust them to identify it for you. Every theme that appeared on the flip chart was related to peer mentoring and peer coaching. The flip chart was a glorious summary of the outcomes or expected results of mentoring. Yet we never mentioned the term, nor explained what it meant, or what we intended to do. We simply stated: "This list that you have generated is what this training is about: Making These Things Happen! Who would like to join us and learn how to do this?" This 26-year old experience reminds me of "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, an inspirational Canadian poet and writer. The first paragraph starts, "It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing." And includes this paragraph: "It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back." Engaging in a process that helps people fulfill their dreams and goals is the foundation for ownership. Without such ownership, any program, whether for adolescents or adults, whether in a school, university or community, will struggle, wither, or disappear. To read more about Oriah Mountain Dreamer's work go to www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/.) "Take the attitude of a student. Never be too big to ask questions. Never know to much to learn something new." ~ Og Mandino ~ MENTORING CONFERENCES and EVENTS Business Mentoring Conference Mentoring in Healthcare Conference Success Through Mentoring: A Workshop on Mentoring Research and Practice State of Minnesota Sixth Annual Statewide Mentoring Conference The Corporate Mentor Workshop and Consult Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference European Mentoring & Coaching Conference National Conference of Business Mentoring 19th Annual International Mentoring Association Conference "We all have ability. The difference is how we use it." ~ Stevie Wonder ~ ASK HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CLOSED QUESTIONS One of Peer Resources' most valued mentor workshop training activities is an exercise that helps participants learn to ask powerful questions. The exercise illuminates how different types of questions can increase the depth of conversation or bring an interaction to a halt. In addition participants in the activity learn how to restructure questions so that they have a greater likelihood of establishing an atmosphere of enquiry, curiosity and support rather than an atmosphere of examination, interrogation and domination. One element of the "powerful question exercise" is the distinction that is made between what are called "open-ended" and "close-ended" questions. Open-ended questions, usually begin with the words, like "what" or "how" and typically allow a wider variety of responses. They are valued because they often enable the responder to decide the content, direction, and depth of response. They also are generally more successful in helping another person to express thoughts, ideas and feelings that are more complex. Training in the use of open-ended questions is an essential component in coaching, mentoring, and peer assistance. Close-ended questions typically generate one-word answers. Usually the responses are more important to the person asking the question than they are to the person answering the question. This type of question often only has a "yes," "no" or one-word answer. These questions are mostly used to help narrow down rather than open up the range of answers or responses. They are common in everyday interaction and in most cases, individuals asked to respond to such questions seldom voluntarily go beyond just a one-word answer. Talk show hosts, police personnel and lawyers in a courtroom rely on close-ended questions so that they can be assured of directing the conversation. One of the outcomes of the powerful question exercise is the belief that open-ended questions are better than close-ended questions. And while it is true that open-ended questions may be better at achieving certain outcomes, a recent book by Debbie Ford, The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions to Guide You to an Extraordinary Life, shows that when it comes to helping people make choices within their lives, close-ended questions can be just as powerful as their open-ended relatives. The following examples from Debbie Ford's book help to show the power of a close-ended question to assist a person who is making or has made a choice in reflecting more deeply about that choice:
Ford, D. (2003). The right questions: Ten essential questions to guide you to an extraordinary life. San Francisco: Harper Books. (Available from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. "What we did while visiting earth will be forgotten by most, but the spirit and heart of our lives will remain with those who shared it, and be part of them forever." ~ Grey Owl ~ USE MENTORING LITERATURE TO GUIDE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE Clutterbuck, D. (2005). Mentoring and the legal profession: Developing professionals for real. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 19, 1, 10-12.
Cox, E. (2005). For better, for worse: The matching process in formal mentoring schemes. Mentoring and Tutoring, 13, 3, 403-414.
Fowler, J.L. and O'Gorman, J.G. (March, 2005). Mentoring functions: A contemporary view of the perceptions of mentees and mentors. British Journal of Management, 16, 1, 51.
Jackson, V.A., et. al. (March, 2003). "Having the right chemistry": A qualitative study of mentoring in academic medicine. Academic Medicine, 78, 328-334.
Mentor/National Mentoring Partnership (2005). How to build a successful mentoring program using the elements of effective practice: A step-by-step tool kit for program managers (2nd Edition). Alexandria, VA: Author.
