Objectives of Training and Mentoring Programs

Once an individual takes up a job in an organization, it is the duty of the organization to provide training to that individual, so that he/she, along with his/her qualifications and training provided can do justice to the job.

Mentoring, on the other hand, is coaching the individual professionally. It has come a long way from helping the individual in his/her job, to providing professional help to the individual as and when needed.

Nowadays, training and mentoring go hand in hand. Once an organization spends money on corporate training of an individual, it is necessary that the individual is provided with an effective mentoring program as well, in order to implement all the knowledge gained.

A training and mentoring program is developed in order to attain certain objectives. These objectives are two-fold; the organization's objectives and the objectives of the individual.

When an individual is hired by an organization, he/she is hired based on the qualifications, skills, and the years of experience in that field. However, as each organization is different from the other, and as their functions are different from the other, it is essential that they provide training to those who have just entered the organization.

This training and mentoring program helps the newcomers understand what the organization's expectations from them are, and how to go about meeting those expectations.

Those who have been working in the organization for a few years may also need the training and mentoring program in order to learn something new in the organization. They may do so for their career development in the organization.

Every organization needs to completely utilize the resources of the organization. These resources also include human resources, i.e., the employees. Employees form the crust of any organization, and if they develop and grow, the organization will develop and grow.

The sole purpose of the organization is to survive the tough competition and emerge as the winner. Profit making is what the organization strives for. They can achieve this if the productivity of the organizational assets is optimum.

Machines can be upgraded to enhance their productivity. Similarly, men also need to be upgraded in order to increase their productivity. Increasing the productivity of the people working for the organization is one of the important program objectives.

An increase in the productivity increases the profit-making ability of the organization, and helps them to achieve all its set goals. This will also help in boosting the employees' motivation, which is also necessary to increase the overall productivity of the organization.

The quality aspect is a board one. Quality includes quality of the products or services given by the organization, the quality of the people working for the organization, the quality of the machines used by the organization and also the work culture quality of the organization.

With proper training and mentoring, these qualities can be achieved and increased by the organization. This increase in the quality will only help the organization in fulfilling its set goals. The quality of the employee performance also matters. and training helps to achieve an increase in the quality.

While developing a training and mentoring program, the organization needs to take into account a number of aspects. For different hierarchies, these programs and their objectives will also change.

The cause or reason for this program is to make the newcomer acquainted with the organization and its work. One of the objectives also is to make the newcomer understand his/her job.

Next, the focus of the program is needed to be established. Here, the focus could be to educate the newcomer all about the organization, and second, to improve his skills and knowledge according to the needs of the organization. On the basis of this, the duration of the program should also be decided on. In this case, the program might take a week.

It needs to be decided how formal the program is going to be. In this case, the initial few days could be formal, later becoming informal. However, this can be at the discretion of the mentor and mentee.

This aspect covers how the program will be delivered, and where should it be delivered. If the program is for one or two individuals only, then it can be delivered in the cabin of the mentor. However, if there is a big group of people, then it will have to be delivered in a training room.

Each organization arranges such numerous programs as they are essential for their growth. These programs also help the organization in employee retention, effective time management, and to develop the management skills of the employees as well. The mentor needs to ensure that he/she meets all the objectives at the end of the program.