Mentorship Builds Out the Bench for an Organization

“It’s about building a bench for your organization today and years into the future,” says Carmen Decker of Kimco Realty when asked about the importance of mentoring. Decker is one of the speakers on the topic at the upcoming GlobeSt. Elite Women of Influence conference July 22 through July 23. Along with Decker, Sheri Thompson, SVP and FHA finance group head at Walker Dunlop; Suzanne Hollander, Esq, a professor at Florida International University; and Karen Tepera, managing director of client services at Greystar, will also speak on the panel.

“[Mentoring] provides your existing leaders for an opportunity to grow their experience base to include development of team members, which again helps to further prepare your organization for whatever the future brings,” adds Decker, president of the western region at Kimco Realty.

Retention and recruitment are equally important benefits of building a mentoring program. Mentorship builds strong talent, but it can also help to nurture a professional’s experience at a company and encourage continued growth. “Your superstars will always want to keep growing and learning,” says Decker. “If your people know that you genuinely care about them and their careers, it helps to create a small sense of loyalty that is very difficult to come by in todays job climate.”

It can also be a selling point for talent during recruitment. Decker notes that finding and retaining talent is challenging in all industries, but commercial real estate has always had trouble in this area. “Once you get them in the door they will see how your organization supports and promotes mentorship and growth for its employees and you are far more likely to get them excited about the industry and your company long term,” she says.

For companies looking to develop a mentorship program from scratch, Decker recommends starting with key members of the organization that are in the best position to contribute to the program. “If I were advising an organization on how to develop a mentorship program, I would say start by identifying and recruiting those within the organization that have a deep passion for your industry to help you build it,” she explains.

And, while more companies are showing interest in these programs, Decker says that they have hardly become a standard. “Structured mentorship programs are becoming more common but have a very long way to go for our industry as a whole,” she says. “At Kimco, we view creating programs that help bring along the industry leaders of the future as strategic priority and a key to delivering shareholder value long term.”

While much of the focus of mentoring is places on the protégé’s experience and benefit, Decker adds that it is also a rewarding experience for the mentor. “I sit down with the folks that I manage often to talk about their goals.  If they have big goals or dreams or even just a small idea, helping them to get there can be transformational for their lives and is just good business,” she says. “I find most often it’s about helping them decide what they like, what they are good at, what areas they can improve and how those things converge. “They are a chance to grow so you are ready for that next opportunity when it comes your way.”