Why The Technology Industry Lacks Mentorship
The software world today is busier than ever, whether new technology is always on the scene, updates occur in existing technology and software demands today are becoming exponentially complex. The thought of mentorship for newbies and or growing tech professionals can be a priority at the bottom of the list once experienced tech pros become busy, or shall I ask the question….should it? One of the most common deficiencies in technology is mentorship for Jr. professionals. There is a low interest in mentoring area across the industry even if teams have time to mentor. As a result, lack of mentorship is one of the top reasons why beginning tech professionals leave their jobs within 2 years. This statement….disgracefully is unacceptable due to the fact that a majority yet not all tech teams are not mentoring our beginning professionals in this industry. Veterans in tech scratch their heads wondering why they do not have a consistent team after some time. In this article we will look at some reasons why this is happening and what the numbers are telling us today.
The technology culture, a fast pace death trap
Everyone working in the technology field is moving so fast to get their product in front consumers and investors just to impress competition. The exhaustion of the practice is constant so other important things such as mentorship and developing a team, can be left on the back burner. A technology team can be working on a new website that helps their customers have a better experience to gain an advantage over their market competition and that is fine, but did you develop your team to make to make the future of your technology products better? that is the question you should ask yourself. Granted, again, while this is not a bad thing to want to do your best and be the best company, however, it can hurt the overall culture of your team and if your only concern is about beating your competition and not developing your team of future star professionals, your going to have problems in the long run. I mean after all, you did take the time to hire these people whom you think would be the best fit moving forward for the future of your team...right? The practice of non-development in your team cannot only make the culture in the office negative but also make it harder to attract more talent once you’ve earned the reputation of the so called “unsatisfied mentoring culture”. This type of environment can lead to high turnover rates in the office…I hate to be the person whom saids this but…Houston we have problem! This already sounds like the hurricane is coming in your direction. Well…I guess you better run for cover…if you can make it!
No Time And Lack Of Compassion For Mentoring
Today many technology companies talk about the lack of time is the main reason why they do not really mentor their newbies in the office. Truth is…it’s the lack of compassion for mentoring new professionals on their team. It is a sad reality because experienced professionals tend to forget that it took a mentor, a.k.a. someone that gave up their time to help the leaders of today arrive to the elite status that they are in currently. News flash..no one self made! Past tech professionals that mentored these experienced tech leaders today, i’m sure were very busy with multiple projects on the table and still found time to do mentoring. Experienced pros also forget that mentorship is important to not just for a newbies’ development but to their own growth as a leader. When we do not want/commit to mentorship when needed….everyone loses, why is that? Well….the newbies are your future in the company, they’re present to help with the plan to grow and make the company better and when the experienced don’t develop them for the future, you simple do not have one!
Lack Of Mentoring Leaving To A Mass Exodis
According to research, 79% of technology newbies plan to/and or have left their jobs within 2 years because?….you guess it…the lack of mentorship was the #1 reason. So not only are experienced tech works not doing themselves a favor in terms of their own growth but they are having a tough time retaining a team of new tech professionals. This should wake up our industry! and flip the mentoring culture that would change the way a teams view their new professional. This can lead to more care, highly motivated teams. As a result, produce long term highly productive, well developed tech professionals that want to stay at their jobs more than 2 years. We’ve all heard about the great resignation right? Well, I think it’s safe to say, we do not have a so called employee shortage crisis, we have a mentoring crisis! Be mad at me all you want… and if you are, i’m sorry to hear that! nothing personal, its just real talk, why?.…because the numbers are telling the story!
Improving The Reputation Of Mentorship In Tech
Improving the mentoring situation in technology is not going to be an easy task. It going to take more experienced tech professionals to invest more in their people alongside the technology they use. This type of practice will lead to better team growth, positive outcomes in productivity, overall happiness of employees and potential retention. If the tech world can adopt this mindset...Just maybe…..we will have a better tech workforce for the future that displays stability. All I can say to technology teams out there….the choice is yours…..because at the end of the day, your team, still are people. Here are two closing questions…Do you want a better workforce with a solid foundation to scale for the future? Or just be a one man show…because all your people quit after seeing a mentor less culture that will eventually parish? The main reason why I wrote this article is because the current place i’m an engineer at….is changing the culture with their strong mentorship, leadership and ability to bring great energy everyday! This place shows me how its done all the time, and that it can be done even in this type of tech culture around them. Thank you to our leadership of being a great example of turning the impossible to possible!
