eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline

WebinarOctober2016

Mentoringatadistancehasneverbeeneasier,buttherearestillchallenges.Almostallmentoringnowinvolvessomeuseoftechnologytoconnectparticipants.Whetherit’ssimpleemail,textorawebsite,onlinecommunicationisavitaltool.Youngerparticipantsexpectonlineinteraction.Ifyouarenotmaximizingonlineresourcesyoumaybelimitingtheeffectivenessofyourmentoring.eMentoringdoesnothavetoinvolvebig,expensiveplatformsthatmakeyoudependentonITexperts.Inthiswebinar,you’lldiscover:

1. Low-costwaystoengagementoringprogramparticipants2. Whatothersuccessfulmentoringprogramsdoonline3. Waystoeducateparticipantsatadistance

AcknowledgementThefollowingpeoplegenerouslycontributedtheirknowledgeandexperience:AaronHughs,SofiaRidwan,KimFeneley,RMITIndustryMentoringprogramLauraGiglio,GATechMentorJacketsProgramDr.JaquelineReid,UNEBalancingtheEquationMentoringProgram(womeninSTEM)

eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline Page2of7

CurrentUseofTechnologyinMentoringAbout50%ofregistrantsforthewebinarsaidtheywereusingtechnologyintheirmentoringprogramandthemostfrequentlymentioneduseswereregistration,matchingandtraining.PlatformsmentionedwereFacebook,Sharepoint,Chronus,Skype,GoToMeeting,GoToWebinar.OnerespondentusedacustommadeplatformWebinarParticipantsQuickPoll1

BarrierstoeMentoringAbout10%ofrespondentstothepre-webinarregistrantquestionssaidtherewasnobarriertoeMentoring.Otherslistedtheseobstacles: Stigma(participantspreferface-to-faceanddon’trealizethevalueofeMentoring)Unfamiliarityoftechnology.UnderstandingandresourcesMakingsureparticipantsunderstandhowtousetheplatform(s)andareengagingwithitasimilarwaytheywouldotherwise.DifficultytoengageacommunityPoorornoaccesstotechnology,remoteareaconnectivity/bandwidth.Lackofpersonalcontact,lesspersonal,feelingdisconnectedfromparticipantsCostoftechnologyDifficulttosetboundariesbecauseoftheeasyaccessibility.NotverycomputersavvyDigitialcompetency,howtechsavvythementorandmentoreeareDelayedcommunicatione.g.notinrealtimeworkingoutthebestmethodologyUnabletoseeperson,impersonalcharacteristicsofthetechnologyEngagingpeopleinapublic(intranet)spacewhilsttheydotheirjob(notimetodomentoring).BehaviourchangeofTeachersinaccessingon-linespace;bloggingasanactivity;KnowledgeofwhatisavailableMarketingitsothereturnoninvestmentisworththeeffortUserinterfacewithplatform,contentdevelopmentforvariousagegroups,definingdifferentmentorshipstrategiesforagegroups

eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline Page3of7

eMentoring Usefor Benefits Tools TipsVirtualMeetings Mentor-

menteemeetingsMentor-the-mentor

MentoratadistanceFromworkplaceorhome

SkypeGooglePlusHangoutsZoomFacebookLiveFacetimeIn-housevideo-conferencing

• Letthemchoose• Recommendfrequency• Manageprivacy• Educateinetiquette

AutomatedEmail e-courseTipsPrompts

Youdotheworktosetthemuponceandthenyoucanre-usethemagainandagainforaslongasyouwant.Theycanreinforceorcomplementotherlearning;andTheyhelpkeeppeopleengagedinthementoringprocess

MailChimpYourin-housemailsystem?

• UseHTML• Personalise(name)• Keepthemshort• Ensurevisualappeal• Usepictures• Layout–whitespace,

dotpoints,picture• Giveactions(nomore

thanthree)• Makeiteasy–givelive

linkstoanythingyouwantthemtoaccess

DigitalResources VideoSlide-castAudioWritten

Convenientbecauseparticipantscanaccessthem24/7asoftenastheywant;Deliversbite-sizechunksofinformation;Embedslearningwhenyoucombineaudioandvisualmodes.

HaikuDeckAnimotoStenciliMovieGarageband(onMac)VzaarYouTubeSlideshareiTunesPDF

• Keepitshortvideo1-5minutes,nomore

• Makeitrelevantandregular

• Source&creditimages

InteractiveCommunity

WebsitesSocialMediaWebinars

Highlyengagingforthosewhoparticipate.ResponsivetoindividualneedsPersonalsupport.

