We have already talked about skills that one should master to be a great recruiter in a previous article, but only briefly touched upon the methods that make it all possible. Though there are countless credible, online resources and courses you can sign up for, we firmly believe that you learn a profession in practice. Whether you are a recruiter or not, getting to watch a senior-level colleague work, observing their moves and having an opportunity to ask questions in real-time is going to speed up your working process tremendously.

Anyone experienced in learning and business development will tell you that peer learning is a powerful tool and a vital way that people build on their skills. Companies and entire industries rely on training their own employees into certain roles, putting time and effort into real talents and watching the investment return in capital through their work. It also supports the idea that one should hire based on character rather than overly detailed skillsets or backgrounds, because a team is better off with someone willing to put in the effort and master a job than someone not even interested in new challenges.

How does mentoring work within a company?

In an office setting, mentoring happens either spontaneously or facilitated by the management. A new colleague can breathe in knowledge by listening to others handling clients, talking to candidates or mapping out their working process, and more experienced team members can benefit from the freshness of newcomers. HR systems can also be built in a way that supports mentoring during the onboarding process, or even further ahead in the cycle. Regardless of the way one participates, mentoring broadens the skillset of each individual willing to join and either teach or listen and provides the firm with new perspectives and a well-functioning team.

Why is mentoring better than other forms of learning?

Mentoring builds a high performing team

Before getting into the direct benefits of peer learning, we must mention that it takes a village to raise a child. Sharing knowledge creates a fantastic and lasting bond between colleagues as it offers them an opportunity to connect with each other through an interest they share. As there are multiple pairs or groups participating in this practice, it’s a great way to encourage relationships between team members.

It provides valuable information in digestible doses

Peer learning is most often based on short interactions and shared tips. Information is delivered in small doses, making it easier to remember and put into practice, in a way that it’s organic, natural and memorable. Even lengthier coaching sessions are easier to put up with as they are made of personalized segments designed to fill in missing information in an individual’s head. Furthermore, a great mentor is able to locate fields of knowledge that might be useful to explore together based on their connection to the actual topic, which might even make the whole process more enjoyable and easy to comprehend.

Mentoring ensures that problems are faced in the correct and most effective way

If it’s not consciously facilitated, peer learning happens most frequently when there’s a specific challenge, issue or question to answer. That means that conveyed information feels more practical and relevant to a certain situation, and people can start to use a solution right when it’s needed. This ensures that problems are faced in the correct and most effective way, and also in the right order. We found that it’s most often difficult for beginners to create the workflow that works for them the best on the first try, as they tend to skip steps that would make it all shorter at the very start. An experienced mentor can spot and correct these mistakes quickly, before it would cost any colleague their valuable time.

Mentoring builds confidence and establishes a routine

Mentoring isn’t just beneficial to your newer recruits but allows more experienced recruiters to gain new skills as a leader and a teacher. Besides giving them more confidence in their routines, by mentoring others they are able to spot ineffective elements of their own procedures. Brainstorming together with fresh talent always leads to innovation, which can bring the whole team together to work more effectively for a common goal.

How to encourage peer-to-peer learning?

Here at IseeQ we fully operate in the lines of a mentoring system. New hires, regardless of seniority level, are assigned to a team based on their personalities and interests and receive help from colleagues in the same group. This way, they are not only supported in the beginning but throughout their whole career at IseeQ. Based on our experiences, the following 4 steps are essential to establish a mentoring system:

1. Find methods that work for all participants

Allow all colleagues to use tools and solutions that make mentoring easy for them. Some people like to teach online, some prefer physical presence… we are not at all the same, so try to provide for multiple needs and preferences, giving each colleague the opportunity of choice.

2. Keep personality in mind

We often preach to hire character rather than skills. Some personalities get along perfectly and motivate each other, others have to deal with more tension in a team. Try to pair people who function similarly and compliment each other.

3. Have a system that supports interaction and communication

Whether it’s online or offline, try to have a culture in which knowledge transfer is natural and encouraged. Find the right platforms and make sure your team is comfortable using them.

4. Trust your people

Micromanaging every mentoring process will only create tension and position a leader as a supervisor within the company. Electing people to mentor others should be an indicator of great trust and acknowledgment of their expertise, and letting them choose their own methods signals just that.

As always, we are curious about your insights on our article! Reach out to us via e-mail with any questions or remarks.

If you are interested in other recruitment or mentoring-related topics read our other blog posts.