Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021 - 39

" Mentoring is the most costefficient
and sustainable method
of fostering and developing talent
within your organization. "
- David Clutterbuck, Author,
" Everyone Needs a Mentor "
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
IN AN APP
The driving idea behind mentoring
apps is that people can create profiles
specifying their skills and talents and
communicate with others informally
through the app. There is no need to
involve specific departments or talent
specialists. Rather, allow employees
to find each other based on their
immediate needs, within, or outside
of, the organization. Some of the
apps are customized to work within
a company's established mentoring
program. Many apps function similarly
to a social connection app with landing
dashboards, users' names, photos,
knowledge, skills, hourly fees and
ratings. Users can often search for a
specific skill to find a mentor or request
to be matched based on similarities or
goals. Some contain in-app systems for
scheduling meetings or pushing info to
mentors and mentees regularly.
Mentoring apps that envelop all
communication, organization and data
through the app are the most helpful.
An additional feature might be rating
systems like other share-economy apps,
where both parties rate each other and
provide optional reviews, which are only
visible afterward.
When considering technology for
mentoring programs, companies will
want to ensure that the platform is easy,
quick and relevant to employees. Apps
that function easily and similarly to other
apps they use regularly will engage
them more than software that has a
steep learning curve.
IMPACT
Retaining talent and knowledge/skill
sharing is critical in today's corporate
workplace. Leveraging technology with
mentor apps can help with creating
a learning culture within a company
and
encourage
cross-department
collaboration, all of which can drive
employee engagement. For L&D
departments with shrinking budgets,
out of the box apps might be one way
to jumpstart a coaching or mentoring
program. HR departments can also
consider some of the more customizable
products to launch a new mentorship
program.
Whatever your L&D mentoring needs
are, apps can revolutionize knowledge
sharing and provide an easy launch to
more formal mentoring. Opportunities
for skill-sharing and mentoring are often
noted as value-adds when employees
are considering a job; mentor apps can
promote collaboration and knowledge
sharing solutions with " mentors
on demand " who can quickly help
employees solve a problem or learn a
new skill quickly.
Karen Tharrington, Ph.D., is a senior
learning
specialist
at
Kiwi.com,
an
online travel agency and tech company
based in Brno, Czech Republic. With
more than 20 years of experience in
education and instructional design, Dr.
Tharrington is responsible for leading
curriculum development and train-thetrainer
programs for the learning and
development department. Email Karen.
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
* Mentor apps: Leverage
technology to reach employees.
* Skill-sharing: Use the expertise
you have in the company for
knowledge-sharing.
* Informal mentoring: Consider
mentors on demand to help
as needed.
* Usability: All-in-one app where
everything is contained within
the platform.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
| 39
http://www.Kiwi.com https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021
