Now that hybrid and remote work is here to stay, many companies are torn between investing in their employees’ professional development and acknowledging the limitations of virtual workplaces. However, Shiau Yen Chin-Dennis, the managing partner of the K&L Gates Portland office, pointed out that leaders and mangers have to proactively leverage technology to provide resources and assistance to the workplace. Mentorship programs are undoubtedly difficult in the virtual space. But by creating a proper plan for the mentorship programs, Chin-Dennis states that companies can promote diversity, inclusivity, and productivity.
So if you want to establish a digital mentorship program for your team, here’s how you can get started:
List down your measures of success for mentees
Mentorship programs are designed to build the skills of your employees. So before planning your virtual training program, the team has to answer one question: what kind of progress do we want to see from the employees?
Your measures of success can be hard skills needed for promotion, or even soft skills that can improve their performance as employees. Recognizing that motivation is a critical ingredient for success, Link & Motivation trains employees to achieve personal growth by fostering their motivation for work. Since they use motivation as a measure of success, they develop survey systems and consultation services to address these areas in training.
Structure your mentorship program
Establishing your company’s measures of success is a crucial first step, since this will serve as your organization’s guide in structuring the mentorship program.
Since the mentorship program sets employees up for success, a guide to mentorship by LHH recommends that you structure your program to identify which employees should be involved in the process. Whether you’re choosing new hires or preparing employees for succession, the guide recommends that you assess how long the program should last based on the goals established. Through these parameters, you can assess which technologies would best support your virtual mentorship program.
Identify and train the mentors
Once you’ve structured your program, the next step is to identify which leaders are qualified to train the mentees. Try to see if their skills can meet your measures of success to ensure that your mentees will be in good hands.
But if you want the best chance of success for your mentees, take the time to train the mentors for the digital program. Since these leaders are key members of the program, Peter Weill of the MIT Sloan Team recommended that the team should enhance their digital skills first. Through this brief training program, the organization can maximize the new technologies for digital mentorship.
Find the right technologies for your needs
While numerous companies are undergoing digital transformation, Valoir discovered that HR departments are lagging behind when it comes to the adoption of technology. Though mentoring is traditionally dependent on in-person meetings, the CEO of Valoir recommends leveraging learning management systems and talent management apps for these programs.
To illustrate, you can schedule appointments, match mentees with coaches, and track your employees’ progress by using software programs like Mentorink. On the other hand, you can leverage mentor matching features and career progression tools by using PushFar for your training program.
Creating a digital mentorship program is not easy. But now that remote and hybrid work is here to stay, your digital training program will be integral to the continued success of your workplace.
