Being a good mentor means you’ve committed to helping someone else succeed in their career. It’s certainly a lot of responsibility. However, there’s much you can both learn from the relationship if you take the right approach. To ensure the experience is as fruitful as possible, here are four steps from Houston staffing industry experts, Murray Resources, to take during it:

Set clear goals.

This is the first and most important step. Having clear goals in place helps to define the process for everyone involved and it sets your employee up for success during the relationship as they have set objectives to work toward. So before your first meeting, make sure you ask yourself:

• What do I want the mentee to gain through the experience?
• How much time do I plan to spend with them?
• How long will the process last?
• How often will we meet?
• Will it always be in person, or can we connect over the phone, Skype or other mediums?
• What should the outcome look like?

Make them measurable.

When it comes to creating goals for your mentee, make sure they’re measurable, too. Otherwise, it’s difficult to verify they’re on the right track. For instance, if you’re in sales and your mentee is one of your associates, set the goal of increasing their sales by 10% over a certain time period. Then use that goal as the focal point to build the mentoring experience around.

Strive to get to know them on a personal level.

You don’t need to go out for drinks and try to be best friends. However, when you get to know the individual you’re mentoring more personally, you’ll learn how to best motivate them. You’ll also find out about what goes on in their life outside work, which can impact their effectiveness and performance in the office. These are all important details to know when you’re trying increase productivity and groom an employee for advancement.

Commit to regular meetings.

How often you meet is up to you. But it’s easy to blow off touch points when your calendar fills up and you get busy. However, regular meetings are a critical part of the mentoring relationship. These don’t always need to be formal; but there should be some where there’s an agenda and a longer conversation. They do need to be scheduled and adhered to consistently, though, for both you and your mentee to get the most from the program.

Looking for high potential talent to hire at your Houston company?

Murray Resources can help. We know staffing in Houston can be a challenge. However, our knowledge of the local job market runs deep and, as a result, we can give you unique access to talented individuals who are ready to step in and make an immediate impact at your organization. Contact us today to learn more.