Excerpt from Term Paper :

Mentoring Program: Squid Proposal

Proven Benefits

Mentoring Program Proposal: Company Squid

Proposed mentoring program

NO CROSS TRAINING AND HIGH TURNOVER RATEES RESULTING IN LACK OF MOTIVATION AMONG EMPLOYEES

One of the largest problems employers face today are high turnover rates. Many times the reasons given for turnover include lack of motivation and career advancement. This proposal will describe tools Squid company can utilize immediately to reduce high rates of turnover and increase employee motivation. The company will save thousands of dollars as demonstrated by the proposal table.

Squid company employees more than 10,000 employees from across the world. Many of these employees seek career advancement, but have few resources available to them to allow them to realize their goals. In an ever-changing market, it is more important than ever that employers' recognize the need for cross training and mentoring. Mentoring is a tool that can provide employees with the knowledge they need to advance their careers, without adding to the expenses an organization already assigns to the hiring and selection, training and continuing education process.

THE SOLUTION

Mentoring Program for Employees Seeking Career Advancement

There is much support in the global market for mentoring. Many organizations use mentoring programs as a tool to promote career advancement and to increase the motivation of employees that seek career advancement (Turner, 2001). Turner (2001) suggests employees are more likely to adopt the corporate culture and identify with the organization on an individual and a group level when offered the opportunity to mentor or shadow other workers.

Such programs also offer employees the opportunity to engage with other employees socially, which can also prove beneficial as it encourages a systematic exchange of information (Aldag & Fuller, 1993; Abrams et al., 1990; Ashforth & Mael, 1989).

Previous research by Ashforth & Mael (1989) show the use of social identity theory in mentoring is an exemplary practice that can serve employees individually and as a whole. The reason for this is many employees spend a majority of their time at work. In today's society it is not uncommon to see someone working for 50 or more hours a week, without taking a vacation (Abrams et a, 1990). With so little time to socialize, many people are turning toward their organizations to create a social identity (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). When this happens, employees have an opportunity to advance their careers because they become interested in staying in the environment they currently work in. The simplest way to help train employees is through the use of mentors.

In the purest sense, mentors are confident and well-educated employees with a minimum of five to ten years experience under their belt (Turner, 2001). These employees are the individuals most likely to facilitate change in amateur employees. Mentoring programs not only save money and help support a corporate culture; they also allow employees to understand how they fit in with the organization, and what steps they can take to improve their visibility within the organization.

Turner (2001) notes mentoring programs support the horizontal rather than hierarchical model of knowledge sharing. This means employees that have an opportunity to mentor are more likely to share the information they gain from mentoring sessions with coworkers. Their coworkers in turn share this information with their peers. A chain reaction occurs, where knowledge is disseminated throughout the organization without having to rely on the top-down information management approach. One of the reasons many employees cite dissatisfaction with their role at the work place is their lack of knowledge (Turner, 2001).

In doing so, the company encourages employees to seek advancement opportunities within the company, so that rates of turn over are reduced. Continuing education costs are reduced because the organization can take advantage of the skill sets already present among higher-ranking employees. Squid Company may then in turn reward those employees conducting mentoring sessions by providing them with non-monetary rewards like paid time off (Turner, 2001). The same philosophy applies to employees. Financial rewards are less necessary when an employee feels he or she is receiving internal recognition. There are many tools the employer has to reward employees with, one of which is through formal mentoring or training programs that take into consideration the employees wants and desires.

Proven Benefits

Annual Savings Resulting From Lack of Turn Over:

145,000/year Annual Costs Associated with Hiring and Selection Process $45,000 Costs Associated with Continuing Education $75,000 Costs Associated with Training New Employees $10,000 Costs associated with reward and recognition program $275,000 Potential Savings

The table above is an annual demonstration of just how much the company may save by utilizing the information in this proposal and by creating a mentoring program for its employees. This program is applicable to employees at all levels of the organization. To assess how well the program works, the company must be willing to measure its progress toward its goals, which include motivating employees and reducing turnover rates. By utilizing internal resources, the organization can save money associated with hiring and selecting employees to replace personnel that quite, save money associated with continuing education fees and the training of new employees, and reduce costs associated with the reward and recognition program. By utilizing mentors as coaches to empower employees to excel and advance their careers, employees become intrinsically motivated rather than externally motivated. The employer and the employee then benefit from their interaction with each other.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this proposal is to promote a mentoring program that will help employees receive the advice needed to advance their careers. Squid Company has many opportunities to provide educational support to its employees. Studies suggest organizations providing educational support and training are more likely to motivate employees and gain their trust and loyalty. This in turn results in more efficient and productive work practices and decreases the odds that Squid Company will experience high turnover.

Corporate mentoring is beneficial in many ways. The best advice often comes from the field. By allowing employees to mentor under more skilled individuals, the company is providing an opportunity for one-on-one interaction. This can be beneficial and stimulating for both the mentor and the person receiving guidance. Social identity is often created in the workplace when organizations allow employees to mentor each other. This helps establish a cultural identity built on trust, education and training. Perhaps the largest benefit the Squid Company has to gain on acceptance of this proposal is a new philosophy from employees. Employees will begin to realize the company supports their empowerment in the form of formal training. Employees thus learn to have faith in the Squid Company, and are more likely to remain loyal to the company rather than take employment elsewhere to fill a gap in their needs.

To create a successful program the Squid board of directors must first identify the key players in the mentoring program. These will include the individuals with the most experience, and those with good communications skills. These employees will serve as mentors. The next step the company should take is identifying how an employee is assigned a mentor. This can occur through small focus groups where employees have an opportunity to identify what skill sets they are interested in learning.

The next stage of the process involves assigning employees to appropriate mentors. For Squid Company to maximize the benefit associated with the mentoring program, it should allow the employee to mentor with one individual for a set number of weeks, and then allow the employee to mentor with someone else at a later time during the year. By doing this the employee always has something to look forward to. The mentor benefits because they have an opportunity to learn more about…