22 “Mentors experience a real sense of appreciation that they can pass on their experience.” Martina Zimmermann, head of Worldwide Organization Personnel Development, <strong>MAN</strong> Diesel & Turbo, Augsburg Sustainable growth: Through mentoring programs, companies pass on valuable expertise to the next generations.
Photo: Kenji Aoki >>> Harika Yücebilgiç is certain: “Mentors can teach their mentees what can’t be learned from books.” As talent management specialist at <strong>MAN</strong> SE in Munich, Yücebilgiç manages <strong>MAN</strong>’s mentoring program at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Since 2007, the commercial vehicle and engine manufacturing company has supported programs at TUM whereby alumni—former students of the university—assume a year-long mentorship for current students. This involves not only entry into professional life, career planning, leadership and technical issues, but also personal matters, such as juggling family commitments and professional life, work-life balance, or conflict management. In addition to first-hand support, mentors offer their protégés access to their own networks to facilitate internships, diploma theses or job placements. “<strong>MAN</strong> considers it a fundamental social responsibility to provide support today for the generation of tomorrow,” says Jörg Schwitalla, Chief Human Resources Officer at <strong>MAN</strong> SE and patron of the TUM mentoring program. “Our experienced mentors offer students an important jumpstart for their careers. On the other hand, we get to know motivated young people, who contribute new ideas to the company.” <strong>MAN</strong>’s commitment also emphasizes its appeal as an employer, by strengthening the company’s reputation and assisting in personnel recruitment. aluMni for students Is an internship advisable after studying abroad? How can doctoral work be reconciled with family commitments? These and other questions are the topics of discussion for Robin Sonneborn, who took up his mechanical engineering studies at TUM in May 2011, and for his <strong>MAN</strong> mentor Sven Eisenbach. Now working for <strong>MAN</strong> Diesel & Turbo in Augsburg, the computational engineer says that while a student, he had been grateful to talk to friends of his parents about career issues. “It does help to exchange views with someone who has already had the experiences that still lie ahead,” says Sonneborn. When asked if she would like to join the TUM program as a mentor, Fernanda Kleffmann did not hesitate for a second. “I really liked the idea. It was something I’d always wanted to do,” says Kleffmann, who comes from Brazil and now works as a logistics project manager at <strong>MAN</strong> Truck & Bus in Dachau, near Munich. Since the spring of 2011, she has been mentoring 26-year-old mechanical engineering student Kerstin Schmidt-Thrö. They meet once a month to discuss job applications, contact networks or planning trade fairs. “I enjoy sharing my expertise,” says the 33-year-old. “This kind of mentoring isn’t a monologue at all, but rather an exchange. I also tell her about my projects. We meet at eye level, that was very important to me.” The idea of mentoring was resurrected just a few years ago to benefit HR development. And yet it is by no means a passing fad. The concept dates back to Greek mythology: Before setting off for the Trojan war, Odysseus asked his confidant named Mentor to look after his son Telemachus in his absence, introduce him to society and stand by him as fatherly figure and advisor. Referring to this story, mentoring today describes the specific exchange of information between people on different developmental and hierarchic levels. The first mentoring programs deliberately targeted the advancement of women, who are rarely found in top positions even with outstanding abilities. Contact with persons in executive positions is particularly useful to them. Traditionally shaped by industrial production, <strong>MAN</strong> is industry average with a female ratio of about 11 percent. In order to boost this figure—not least in <strong>foru</strong>m 03/2011 23 company view of skilled labor shortages—<strong>MAN</strong> proactively supports promotion programs to encourage women in technical professions, such as the mentorING scheme (ING being the German abbreviation for engineer) at the Technical University of Munich. Female students of electronics and IT, mechanical and construction engineering, computer sciences, and physics receive the support and advice of an experienced mentor for a year at a time and can attend numerous events on topics such as career planning, professional bearing or how to make a good impression, or job application training. external Mentors Tanja Reissenweber is another beneficiary of targeted advancement for women. When the 40-year-old took up her first management position at the Bavarian home loan bank LBS, she was proposed for the crossmentoring program, an initiative by Munich’s social services department, aimed at female executive staff, which brings together mentors and mentees from different companies in pairs. “I wanted a clear view of my career goals,” explains Reissenweber. Her mentor came from <strong>MAN</strong>—an advantage, she thinks. “I wouldn’t have been so open with someone from my own company.” And besides, the relevant issues in the two companies differ less than some would assume: leadership issues, self-presentation, compatibility of family and career. “We used a project in order to make Tanja Reissenweber more visible in her company,” says her mentor Wolfgang Weiss, personnel developer at <strong>MAN</strong> Truck & Bus Germany, one year and many meetings down the line. “He helped me recognize the value of my contribution and to stop playing it down as something to be taken for granted,” says Reissenweber, in appreciation of her mentor. “He was very skillful in asking me pointed questions and thus helped me in heading
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