Online mentorship programs have steadily gained ground post the pandemic and are popular both in academic and professional institutions. An online mentor holds a very important position in a mentee’s life, especially during the formative years of academia or professional development. An online mentor contributes to the development of the mentee by sharing practical knowledge and boosting their confidence, in turn. However, there are numerous online mentorship challenges that mentors face while conducting their programs. We discuss some of them below:
1. Motivation:
The first mentorship challenge that mentors face while conducting online classes is motivating mentees. It might be difficult getting youngsters excited about online education but the onus lies with the online mentor to curate online classes creatively so that they can engage students easily. Further, it is also important for mentors to make mentees aware of the benefits of mentorship programs to motivate them to join.
2. Finding the right fit:
One of the most unique online mentorship challenges that mentors face is finding the right ‘mentor-mentee’ fit. The key to the success of any mentorship program is having the right mentor-mentee pair that both can benefit from. A mismatch, in this case, can translate to the online mentor losing interest in the classes and mentees losing confidence in their guides. The best way to overcome this problem is by investing in a little background research for both the mentor and the mentee, and then matching the mentor’s experience with the mentee’s skillset to get the perfect pairing.
3. Managing expectations:
Managing expectations from online mentorship is an issue that can be faced by both, the online mentor and the mentee. Expectations are natural, from both ends in an online learning program but the problem arises when expectations are not properly articulated. It is important for mentors and mentees to communicate exactly what they expect from the mentorship programs so that they can nip unrealistic expectations in the bud. Right at the beginning of the course, mentors and mentees should get together virtually and agree on the terms of their relationship and set realistic goals for the course.
4. Getting honest feedback:
A big hurdle in online education is getting honest feedback from the students. Oftentimes mentees are reluctant to provide uninhibited feedback on their online classes because the online mentor is in a position of power and respect. This is detrimental to online mentorship as it hinders the understanding of the progress of the course and does not provide a true picture of the mentee’s development. To avoid this, mentors should build trust with their mentees and provide them support in return for their honesty.
Online mentoring solutions have become popular worldwide but along with it, online mentorship challenges have also gained ground. Taking stock of the issues beforehand and incorporating the solutions while planning the programs, go a long way in ensuring the programs are a success.