Alaina Love

Management The Secrets to Making Mentoring Work Well-structured programs can foster talent retention and development Published: Monday, November 8, 2021 - 12:02 ‘Sometimes she just came to my office to meet, but she really hadn’t identified anything she needed my help with. It felt awkward and like a waste of time.” Those were the words of a leader in my client’s organization who had participated in a mentoring program with a previous employer.

Since July 2021, when 4 million workers quit their jobs, the exodus of individuals from their employers has continued, especially among workers between the ages of 30-45. As I’ve worked with leaders and their teams through this global pandemic and talent hemorrhage, I’ve observed a shift in employee expectations, an increasing need to strike more work-life balance and a desire to pursue personal plans that once seemed destined for the future.

Follow this guidance to replace platitudes with concrete action. For many African American employees in your organization, these last two weeks feel like they’ve been 100 years long. Along with millions of people around the world, they’ve witnessed the horror of George Floyd being held to the ground by a police officer with such force on his neck that it resulted in his death. A life was lost right before our eyes, and no one in authority did anything to stop it.