Fundamental change such as this brings great opportunities but also challenges - while flexibility and choice is becoming increasingly important to employees and those starting their own businesses, companies also have to ensure that training and development programmes reflect this shift, so that staff feel engaged, connected and able to progress.  

Further research has shown for example, that working remotely can in some cases lead to increased isolation, stress and burnout among business owners and workers. A study by job search company Indeed has found that over half of respondents reported feelings of burn-out, with 67% saying this has increased throughout the pandemic. 

One method that offers huge potential to support business and employees in navigating these changes is Mentorship - a practice which encourages knowledge sharing, improves productivity and builds relationships based on mutual acceptance and trust. This helps to increase aspects such as creativity and problem solving within companies and encourages diversity and team-oriented environments, where ideas and issues can be discussed and worked through openly. 

Mentorship can work well in person, remotely, or as a mix of the two to reflect the hybrid working style of today. However, to ensure any form of mentoring relationship is helpful and meaningful, it is critical to work out objectives and intended outcomes before getting started. Questions are key from the outset, to enable each party to understand what they hope to gain from the relationship, as are regular check-ins. Honesty and transparency are vitally important too as the relationship progresses and grows - both parties should feel able to talk about what’s working, as well as what could be improved.  

It also pays to remember that mentorship programmes don’t always need to follow a traditional ‘top down’ approach where an older, more senior manager mentors a junior in the company - reverse mentorship and peer-to-peer mentorship can also be highly effective, bringing fresh perspectives and challenging biases. Inter-company mentorship programmes can also provide essential insight, especially when the businesses are non-competitive and can bring different skill sets to the table (e.g. building mentoring relationships between startup employees and those of a larger corporate company). 

Here at LSE Generate, we have been implementing and promoting  mentorship  through our “Mentorpreneurship” programme in partnership with OakNorth bank. The initiative is the first of its kind to engage past, current and future student entrepreneurs in a ‘life-cycle’ of mentoring. LSE sees this approach as fundamental in inspiring entrepreneurial thinking and problem-solving to help the business leaders of the future to create the next generation of socially responsible companies.

Furthermore, to help a wider pool of new and existing businesses, employees and entrepreneurs benefit from mentorship, we have also recently launched a new Certificate in Mentorship - which looks to break new ground by providing formal SHAPE-based training to aspiring mentors, wherever they may be in the world, through the knowledge and experience of the existing LSE network and partners from across the globe. 

It could be argued that in the age of hybrid working, mentorship programmes are now needed more than ever, to help bring people together and create more agile, creative and forward thinking companies. Beyond the obvious financial indicators , there are now multiple factors to what makes a business successful, including social impact, diversity and sustainability credentials, but all of this is underpinned by providing comprehensive support and development channels for founders and their employees. For the reasons outlined above, mentorship can play a fundamental role in building skills, relationships, teams and ultimately, better companies.