Does Your Business Need Mentoring to Survive The Economic Downturn?
When starting a new job, it is essential to learn the tricks of the trade as quickly as possible, this may mean doing extra training, continually asking questions or finding a mentor.
“Mentoring as a formal business activity in Australia has blossomed in the past decade and is now mainstream. But as the country enters more challenging economic times, mentoring is at the crossroads: sitting between being seen as a luxury of better times and as an essential business tool during the financial crisis.” (Clive Hopkins, Tricks of the Trade 1/4/09 www.smallbusiness.smh.com.au)
Mentoring has a whole new meaning in times of an economic downturn. It involves spending more in-depth time on planning, reviewing and reorganising the business to add value where ever possible. As the economy struggles, most businesses are feeling the challenges and employers are now turning to any resource they can to assist the business in making it through these tough times.
Clive Hopkins stated that “If you have a good business idea and you’re passionate about it, you’ll make it work. It doesn’t matter what the climate is. You have to find the right customer and sometimes that’s hard. You have to do the cold doorknock.”
So, do businesses need mentoring during this downturn? Or do they simply need to understand their customers and adapt their products and services to ensure their success?
Sophie
ProGrad are a graduate assessment, placement and training company. If you would like to be considered for our roles, or receive more information about the graduate market place, please contact us on 02 8235 8300. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.prograd.com.au
