Online Mentoring

Objectives of a Mentoring Space

An online mentoring space for your employees can:

• Develop an understanding of what mentoring is and how it might benefit them
• Allow access and gain experience of high impact online learning and become certified as a “mentor” and/or “mentee” (research shows that both mentors and mentees benefit from training)
• Find and select a mentor through a matching space
• Provide feedback on their mentoring relationship to the organisation and fellow colleagues
• Build a Community of Practice amongst members staff where they can engage in discussion, feedback and learning forums (e.g. “Ask a Guru”)
• Generate/“push” out communications to keep momentum and engagement for individuals when they start a programme
• Provide access to ongoing learning materials to support their mentoring journey

Components of a Mentoring Space

Consists of:

• Information on mentoring to support staff when deciding how mentoring might benefit them; what is required of them; different types of mentoring
• Courses and Learning bursts (online learning)
• Mentor Matching tool to profile and match mentors and mentees
• To provide ongoing learning and support
• Structured forums to develop ongoing engagement and learning
• Communications Pack - email series to push out reminders, useful articles from the site, feedback, case studies etc. – to maintain and increase momentum

Example Online Mentoring Platform

Mentoring Space Components:

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• Library
  At the heart of the online space is a library of materials. This represents the best of the academic writing from CA, as well as a range of practical guides and an ever increasing series of articles and reference guides. This material is fully indexed and available at the desktop or direct to mobile devices and smart phones.
• E-Learning
  For each of the core areas, there is an e-learning module. Each module takes between 45 minutes to an hour to complete and covers a subject in full detail, with a Guide walking you through the learning, the chance to explore and practice the learning, and an assessment of learning at the end. We use video to illustrate the key skills and behaviours that will lead to success, as well as interactive and branching videos to allow users to practice skills and embed the learning.
• Learning Bursts
  Learning bursts are high impact and highly granular, 15-20 minutes in great depth on highly specific topics. Learning bursts are structured around a very focussed learning methodology: demonstration, with a Guide dissecting the situation and liaising with participants, Exploration, where the learner explores and diagnoses the situation and Practice, where the user can direct the action and demonstrate their new understanding back to us. Learning bursts include an A4 key facts download and practitioner podcast to capture key practical tips.
• Mentor matching tool
  This part of the site will enable mentors and mentees to post profiles within a core template and then search and select through an effective mix of technology and human touch. People create their profile to a template (can vary by area) Criteria matching automatically generates a shortlist. Facilitator/expert does final matching. Opportunity for ‘couples’ to review profiles.
• Ask a Guru
  The ask a Guru function gives learners access to our team of international experts. They can submit questions and case studies and get personal feedback directly from the gurus.
• Forums
  Case study based group based high engagement moderated and driven by facilitator - can be supported by CA or can be pure CA. Forums are a space where people can come together, a community space where they can interact online. The Forum in Rome was where people came to trade, to celebrate, to talk politics, to protest, to gather support, to explore ideas. An online forum can be all of these things, and more. It can be a place to be challenged, to challenge others, to explore new ideas, to gain support or advice, to demonstrate expertise or to ask for help. But the Forum won’t work by itself. A forum is just a space, it takes motivated and engaged individuals to make it vibrant. You need energy, ideas, themes and motivation to engage, and we can use a variety of methods to achieve this. Structured activities, where learners conduct joint case studies, discuss feedback or work around a specific topic can drive up engagement. Using a moderator to engage with individuals, to structure the debate and, ultimately, to summarise learning. A well run forum will enhance the learning experience by driving it out of the purely academic and into the highly practical.
• Communication Packs
  These are follow up materials to extend the learning. It can consist of custom designed emails with full usage tracking and automation, sent out to specific learners in response to their specific activities. For example, we might take some of the characters that the learner has met within the e-learning and send follow up situations that require support. We are looking to reinforce key learning and to get learners to apply learning directly within their actual work environment. Communications can also include items that are posted out, such as postcard based ‘top tips’ or ‘things to implement today’.