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Are you wondering how to reduce training costs?
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a more cost-effective way of developing your employees' skills and knowledge that could also save your organisation money?
...all, while still providing high-quality development opportunities.
This is where mentoring can be a powerful tool for reducing training costs...
Instead of spending large amounts on external training providers and courses, using the expertise already within your organisation, through mentoring, can yield significant savings.
Imagine the benefits that mentoring allows:
- Employees learning directly from those with hands-on experience,
- Tailored guidance, and
- The ability to immediately apply new skills on the job.
Reducing training costs, and enhancing employee engagement and retention.
Retaining your existing employees saves, not only on training, but on rehiring costs, which can costs tens of thousands per new hire.
So, how can you implement a mentoring programme that effectively reduces training costs?
The answer lies in structured, well-planned mentoring initiatives by:
- Setting clear goals
- Providing necessary resources, and
- Using mentor matching software to ensure optimal pairings.
In this way, your organisation can reap the benefits of reduced training costs and improved employee development.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a one-to-one relationship, usually over a set period of time, in which an established business or professional person (mentor) provides consistent support, guidance and practical help for a less experienced person (mentee).
During the mentoring process the mentor shares their personal skills, knowledge and experience with the mentee to enable him or her to explore their personal and professional situation. The mentee is able to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to perform at a higher level, and has access to impartial, non-judgmental guidance and support. It is a two-way process in which the mentor and mentee work together to set and achieve predetermined goals and objectives.
What are the benefits of mentoring over training?
To understand how mentoring can help reduce training costs, it’s useful to realise that mentoring can replace training in many instances and even surpass it.
Experience
A mentor will have direct industry and/or skill expertise and can tailor the learning to reflect
that. A training course will often be facilitated by someone who may not have that necessary
industry experience and who will be pitching the training to the needs of the "average" course
member.
Long term
Training tends to take place over a relative short period of time; hours or days. There is only
so much information that anyone can absorb during intense training sessions. However, mentoring
sessions can be shorter and spaced out over an extended period, meaning the mentee is less
likely to become overloaded and more likely to have the time to put their new skills and
knowledge into practice, with the support of the mentor who can help them refine and apply their
new skills and knowledge and ensure that the learning transfers back to their work.
In a training environment support is provided in the session, with some limited interaction after the session. Mentoring on the other hand offers ongoing support, enabling the learning to be an iterative experience as the new knowledge is being put into practice
Motivation
In a mentoring relationship it is generally up to the mentee to initiate the relationship due to
their drive and motivation to learn and develop. If a trainee is required to attend training,
the motivation may be much lower and consequently the learning less effective.
Highly personalised
Mentoring is a one to one, highly personalised experience that ensures the mentee's learning is
tailored to them, rather than to a group of different people all with slightly different
needs.
Whilst training will always be relevant in the workplace, particularly when it comes to developing practical skills and achieving short term goals, mentoring can be very effective when it comes to developing and progressing a longer term development plan and goals.
And the real beauty of the mentoring relationship is that it is not just the mentee who benefits, the mentor will also develop new insights and knowledge from their mentee, along with the satisfaction of using their accumulated knowledge and experience to help others progress in their careers. These hidden cost benefits are easy to overlook.
How can mentoring directly save on training costs?
Mentoring can play a significant role in reducing training costs in several ways:
On-the-Job Training: Mentoring provides personalised, on-the-job training that is often far more effective than traditional classroom-based training. New employees can learn directly from experienced mentors, reducing the need for extensive formal training programmes and helping them feel part of the organisation. This hands-on approach can shorten the learning curve and get employees up to speed faster, saving on training costs.
Knowledge Transfer: Mentoring helps with the transfer of in house knowledge and skills from experienced employees to newer ones. This helps preserve valuable expertise within the organisation and reduces the need for external training resources. By using internally available knowledge, companies can save on hiring external trainers or enrolling employees in costly training courses. It also helps in establishing collaboration and job satisfaction through the act of mentoring or being mentored.
Continuous Development: Mentoring offers ongoing development opportunities rather than one-time training sessions. This ongoing support helps employees continuously improve their skills and adapt to new challenges without the need for repeated formal training sessions. Continuous mentoring can therefore reduce the frequency and cost of additional training. Employees should also feel more valued, as they continue to receive support for their career and skills development.
Customised Learning: Mentoring provides customised learning experiences tailored to the specific needs of the mentee. This targeted approach ensures that employees receive relevant training, reducing the time and money spent on unnecessary or generic training programmes. Training costs can therefore be reduced to specific areas of need.
Retention of Training Investment: Employees who receive mentoring are more likely to stay with the company, which helps in preserving the investment made in their training. High turnover can lead to repeated training costs as new hires need to be trained from scratch. By retaining employees through mentoring, companies can maximise the return on their training investments.
Peer-to-Peer Learning: Mentoring encourages a culture of peer-to-peer learning, where employees learn from each other. This reduces dependence on formal training sessions and external trainers, leading to cost savings and a more engaged workforce. Peer learning also promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing within the team.
Leadership Development: Mentoring helps identify and develop future leaders within the organisation. This can reduce the need for external leadership development programmes, which are often expensive. By grooming internal talent through mentoring, companies can save on leadership training costs, helping with succession planning and with the talent development your organisation needs to succeed.
Reducing overall training needs
Although mentoring doesn’t cut out the need for training, it can replace and help reduce
training needs and therefore costs, in a number of areas. Training costs can be reduced by
tailoring training to specific skills or specialist areas where mentoring would not provide the
condensed information that incisive training can provide.
Is Mentoring Software The Right Choice To Help Your Organisation Save On Training Costs?
That's easy to find out...
There's a free, 3 minute quiz that will help you decide whether mentoring software is the right fit for your organisation.
And, once you've taken the quiz, you can simply book a demo or get in touch if you want to see the mentoring platform in action, first hand and discuss how and where mentoring will help you in reducing training costs.
