Amazing workplaces are not created overnight. Amazing workplaces are created when the growth of an organisation is purposely aligned with the personal growth of its people. Only 12% of employees say better pay is a reason for them to leave their jobs (1), but 94% say that they left for better growth and learning opportunities (2). Personal development is indisputably key to cultivating a collective, collaborative and amazing workplace. By bringing people together, mentoring fosters a working environment where employees feel supported to grow. These are the foundations on which we built Grasp.
Grasp is a mentoring platform that is enabled by technology and data but powered by people. The platform allows employees to effortlessly find mentors that are best suited to help them in the areas they would like to improve. Grasp’s smart algorithm recommends suitable mentors based on skill, experience and personal interest. This helps employees form meaningful relationships based on shared knowledge and experience giving employees the opportunity to accelerate their growth and personalise their learning and development within a supportive environment.
Motivations and managers
Understanding the people within your workplace and their motivations is key to retaining them. A common misconception is that employees are primarily motivated by money, with 89% of bosses believing their employees leave for an improved wage (3). However, research suggests that employee engagement and motivations are closely related to their relationship with their manager and the opportunity they are given for personal growth and development within their organisation. Amazing workplaces are synonymous with environments where employees are supported by their colleagues and employers and have a relationship with their manager that nurtures and fulfils their potential.
The relationship between the manager and the employee is significant because it attests to the quality of communication in your organisation. It sets the tone. If the manager and the employee can forge a collaborative working relationship, it sends a message that all voices can be heard in an environment that isn’t simply dictated by hierarchy. Despite this, a recent survey revealed that 58% of managers didn’t actually receive any formal management training, while 75% of people leave their work because of their boss (4). People are seemingly ascending to managerial positions without improving the lives of those around them. With 94% of employees stating they’d remain longer in a role with growth and development, we cannot ignore the talent in our workplaces by reinforcing old managerial structures and practices.
Mentoring is not just for the newbies and the high-flyers, mentoring is a great way for new managers to learn and develop their managerial skills away from the textbooks and through the shared experience of their peers. As long as the right culture is fed down from the top, mentoring is the perfect way to make sure your company culture and managerial standards are maintained.
Communication is key
A workplace that doesn’t communicate, risks wasting the collective knowledge at its disposal. Amazing workplaces are integrated ones, where creativity is sparked through the simple act of speaking to each other. Your employees want growth, they want development, but the fact that 94% are actively seeking it suggests they’re not actually experiencing it. Mentoring is key to driving communication between managers and employees, and also amongst the colleagues themselves. It installs a critical support system within your organisation that can be the difference between a grievance being shared or remaining unheard.
When people at all levels are brought together via mentoring, it turns a workplace into a centre of innovation where every single voice is valued. Knowing that a mentor will always make the time for you, or be present when you need them most, can completely transform how an employee perceives their workplace and how they see their future within it. Mentoring is a symbiotic relationship that benefits the mentor, the mentee and the company as a whole.
In seeking to connect people across your organisation, at every level, Grasp uses mentoring to create lasting relationships within your workplace. Mentors and mentees, regardless of job department, age or status, can find each other at any time and begin a communication that leads to collaboration. Mentoring converts silos into a collective workplace and Grasp is the tool that facilitates this. We believe the solution to a highly motivated workforce is to bring the workforce together. Amazing workplaces are filled with amazing people; mentoring allows you to find them.
Author: Alan Slavik
Alan is Chief Commercial Officer at Grasp and has over 15 years of experience developing and launching ground-breaking products and new learning technologies in some of the world’s most innovative companies.
Sources
Title. https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/497507/case-study-workforce-analytics-at-sun
(2) https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report
(3) Leigh Branham, author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave
