As a team of benefits strategists, we work hard every day to make sure we’re exceeding client expectations and providing the most innovative and value-generating plan designs and advisory services.
April 14, 2022
Navigating a new office or even a new career can be stressful. Many businesses have begun implementing mentoring programs to help employees feel more connected with their coworkers and improve their expertise. Such programs are valuable for mentors, mentees and the organization, as a whole.
Mentee Benefits
During these programs, mentees are guided by their mentors to learn the ropes of the business. They’re able to gain new skill sets and talents through one-on-one teachings. The consistency of the mentorship allows for continual growth and networking in their profession.
Mentor Benefits
Teaching someone allows mentors to sharpen their strengths while creating new skills. Leadership and communication skills that are not easily worked on in professional settings are fine-tuned, allowing mentors to grow further in their careers. Enthusiasm is contagious and teaching a newcomer to the profession revitalizes the mentor’s energy and commitment to the field.
Company Benefits
Providing mentoring or peer coaching programs engages employees in their work and gives them more control over their careers. Employee satisfaction, retention and productivity rise as a result. Participants of these programs find new confidence in their work – resulting in fewer mistakes and timelier deadlines.
Happy employees create a positive workplace culture based on cooperation and teamwork. The positive relationships fostered by mentoring programs make it much easier to attract new talent and potential candidates to the companies.
“Peer coaching as a discipline had its roots in education. It was intended as a way for teachers to get out of the isolation of the classroom and work with their peers to tackle specific problems on a tactical level. Peer coaching allows both parties the opportunity to learn from each other and sharpen their skills, provide feedback and develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are difficult to train in a traditional classroom environment,” explained Director of Apex Academy Toni Stinson.
Stinson develops and implements new training at Apex Benefits that allow for constant growth of all employees. Recently, she has created a mentoring program that helps employees grow personally and professionally.
“The Peer Influencer program that we are launching this month is intended to provide those people who are already leaders (by influence if not by title) the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to be effective peer coaches — communication, emotional intelligence and building trust, to name a few. At the conclusion of the course, we’ll have a team of peer coaches who can collaborate with people throughout the company, at the request of the team member or their manager, to help create more effective solutions to problems.”