February 12, 2020
The turnover rate for the Office of Administration and Planning (A&P) workforce as a whole was close to 16% in FY18. It was slightly higher among minorities (16.5%) and slightly lower among women (14.2%). In FY19 the turnover rate for A&P workforce as a whole fell to just under 11%, but the turnover rate remained higher among minorities (almost 15%) and higher among females (11.4%).
To improve retention of diverse talent, A&P is developing a peer-mentoring pilot program, with a diversity emphasis. Peer mentoring is a form of mentorship that takes place usually between a person who has lived through a specific experience (peer mentor) and a person who is new to that experience (the peer mentee). In the workplace, peer mentoring can offer employees a valuable source of support and information. Peer mentors work to ease the transition into the workplace by demonstrating positive work habits and sharing skills, guide staff to resources, and opportunities in the organization. Peer mentors help employees connect with coworkers, which allows them to feel more willing to speak their minds and communicate ideas.
Research shows that new employees who are paired with a mentor are twice as likely to remain in their job than those who do not receive mentorship. These mentoring relationships provide substance for career growth that benefit both the mentor and mentee. Peer mentorship programs help in reducing turnover, promote growth, and overall help employees adjust to new positions and become prepared to move up.
Diversity mentoring, a type of peer mentoring, pairs mentors and mentees in a one-to-one mentorship aimed at engaging and developing specific subsets of employees. Diversity mentoring has grown in popularity for companies that want to attract and retain top talent. Diversity mentoring helps organizations develop and retain diverse talent and helps build a robust community of diverse talent for future needs. Offering a diversity mentoring program helps organizations differentiate themselves from their competitors while providing long-term support for their employees.
Diversity mentoring also can improve diversity in leadership or specific functional disciplines, better attract and retain employees in those positions, and connect diverse populations with others to learn and share experiences. Diversity mentoring empowers a wide range of employees to share their opinions, ideas, knowledge, and experiences on a level playing field. Diversity mentoring creates an environment of trust, belonging, understanding, support, and encouragement for a diverse workforce. It gives employees an opportunity to voice their concerns, overcome hurdles, and find solutions. As a result, it inspires employees to perform to their highest ability.
A final strategy for improving retention of diverse talent will be to incorporate “inclusive leadership” as a central component the leadership development pilot program.