T+D Blog

Mentoring vs. Coaching

Workplace coaching seems like it's all over the news right now. We're always seeing articles about using coaching for team relationships, for executives, and for behavioral issues at all levels of a company. But what about mentoring--an ongoing relationship that can last a long time and focuses on career and personal development.

According to David Pardey, a senior policy research manager at the Institute of Leadership and Management, coaching's ability to sell itself is pushing mentoring into the background. Mentoring is a valuable learning and development tool and reverse mentoring (younger workers mentoring older workers) is gaining steam in many companies because of the technology boom. An article in trainingzone.co.uk examines this issue in greater detail.

Do you use coaches in your organizations? Do you have a mentor?

Tuition Benefits

A new study by Accountemps finds that 94 percent of companies offers tuition reimbursement to employees, and 95 percent of companies reimburse for other forms of professional development or training, according to 150 senior executives from the nation's 1000 largest companies.

But how many employees take advantage of this benefit? Do you?

Lifelong Learning Accounts

Training is an investment, not an expense. That’s the concept behind the emergence of lifelong learning accounts. The accounts are taking hold around the country as organizations acknowledge the need to develop individuals beyond simple mastery of job related tasks. IBM made a splash last year when it announced plans for lifelong learning accounts for employees with at least five years tenure. Employees can deposit a maximum of $1,000 annually while the company provides a 50 percent match. BJC HealthCare, one of Missouri’s largest employers, also provides employees a learning account. State legislators and Congress are beginning to get in the act as well by creating tax incentives for employees who set aside funds in their learning accounts. Accounts can be set up in a number of ways. Some programs are geared toward low and middle income individuals, entry level workers or minorities. Such populations are traditionally not the first recipients of training dollars. The state of Maine initiated learning accounts in partnership with several employers. Participants contribute $25 monthly which is matched by the employer. Additional annual grants of $200 are possible. Elsewhere, pilot programs are underway at CVS in Boston and Jewish Vocational Services in San Francisco, among other locations. About the only caveat with many accounts is that travel costs are excluded. Several agencies, including the U.S. Office of Personnel and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning created online resource tools outlining how the accounts can be established. At first glance it might appear to be a job training fund, but it is much more than that. It might best be described as a lifelong development fund. Employees at any time in their career, now or with a future employer, can tap into the account to develop a particular skill. It's the kind of commitment that trainers have been advocating for some time.

Telecommuting ...

More than 60 percent of executives expect the number of employees working off-site or in remote locations to increase in the next five years, according to a telephone interview survey of 150 people by OfficeTeam.

Do you have a remote work policy in place? How do you know the arrangement will work? Who are good candidates for remote working? Does the policy allow for remote working one day a week or five days a week?

How do you measure the return-on-investment of the arrangement? What are the benefits for the organization?

Rising fuel costs and environmentally friendly issues are forcing companies to be more flexible in their work arrangements. If it hasn't started now in your organization, it probably will very soon. Don't be unprepared.

What Makes You Happy?

A recent BlessingWhite study finds that Generation Y employees (born 1978-1990) are less engaged that Generation X and baby boomers. The study suggests that the more senior the employees the more engaged they are.

According to BlessingWhite CEO Christopher Rice, "younger employees don't have a clear picture of what makes them happy. They don't know what they are looking for because they have not been in the workforce long enough to know what they want."

Disengaged workers often feel underutilized and disconnected from the organization's strategy. Organizations need to address this issue because the diverse generations in the workplace are not going away.

Do you have an engagement strategy in place to reach the younger generations? How do you measure engagement?

Not Just a Numbers Game

It should come as no surprise to most, but lessons you learned in kindergarten will serve you more than well in the workplace. Thank you, Robert Fulghum.

A recent survey of CFOs by Accountemps, a northern California–based staffing firm, found that interpersonal skills topped the results at 50 percent as the most important communication skill for accounting and finance professionals to possess.