Rutherford, P. (2005). The 21st Century mentor's handbook. Alexandria, VA: ASK Publications.
"Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow." ~ James A. Michener ~ ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AWARDS A MENTOR AS TOP PRIZE Among the most frequently visited areas of the Peer Resources web pages are the lists of thousands of famous mentoring pairings from all walks of life. One section of this area focuses exclusively on mentoring in the entertainment industry, including actors, directors, producers, singers, songwriters, screenwriters, and technical personnel. In April, 2004, Women in Film and Television-Toronto (WIFT-T) in association with Warner Bros. Entertainment Canada Inc. and the Banff World Television Festival, announced that an outstanding producer of children's programming, Tatyana Terzopoulos, was the winner of this year's Warner Bros. Canada Banff Mentorship Award. Through this award, Ms. Terzopoulos will receive senior level mentoring from one of Canada's leading broadcast executives, Loren Mawhinney. Tatyana Terzopoulos is a talented, energetic television producer and writer with a passion for programming for children and youth. In 2004, Terzopoulos received a Gemini for SWAP-TV, a kids' documentary series she co-created and co-produced for TVOntario. She has worked in production and in creative roles on series for BBC Kids Canada, Eureka France, Discovery UK, Family Channel, and Disney, and gained experience on both the network and production sides of the business through positions with Global Television, Nelvana, OMNITV, Breakthrough Films, and Decode Entertainment. Awards recognizing her creative and producing potential and abilities include a 2002 Alliance for Children and Television Special Jury Award for SWAP-TV and a 2001 Academy of Cinema and Television Apprenticeship Program Award. "I feel as though this mentorship award has opened up an enormous door for me," comments Award-winner Tatyana Terzopoulos. "To prepare for and attend the prestigious Banff World Television Festival, guided by such a seasoned TV professional, will be the highlight of my career thus far. This opportunity has certainly fired up my desire to continue creating youth programming in this country!" A leading Canadian professional organization, WIFT-T, recognizes, trains, and advances women in film, television, and new media. Operating regionally, nationally, and internationally, WIFT-T serves over 3000 women and men in Canadian screen-based media, connecting them to close to 10,000 leading film, television and new media professionals around the world. For additional information about WIFT-T, contact Natalie Kallio, Communications Coordinator, Women in Film and Television - Toronto; (416) 322-3430 x28; nataliekallio@wift.com. The Banff World Television Festival has taken place in Banff, Alberta annually for the last 26 years. The Festival is dedicated to the development of business and creative opportunities for those in television programming and new media industry. In addition to honouring excellence in international television, the Festival provides a global platform for networking, discussion and debate, and explores current issues and challenges within the industry. For additional information about Banff, type "heaven" into a Google search engine. "Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge." ~ Audre Lorde ~ JOIN THE PEER RESOURCES NETWORK Do you know someone who could benefit from becoming a member of the Peer Resources Network? Although you are receiving this free newsletter every 45-60 days, members of the Peer Resources Network receive a monthly newsletter with additional information, practical tips, announcements, mentor program descriptions, funding opportunities and job openings in mentoring and mentoring research summaries every month. In addition Peer Resources Network members receive toll-free coaching and consultation for all mentor program development issues as an additional benefit of membership. Members also receive print versions of Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching. This magazine has become the only advertising-free, professional, peer-reviewed publication on mentoring, and is filled with timely articles and practical suggestions from experienced mentor program leaders. The Peer Resources Network is a non-profit organization and is sustained through memberships. The low fee for a one-year individual membership is $75.00 and the fee for an institutional membership, which allows up to five people to share a full membership, is $140.00 for a year. We even have a student rate of $32.10/year. For more details on the benefits as well as a secure online form to sign-up, go to http://www.mentors.ca/PRN.html. The Mentor News is a free publication of Peer Resources, 1052 Davie Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8S 4E3 Canada. Back issues are available online. To subscribe or unsubscribe send an email to info@mentors.ca. If you know of anyone who might benefit from receiving this newsletter, please pass it on. (All items in this newsletter have been selected or adapted from The Peer Bulletin, a paid subscriber publication for members of the Peer Resources Network. Copyright is held by Peer Resources.) |
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