The honor that comes with being identified as a mentor or coach is often quite motivating for an employee who is being recognizes and appreciated in this role. Frequently, mentors and coaches inside an organization are further honored with a semi-annual or annual banquet. Leaders of the organization express their gratitude and employees that are being served by the mentors or coaches express their appreciation for the assistance they have received. The mentor or coach might be given a special badge or uniform designating their honored status. This latter strategy is often engaged in service industries, such as fast-food restaurants, where an older employee, who is often of retirement age, is recruited in part to serve as a senior mentor and trainer to the teenage members of the work force.
In a few instances, the mentor or internal coach is compensated for the services she renders. The mentor or coach might be paid overtime for these services or she might receive additional vacation days if she is providing the mentoring or coaching services during non-work hours. Alternatively, the mentor or coach might receive a bonus. This bonus is often tied to the direct documentation of benefit to the employee being served or to the organization. A new employee, for instance, might be given an incentive bonus after their six-month probationary period. A portion of this bonus might, in turn, be paid to their mentor or coach. A mentor or coach might be paid a bonus that is equal to a certain proportion of the salary increase of the employee she has been serving during a specific period of time. We are also likely to see internal mentoring and coaching in the future being tied to profit sharing and stock-option plans—for mentoring and coaching ultimately benefit an organization in many unanticipated ways that impact the organization’s long-term viability.
