Mentorship program: also highly valuable in a production environment!

A mentor shares more than just knowledge; they share their network too. Here is how to build a workplace mentorship program.

In a previous blog, we wrote about the added value of a buddy during the onboarding of a new employee. In any work environment, human connection provides a warmer welcome than any bouquet of flowers or high-tech laptop ever could. This applies just as much in an office as it does in a factory or healthcare facility.

A workplace mentor is also highly valuable, but goes a significant layer deeper than a buddy when it comes to training and personal development. This is especially useful in a production environment. In this blog, we explain why, and how you can effectively shape a mentorship program.

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**What is a mentorship program?**‍

A mentorship program is when a mentor works with one or more mentees over an extended period. The goal of mentorship is usually to pass on knowledge or skills that the other person does not yet possess. This can involve practical matters directly related to production, but a mentor often also opens up their network to the mentee, helping them build professional relationships.

Mentorship is not the same as coaching, although it may seem similar. A mentor provides advice and direction in a specific field where they have gained significant experience themselves. A coach, like a mentor, has the skills to guide someone, but does not necessarily need to have the same subject-matter expertise or professional proficiency as the coachee.

The benefits of mentorship in the manufacturing sector‍

Mentoring brings many benefits to any work environment:

increased employee engagement;
retention of knowledge and experience within the organization;
higher staff retention;
personal development for both mentee and mentor;
greater job satisfaction and happier customers.

When we zoom in specifically on the manufacturing sector, we find some additional advantages of mentorship:

increased safety awareness and product knowledge;
reduced risk of workplace accidents and absenteeism;
increased efficiency and productivity.

In short: it is definitely worth considering the structural implementation of a mentor in your factory or workshop! Naturally, we have a few tips for you in this regard:

‍1. Choose your mentor carefully

A mentor has an advisory role and must be able to effectively guide their mentee(s). This requires not only subject-matter experience and professional knowledge, but also strong soft skills, such as social skills, motivation, and leadership qualities. Keep this in mind when appointing a mentor.

Usually, a mentor is a seasoned veteran of the trade, with plenty of hands-on hours behind them and years of experience with the employer. Still, there can also be “reverse mentorship”: in that case, it is a younger employee who shows older colleagues the ropes. For example, when it comes to using AI or other computer technology, or high-tech production equipment.

‍Mentorship can also work the other way and bridge a generation gap!‍

2. Give mentors the right support

Mentorship usually has to be combined with other daily duties. Prevent a heavy workload by giving mentors proper support. For example, schedule enough time for them to guide mentees. Factor preparation time and evaluation moments into the schedule, and make it possible for the mentor to be staffed on top of the regular headcount and observe while the mentee does the hands-on work.

To properly monitor the progress of the mentorship program, everything will need to be recorded online. If the mentor is not yet very digitally skilled, offer a computer course in addition to a laptop. Also keep in mind that in a production environment in particular, far from everyone is used to directing a less experienced colleague. That is why training the mentor in, for example, leadership skills is no unnecessary luxury.‍

3. How to guide mentees

Make a deliberate choice about the form of guidance. If you want to improve an employee’s skills and perhaps also shape their further career, one-on-one guidance will probably be the most suitable. That leaves extra room for tailored learning and coaching, and for giving personal attention.

But sometimes the aim is to bring an entire team up to a higher level in expertise or efficiency at the same time, or to improve collaboration. In that case, a mentor could also guide several mentees at once. The advantage is that colleagues can learn from each other by exchanging their best practices, and a mentor only has to explain something once to the group of mentees (if all goes well 😉).‍

4. Program content

The duration and content of your mentorship program naturally depend on several factors. Think of the goal you want to achieve, but the knowledge and experience level of both mentor and mentee(s), the training budget, and the organizational culture can vary as well. When putting the program together, make sure to include the following components:

Getting acquainted: first check in a one-on-one conversation whether there is enough of a connection between mentor and mentee. Is the mentee open to guidance and development? Is the learning question clearly defined? And, also important for the learning process, is there a personal click between the two?
Make a plan: define the objective and what it takes to reach that point on the horizon. Do not set the bar too high; with smaller intermediate steps (and the successes that come with them), you can often reach the end goal more easily and more enjoyably. And do not set the plan in stone. If it turns out during the program that the pace is too fast or too slow, or if there are organizational or personal developments, it must be possible to adjust it.
Schedule evaluation moments: have mentor and mentee(s) regularly review how things stand. Only then can you be sure that everything is still going as desired, or whether the program needs to be adjusted. So block off calendars right at the start of the mentorship program to schedule recurring evaluation moments.
Wrap up: if all goes well, there will come a point when the end goal of the mentorship program has been reached. This can certainly get a festive touch, with a pastry and a certificate, for example. If desired, a new development goal can be set together with the mentee, to keep working on, whether or not with the same mentor. And do not forget to reflect on the past period. Do the mentor and the mentee have any tips or highlights?

That can provide valuable input for other mentoring programs.‍

‍5. Use e-learning

A mentorship program is mainly about increasing knowledge, skills, and personal development. Not only for the mentee, but for the mentor too! E-learning offers enormous advantages here. Not only to avoid having to reinvent the wheel with every program, but also to respond well to differences in level and learning styles.

Combine direct personal contact with online material. That saves time, is appealing, and offers a lot of flexibility. Whether it is about acquiring hard skills (such as learning a technique, a language, or computer skills) or soft skills (think of leadership, collaboration, or customer friendliness): you can break the material down into manageable modules at different levels. Does something change in the organization or the way of production? Then the course material is fairly easy to adapt.

Use a variety of media in e-learning, so there is something for everyone. Especially in a production environment, where employees are generally not found with their noses in books or behind a screen every day, a video or podcast will be perceived as much more appealing. If you choose text, keep it at an accessible B1 language level.

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