Does Mentor Communication Quality Drive Retention? Evidence From an Engineering R&d Department

This paper investigates the relationship between communication quality within mentoring programs and employee retention outcomes in a knowledge-intensive engineering context. A quantitative, cross-sectional single-case study was conducted in the eBike Battery Pack department (EB-BP/ENG-RO) of Bosch Engineering Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Structured questionnaires were administered to 17 mentored employees and 7 mentors, supplemented by direct participatory observation. Univariate descriptive analysis and Kendall’s tau-b bivariate correlations were used to examine four hypotheses. All four hypotheses were supported within the study sample at p < 0.05. Mentoring duration was positively associated with competency consolidation (τ = 0.531), communication effectiveness with employee proactivity (τ = 0.629), mentor-facilitated process understanding with intent to remain (τ = 0.557), and mentor openness and receptiveness with decision-making skill development (τ = 0.670). A significant structural gap was also identified, as 65% of mentees reported receiving no formal end-of-mentoring evaluation. The findings suggest that organizations should consider mentoring periods of 3–6 months, calibrated to role complexity and prior experience, invest in mentor communication training, and implement formal closing evaluation protocols. The study provides exploratory empirical evidence on the communication–retention nexus in engineering mentoring, and highlights the relevance of communication quality, mentor openness, process guidance, and mentoring duration in supporting employee development and retention-related outcomes in a technical R&D context.