For companies with a keen eye on their bottom line, mentoring provides low-cost, high-quality learning based on personal experiences.

“Often mentors have already participated in years of learning and development, so can quickly pass practical application of their knowledge on to their mentees,” says Raoul. “It boosts the ROI of formal training schemes, while helping junior employees to upskill faster.”

The financial impact is not to be underestimated. MentorcliQ’s 2023 Mentoring Impact Report found median profits from Fortune 500 companies with mentorship schemes were three times that of those without mentoring strategies.

In part, this could be down to the associated productivity benefits, illustrated by research from the Association for Talent Development, which showed managers who were mentored improved productivity by 88%, compared to just 24% for those who only received training.

Better engagement and higher staff retention are more signs of mentoring success.

There are cost saving attributes to mentoring too. A Gartner study of 1,000 employees in a mentorship scheme at technology firm Sun Microsystems found that over several years, mentored staff retention rates were 20% higher, saving the firm $6.7 million.