Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021 - 38

YOUR MENTOR
IS WAITING
LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
FOR KNOWLEDGE AND
SKILLS SHARING
BY KAREN THARRINGTON, PH.D.
Mentoring in the workplace is a highly
valued
benefit.
Mentoring
not
only
provides employees with someone to
go to for guidance or career planning,
but it can also help them understand
what goes on in other departments, can
facilitate growth with decision-making or
leadership skills, and can help improve
a company's overall feedback culture.
Employees crave opportunities to learn
and grow - but with shrinking learning
and development (L&D) budgets, it's
becoming more challenging to offer
expansive learning programs.
Many employees
attribute some of
their success to having a good mentor
from the start. Knowing who to go to for
help can be difficult, especially when
employees are working remotely or in
larger organizations with globally based
employees. There may be external
opportunities, but they can be expensive
for someone who is just starting their
career. While formal mentoring programs
that are maintained by organizations
are still popular, studies have also
shown that informal mentoring can be
more effective on career development
(Underhill, 2005). Enter the idea of skillsharing
as a complement to mentoring.
MENTORING VERSUS
SKILL-SHARING
Mentoring is a professional relationship
in which an experienced person (the
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mentor) supports another (the mentee) in
developing specific skills and knowledge
that will enhance the less experienced
person's professional and personal
growth. While mentoring provides
one-on-one opportunities to discuss
various
goals
or
skills,
skill-sharing
gets straight to what's needed. Think
of it as " mentoring on demand, " where
employees can connect with someone
who has the skill they are looking to
develop. This hybrid approach gives
employees a platform for knowledge
and skill-sharing in hopes of connecting
with experts who can assist with projects
or professional goals.
LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
Mentoring may be critical to the success
of junior employees, but there can be
obstacles that make it more difficult
to succeed, including time, follow-up
meetings, clarity on the proper way to
structure meetings or who is supposed
to make contact first (Franko et.al, 2019).
With the current number of remote
workers, location is now an issue when
considering mentoring relationships.
Current technologies can bridge the
gap of static relationships and take away
the " guesswork " involved.
Employees engage with technology
all day long, whether for work-related
issues or in their personal lives. Everyone
has their phone with them all the time
Using mobile applications with the
mentoring process is not necessarily a
new concept; there are several mentor
apps available that work independently
or alongside an in-house program.
Many companies are finding that it is
more cost-effective to use technology
to complement in-house programs or
even replace more traditional ones. In
addition, connecting employees and
mentors online opens opportunities
for location-agnostic pairings. Whether
through an app, an LMS or an
organizational platform, technology can
support the development of mentor/
mentee relationships at all levels.
By using a platform
like those in which
employees interact in
their personal lives, we
can leverage technology
to drive engagement.
and are used to dealing with software
in the form of apps. By using a platform
like those in which employees interact
in their personal lives, we can leverage
technology to drive engagement.
https://www.getapp.com/hr-employee-management-software/mentoring/ https://www.getapp.com/hr-employee-management-software/mentoring/ http://www.et.al
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021

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