Mentoring for Engagement Mentoring for Engagement
What research says about mentoring, engagement and people who stay.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What engagement means
Engaged people are involved and enthusiastic
Gallup sorts employees into three groups by how involved they are in their work.
- Actively disengaged loudly quitting
- Not engaged quietly quitting
- Engaged involved and enthusiastic
Engagement worldwide
Only one in five is engaged
Global engagement fell to 20% in 2025, down from 23% in 2022.
- 2022 23%23%
- 2025 20%20%
Managers lose ground
Managers lost the most ground
Falling manager engagement explains most of the recent global drop.
Mentoring and commitment
Mentored officers felt more committed
In a study of US Army officers, mentoring went with stronger commitment.
Mentoring and turnover
Commitment links mentoring to staying
Mentored officers left less often, and commitment explained part of that link.
- Mentoring career and personal support
- Commitment feeling attached
- Staying tracked ten years later
Supervisor or not
Who mentors makes a difference
The link to commitment depended on whether the mentor was the supervisor, not on support type.
- Supervisory mentor also manages the mentee
- Non-supervisory mentor outside the reporting line
What mentees gain
Career gains are real but modest
Across studies, mentoring helped careers, though effects on pay were small.
What mentors gain
Mentors gain satisfaction and commitment
Mentors were more satisfied with their jobs and more committed than non-mentors.
- Job satisfaction higher
- Commitment higher
- Intent to leave no clear link
Designing for retention
Make staying the stated goal
Then measure commitment at the start and count who stays.
- Name retention as the goal
- Decide if managers may mentor their own staff
- Ask about commitment before and after
- Count who stays after one and two years
- Ask mentors what they gained
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Gallup (2026) State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report Gallup, Inc., Washington, DC
- Payne, S. C. & Huffman, A. H. (2005) A longitudinal examination of the influence of mentoring on organizational commitment and turnover Academy of Management Journal, 48(1), 158-168
- Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E. & Lima, L. (2004) Career benefits associated with mentoring for protégés: A meta-analysis Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 127-136
- Ghosh, R. & Reio, T. G. (2013) Career benefits associated with mentoring for mentors: A meta-analysis Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(1), 106-116
Count who stays
Ask about commitment at the start, then look again a year later.