These days, some studies show that employees in their mid-20s work an average of 16 months before moving on. An employee age 18 to 34 may hold up to nine different jobs.

That has to make a manager think long and hard about how to keep Mike, that talented young collection system technician, around long enough to become a supervisor.

But there’s an inexpensive and relatively easy way to keep Mike happy and protect your investment in his training: Find him a compatible mentor and watch both parties — and your organization — benefit.

“Arguably, the cost of training employees alone means you should do everything you can to retain them,” says Dawn Chandler, an assistant professor of management at Cal Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. “Motivational research shows training is important to employees. Training and mentoring make people more competent, and organizations with mentoring programs have more satisfied, committed employees who are less likely to leave and more likely to share information.”

Chandler says mentoring is more important than ever because technology is changing rapidly, organizational demographics are shifting, and other cultural trends are affecting organizations of all kinds, including municipal agencies.

In the face of a mobile workforce, it’s critical to get new employees indoctrinated quickly to the organization’s culture and politics, which older-generation employees had the luxury of learning during a 20- or 30-year career.

Carve out time

To weary managers already pressed to do more with fewer resources, mentoring might seem like more effort than it’s worth. But Chandler says mentoring doesn’t have to be a huge time sink, and it often offers unexpected benefits.

“It’s honestly a challenge,” she says. “I wouldn’t tell anyone to take mentoring lightly. That being said, there are great benefits, not the least of which is that mentors may well learn something from their protege.

“For example, older people may not be as sophisticated about computers and software programs, or troubleshooting problems with them, while younger generations are quite tech savvy. So the pair can build a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Mentoring doesn’t always re-quire a formal structure full of rules and requirements. It can be as simple as periodic lunches with one or two entry-level operators or technicians, where a manager can answer off-the-cuff questions and offer advice. In return, the junior employees may be able to offer objective, valuable feedback about a manager’s leadership skills.

“In my research, I looked at relationally savvy people,” Chandler says. “Savvy seniors recognize that they can learn from junior people, who can help them understand how others perceive their management style. Maybe they don’t delegate enough, or maybe they’re not communicating or motivating employees as effectively as they think they are. They may not understand their blind spots as a manager, but these juniors can open a window to them.”

Both parties need to feel they benefit from the partnership. They should be mindful about what is occurring in the relationship so that one person doesn’t feel neglected. The mentor should periodically let the mentee know how he or she is progressing.

Good match

Whether mentoring is formal or informal, one factor augurs success or failure more than any other — finding a good match between mentor and mentee. Chandler suggests picking people with similar likes and dislikes, or a shared hobby or personal or work values. Something as simple as a similar sense of humor can make a difference.

“You need to create pairs with as much chemistry as possible,” she notes. “Mentors should be empathetic and good communicators and have good social skills. The mentor’s skills should be relevant to those the protege is seeking to develop.”

Chandler also suggests asking rather than telling people to serve as mentors. Studies show that people who volunteer are more likely to be vested and succeed. Once paired, the mentor and mentee need to set expectations, such as how often to meet, what they hope to achieve, the best ways to communicate (e-mail, phone, in person), and how often to expect feedback. There should be a defined timetable for the mentoring to end.

“In programs I’ve been involved with, and according to general studies, it’s good for a human resources department (if the city has one) to keep its finger on the pulse of relationships,” Chandler says. “Every three or six months, someone should check on things and see if there are any problems. Everything should be confidential. It’s helpful to hold a formal training session for mentors and proteges — maybe just 45 minutes to tell both parties what it’s all about. Training is very beneficial.”

Watching for pitfalls

Sometimes even the best-thought-out pairings can go awry. For example, without clear expectations and effective monitoring, a mentor may take advantage of a relationship and order a mentee to work 20 hours over a weekend to finish a report the mentor neglected.

“Or the protege can become overly dependent and reliant on advice and doesn’t grow into an independent thinker,” Chandler says. “Sometimes mentors don’t give them enough work for the person to grow professionally. It’s also possible for either party to try and damage each other’s career, or to have a mentor take credit for a protege’s work.

“Mentors can feel threatened, or they can bask in the success of younger proteges. That’s why social skills and a good match are so critical.”

On a broader level, Chandler encourages organizations to hold a workshop for younger employees and educate them about the importance of building their own networks with peers and managers and with professionals outside the organization.

“No one person can fulfill all their professional needs,” Chandler says. “If you educate them about what mentoring entails, they can proactively seek out people who will help them. That puts the responsibility on the individual, and they will seek out people with whom they already have natural chemistry.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a senior/junior relationship, either. They can attend conferences or meetings of professional organizations and reach out to someone who has an interesting career. There’s a whole bunch of people they can learn from. Everybody wins.”

Especially employees like Mike, who just might stick around long enough to take over when his boss retires.