eMentoring for Selfemployed Professionals

1
e-Mentoring for Self-employed Professionals

• Kim Rickard and Erin Wood
• APESMA Mentoring Summit
• November 2002

2
The Value of Mentoring for Employers

• A way of developing leaders and encouraging
  talent and diversity
• A way of improving employee performance
• A tool in attracting and retaining staff
• A way to retain knowledge given generational
  change
• Best when combined with continuing education and
  on the job training

3
The Value of Mentoring for APESMA

• We facilitate member involvement, contribution
  and gaining of value
• This provides a career development service that
  is in significant demand
• It aids member involvement and the building of
  our member community
• Part of a member retention strategy
• May provide to industry

4
The Value of Mentoring for the Self-employed

• Business skills development
• A one on one professional development activity
  for people who are time poor
• Work-integrated learning
• Peer review with a professional colleague
• Networking

5
(No Transcript)
6
Our Mentors Online Project

• Mentors Online is a national email-based
  mentoring program
• Developed with federal government assistance from
  the SBECP
• It is the Connect mentoring program

7
Why e-Mentoring?

• Professionals - degrees and technical skills but
  not necessarily business acumen
• Time - little time for PD or time to develop
  business management skills
• Professionals have a high rate of home Internet
  access

8
Program structure

• Matched according to skills gaps of Mentees and
  areas of expertise of Mentors
• 20 partnerships
• Structured program - fortnightly contact,
  exercises mentoring tools

9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
Program experience

• 92 of respondents indicated that they benefited
  from participating
• 92 rated the value of the program as either
  valuable or very valuable
• 92 would recommend the program to another
  professional
• 82 described their e-Mentoring experience as
  positive

12
Program outcomes

• All respondents reviewed or updated their
  business plan
• All had a greater awareness of strengths,
  weaknesses, opportunities and threats to their
  business operation
• All said they benefited from the opportunity to
  bounce ideas off a neutral third party

13
Program outcomes (cont )

• Most discussed ways to network more effectively
• Most had more clearly defined business goals
• Most reported a broader perspective on key
  business issues
• Most said that participation led to a better
  growth outlook for their business.

14
Difficulties

• For the program, Mentor recruitment
• For program participants, email contact needs to
  be supplemented by other forms of communication
• The e-Mentoring relationship tends to fall to the
  bottom of the pile
• Time it takes to establish online relationship

15
Difficulties (continued )

• People not used to using email for sophisticated
  exchanges
• However, in spite of the disadvantages, 91
  said that the fact that the Mentoring program was
  email-based facilitated their participation.

16
Key outcomes

• Successful program that contributed to business
  skills development of participants
• Have built the capacity to offer a tested program
  to members
• Developed knowledge of the variables to be
  controlled
• Gained knowledge of best practice
• Potential to now apply resources and experience
  to other forms of mentoring

17
Report
Contents Program structure Program
outcomes Advantages and disadvantages Key
findings Feedback
www.apesma.asn.au/mentorsonline/pdfs/final_report.
PDF
18
Questions