By Cindy Saunders, Guest Blogger
As Lindsey referenced in her article on mentoring, the senior workforce in mining (baby boomers aged 55 or over) represents a large portion of the mining industry. As they retire, there are fewer individuals to take over their positions. This creates an urgency to fill the shortage of technical, site management and leadership roles.
Mentoring is an excellent solution to this issue.
Those senior mining professionals preparing to retire, or retiring part-time, have a wealth of experience and industry knowledge to pass along to junior colleagues. This is a tremendous benefit to the organization and mentee.
There is another highly effective approach to this urgent need – coaching.
Coaching and mentoring are very similar, yet there are a few distinct differences. They are both techniques commonly used by management to drive desirable workplace behavior and support the personal and professional growth of employees. The terms are not interchangeable, however.
Coaching vs Mentoring
International Mentoring Group (IMG) defines mentoring as, “A process of direct transfer of experience and knowledge from one person to another.” A mentor who has achieved success within the industry voluntarily shares their expertise with a mentee —usually a junior-level employee with similar interests who may aspire to the position of the mentor.
IMG defines coaching as “a method of achieving set goals.” A coach, who may or may not be a company employee, helps employees achieve specific, immediate goals as defined by the organization.
Mentoring and coaching are both development tools with different structures and outcomes.
As we think about tackling this “boomer brain drain” in mining, we also need to consider the new generation of mining workers entering the workforce.
According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Workforce Learning Report, 94 percent of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn. This interest in learning and development is particularly strong among younger workers.
LinkedIn’s research found that roughly one-quarter of Gen Z and Millennials say learning is the number-one thing that makes them happy at work, and more than one-quarter (27 percent) of Gen Z and Millennials say the number-one reason they’d leave their job is that they did not have the opportunity to learn and grow.
Coaching is an excellent solution to this issue.
The opportunity to learn and grow through a coaching partnership is significant. Results are dynamic and long-lasting. When a company invests in an employee for this type of development, they make it easy for that employee to shift into the 94% group that are compelled to stay with the organization.
Here is an example of some situations well-suited to coaching:
· Develop new employees or managers.
· Advance high potential employees.
· Enhance experienced professionals with a new or rejuvenated skill.
· Support individuals who are not meeting expectations or goals.
· Assist leaders in coping with a large-scale change like managing new work teams and adapting to the merging of company cultures.
Coaching gives your employees a chance to achieve far more than the bare minimum. It communicates an unmistakable commitment to their development.
Incorporating both coaching and mentoring as part of your talent development and retention strategy makes perfect sense.
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Cindy Saunders is a Leadership Coach and HR Professional with over twenty years’ experience working in manufacturing, mining, finance and staffing industries. She is founder of Leaders Rise, a Leadership Coaching company. Cindy holds designations as Global Professional Human Resources (GPHR), Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR), SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) Strategic Human Resources Business Partner (SHRBP) and is certified as an Executive Coach with the World Coach Institute. Her leadership style is characterized by her drive to develop informed and engaged work environments through leadership coaching. Cindy considers strong and authentic leadership throughout an organization as an essential key to success. https://www.leadersrise.net
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