Mentoring Makes a Personal Difference to Workplace Safety
Take the Initiative to Help Less Experienced Co-workers Learn the Ropes
There are many benefits to becoming a mentor. Studies show that a strong mentoring system helps workplaces become safer and more positive environments – not to mention that mentors generally get great personal satisfaction from helping another person.
Mentoring can be a formal process - such as in the case of helping to train an apprentice - or very informal. Even if you work at a company without a formal mentoring program, you can begin to make your job a safer place by engaging in a few of the following steps to becoming a mentor on your own initiative.
Look For Opportunities
The idea of mentoring often evokes images of mystical relationships like that of Mr. Miaggi and Daniel Son in The Karate Kid. The reality is, however, that most relationships form because we have looked for opportunities to develop them.
- Become intentional about finding a person we can share our workplace insights with. (Usually the new or young worker has the most to gain from your experience.)
- Remember that many young workers are too intimidated to initiate this conversation; you’re going to have to make the first move in the mentoring relationship.
Find Common Ground
Establishing credibility with the younger worker will firm up the relationship and help make your “wisdom” stick in his/her mind. The common ground you share doesn’t need to be only about your job or workplace – it could be a sports team, or favorite movies. You want to seem approachable enough that the new worker can come to you with any question.
Be Authentic
Some of the greatest assets you have as a mentor are the mistakes you’ve made. (You know you have – you may not be a chronic safety offender but no one’s perfect, either.
- Talk to the young worker about decisions on the job you wish you didn’t make, and about some of the close calls you’ve experienced regarding safety. By showing your mentoree that you are less than perfect, you establish an open line of communication and indirectly encourage him/her to someday be a mentor themselves.
Ask Questions
Many people have the idea that a mentor is someone who simply downloads information into a mentoree’s brain, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
- In a good mentoring relationship, workplace knowledge is transferred by the mentor asks the mentoree probing questions, like: “What do you think would be the safest way to get this job done?” or “How are you feeling about your new responsibilities?” Keep the questions open-ended, meaning your mentoree cannot just say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
- A mentoree could show you a few tricks – a new hire has a fresh perspective on a job you may have been doing for years. New ideas could mean better productivity, a safer or just more pleasant environment… maybe even recognition by the boss!
Being a mentor does not require filling in forms or getting permission – it’s a simple and straightforward as talking to and spending a little time with a new hire.
Anytime you can get on the “same page” with fellow employees, you make the workplace a better place and the workday go a little smoother and faster. Many companies have wonderful employees – but very few companies have a wonderful team.
