Congratulations! Your new hire made it through the first 90 days with flying colors. All those onboarding tips paid off, right? Yes, but you’re not finished just yet.

One of the best ways to ensure continued success for your new hire is to assign a mentor. Studies show that retention rates for workers who have been mentored throughout their first months of employment are significantly higher, so there’s definitely a benefit for you, too!

If you’ve read our previous article, “You’re On Probation”, you know that we recommend assigning a mentor during the first 90 days. If you’ve already done that, great – keep it going! If you haven’t, it’s not too late. Simply introduce it as a standard protocol for employees at the three-month mark (or wherever you are) to enhance their integration into the department and organization.

Here are a few more tips to help you start a mentoring program:

Pick a peer. It’s important that employees feel comfortable with their mentors. Your best bet is to select someone at or just above the new employee’s level. Shared interests or similar workplace experience are another big plus.

Outside the box. A mentor from the new employee’s department is an obvious choice, but you might also want to consider looking a little farther afield. Someone from a department that the employee will have frequent contact with can provide a broader perspective of your organization.

Can we talk? Mentors provide coaching, guidance and encouragement, and serve as a confidante and advisor on work-related issues. There’s no need for a formal script or structure. The most important consideration is establishing trust – both ways.

Your place or mine? Use the opportunity to get mentors and mentees (yes, that is a word) out of the immediate office environment so they can communicate freely and without interruption. A break-out room or small conference area is good. So is the cafeteria or even a nearby coffee shop.

Have a back-up. Sometimes people just don’t hit it off. When that happens in a mentoring relationship, don’t blame either party. Just try pairing your new hire with another mentor.

As your mentoring program grows, you’ll soon find that new hires get up to speed faster…work more productively…and stay longer.

Who knows…you might even have your own Batman & Robin superheros within your workforce that you didn’t even know about!