IntranetpageDedicatedwebsiteFacebookclosedgroupNing

• Beproactiveandresponsive

• Schedulespecifictimes• Helpparticipantsto

connectwithoneanother,notjustyou.

eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline Page4of7

WhatOtherSuccessfulMentoringProgramsdoOnline

TheRMITIndustryMentoringhasbeeninplacesince2012andhashadover1,800mentoringpairs.TheironlinementoringportalhelpsmenteesfindtheirmostsuitableMentors.MentorsandMenteesmeetfacetofacewherepossible,withtheexceptionofpartnershipswithanoverseas-basedMentor(19%).Onlinesupportandresourcesincludementoringprogramguides,onlineinduction,accesstoonlinecareersresources,regularprofessionaldevelopment,includingwebinarsandface-to-faceeventsandasmallmentoringteamwhorespondtoenquiries(usuallywithin24hours).Tips• Buildinregularactivitiestoensureface-to-faceengagementwithparticipantsandto

maintainmomentum

• Ensureinformationisclearforparticipants,sobothMentorandMenteeexpectationsaremanaged

• AnonlineMentoringsystemisafantasticresourcebutasystemdoesnotmanageitself.

Itiscriticaltoallocatetimeandstaffresourcestoensureitiswellmanagedandthattheprogramisachievingtheexpectationsoftheparticipant

eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline Page5of7

TheMentorJacketsprogramwasestablishedin2003andhasgrownsignificantlyinbothparticipantsandonlinepresence(View:www.gtmentorjackets.com/history).Approximate6,500pairshaveparticipatedwithabout1,350pairsthisyear.Abouthalfmeetface-to-faceandhalfhavestrictlyvirtualrelationships(e-mentors)andmostcommunicationwithparticipantsisviae-mailandsocialmedia.InNewMenteeOrientations,significantemphasisisplacedoneducatingmenteesthathavingan"e-mentor"isnotadisadvantageand,insomecases,canbeanadvantage.Supportfore-mentorsincludes,livewebcastsandwebinars,recordingface-to-facepresentationsandaresourcessectiononourwebsite.AnOnlineMentoringAgreement,detailinghowfrequentlyandviawhatmethodscommunicationshouldhappenandgoals,isarequirementforallmentoringpairsTips• Untilthey'vehadane-mentor,menteesthinktheycan’tgetasmuchoutofitasin-

personmentoring.Promoteadvantagessuchastheopportunitytotakeadvantageofsmallbitsoftime.In5-minutes,youcanshootyourmenteeane-mailorsharearelevantarticle.eMentoringisagoodopportunitytoexpandtheirnetworkgeographicallyandtoconnectwithpeopleinindustriestheyareinterestedinbutthatarenotnecesssarilyinourarea(i.e.iftheywanttoworkinSiliconValley,itdoesthemalotofgoodtohaveamentorINSiliconValley.)

• "MentoroftheYear"awardsallowstudentsnominatetheirmentors.Thestudentsindicatewhethertheyhaveanin-personmentororane-mentorandthereareawardsforbothcategories.

• Itisalsoimportantthatthee-mentorsfeelliketheyarenotbeingexcludedfromanythingbybeingremoteparticipants.

• Talkingtoe-mentorsandthestudentsthey'vementoredhelpsyougetanideaof"bestpractices"thatyoucansharewithothere-participants.

eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline Page6of7

TheUniversityofNewEnglandBalancingtheEquationmentoringprogramcommencedJuly2015,foroneTrimester.24first-yearfemaleSTEMstudentswereeachpairedwithoneacademicandoneprofessionalmentor.About80%metface-to-face.SupportandresourcesincludedFace-to-facetrainingworkshops,mentoringhandbook,onlinetrainingwebinars,Facebookgroup,weeklyemailsincludingmentoringtips,careersseminar,meetingwithsuccessfulwomeninSTEM,travelscholarshipsforourdistancestudentstoattendface-to-facetraining,forumsetc.Tips• Synchronouswebinarsarepreferred,butyoushouldrecordthemaswellandhavethem

availableforotherswhocan’tparticipateatthetime.• Regularcontactonline(egweeklyemails,Facebookgroupetc.)tokeepparticipants

motivated.• Followupwithacall–formativeevaluationearlyintheprogram–what’sworking,

what’snot–troubleshooting.• Trainingisofvitalimportance–forbothmenteesandmentors.

eMentoring–buildingconnectionsandcommunityonline Page7of7

Sampletheseonlineresourcesforyourself:E-courseMentoringStrategy–TenKeystoExcellence:http://mentoring-works.com/e-course-ten-keys-to-excellence/OnlinecommunityMentoringNetworkOnlinehttp://mentoring-works.com/mentoring-network/MentoringPortalDemohttp://mentoringportaldemo.ning.comSlidecastManyWaystoMentor(andothers)http://mentoring-works.com/resources/slidecasts/VideosWhatMentoringOffers(andothers)http://mentoring-works.com/resources/videos/OtherUsefulLinksAnimoto:http://animoto.com/intro/animoto/30dyno?gclid=CIWxnKrv-7cCFSdepgodSmYAJwGihanPerera:http://gihanperera.com/2013/06/get-better-with-social-media-webinar-recording/Mailchimp:http://mailchimp.com/?pid=GAW&source=website&gclid=CIybmtzv-7cCFckdpQodeEYAxgNing:http://www.ning.comSlideshare:http://www.slideshare.net/JointheconversationorpostaquestionintheforuminMentoringNetworkOnlinehttp://mentoring-works.com/mentoring-network/