It’s a telling result as many math whizzes who crunch numbers effortlessly (i.e., the same people who end up being accountants and bankers) are thought to be less socially capable than their peers. Or maybe that’s why the results aren’t so surprising?

Shedding a little light on the subject, Max Messner, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, a financial recruitment agency, says, “Businesses seek accountants who have the requisite technical skills but who also can build rapport with colleagues, resolve conflicts and develop consensus among team members."

Other skills lagged far behind on the list including public speaking ability (17 percent), negotiation skills (16 percent), and writing ability (12 percent). The remaining percentage included none (1 percent), other (1 percent), and don’t know/no answer (3 percent).

Accountants might be even more valued for their ability to “sweet talk” colleagues as well as numbers, but the same could be said of the financial savvy of workers in professions that require keen interpersonal skills such as HR and sales.

At the end of the day, a well-rounded employee is an indispensible asset for today’s fast-paced companies.

On Air .... Podcasting

How many of you have created a podcast of an event, meeting, training session, or editor's note? If not, why?

Podcasting is a very easy and inexpensive way to add some new wrinkles to the way information is presented. With music, a very enticing voice, and an interesting topic, podcasts can turn a long commute into a learning experience.

Check out the T+D magazine podcasts at http://www.astd.org/TD/TDPodcasts.htm and let me know what you think.

Coaches ... Without Whistles and Clipboards

Does your organization use coaching to improve employees' performance? According to an article in the Calgary Herald, Canadian organizations are using coaching "as a leadership development tool, attraction and retention, succession planning, as a training aide and just to help busy professionals keep some balance and stay focused as workers face heavy workloads amid the ongoing labour shortage."

The August 2008 T+D magazine will highlight how coaching is becoming a valuable tool in executive development and also to gain efficient, highly productive teams.

There is no longer a stigma attached to having a coach. The fast-paced business world is forcing individuals to gain skills quickly, and the need for retaining high-performing employees is making coaches indispensable.

Do you have a coach? Does your organization utilize coaches?

You're Never Too Old to Learn .... And You're Never Too Young to Offer Expertise

When was the last time one of your employees taught you a new way to complete a task at work? The pace of technology is forcing older workers to tap the knowledge of young workers to keep up with the new ways to communicate, search for knowledge, and network.

Do you have a reverse mentorship program in place at work where millennials are teaching their older counterparts about Web 2.0, wikis, blogs, and other social networking programs? It can not only help older workers learn new things, but it also helps young workers build relationships with their colleagues and advance their careers.

The workplace is changing. With five generations coexisting in the workplace at the same time, building relationships among the age groups can spur lifelong learning and great teamwork.

No Bull?

Bullying in the workplace is apparently on the rise according to a number of sources. Reports this week in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and in the Canadian press spotlight the daily interactions symptomatic of bullying, as well as some tools for stamping it out.

Some of the numbers cite that between a third to almost half of employees have experienced being pushed around at the office. So what's the big deal? Experts point to higher turnover, lower morale, and dollars spent on litigation as some of the more unsavory outcomes.

There is a big difference between being assertive, and being downright abusive, most would probably agree. And everyone knows of at least one co-worker with a short fuse who is prone to airing their major malfunctions without apology. Through the years many of us probably learned to deal with the verbal missteps of our colleagues. We figured it was "just his personality" or "just her way of getting things done." Mr Spacely would not have stood much of a chance today.

Over the years, anti-harassment measures began to play a role in combating bullying, but how does one prove or disprove harassment that has nothing to do with gender, race, etc, and more to do with the insecurities and general "lack of home training" on the part of abusers?

And many individuals may be slow to report incidents that are lacking in clear parameters or descriptors. We think know bullying when we see it, but what is it really? And what about what I will call "stealth bullies"---people who continually put-down and undermine coworkers behind the cloak of email or veiled intentions?

In addition to establishing firm policies, the next level of securing a safe workplace with zero tolerance for bullies starts everyday, and with every individual. I'm  not sure that the days of making excuses for colleagues gone wild are as far behind us as we might think.