With the rapid expansion of technology and the global impact of Covid 19, mentoring has taken on a whole new dimension. Several online mentoring platforms have emerged, using which people can connect with mentors worldwide and hone their skills. But before we talk about them, let’s take a look at the contents of this post.
For years, mentoring has been advocated as a tool for personal and career development. It typically involves coaching, consulting, and even psychological support and is no longer “nice to have,” but a must-have. So, with the demand for mentoring rapidly increasing, in this section, we have covered the general mentoring statistics.
| – 97% of individuals feel they are more valuable with a mentor than without one. |
| – Almost 89% of mentees will also mentor others. |
| – 79% of millennials see mentoring as a pivotal factor in their career development. |
| – Due to mentoring almost 67% of businesses have reported an increase in productivity. |
| – 38% of employees believe they will make it to senior positions themselves as they have exposure to senior mentors. |
Learning and growth require exposure to different perspectives. This is why it is important to have mentors who can share their expertise in various domains. That being said, here’s a round-up of major players in the online mentoring industry.
| Major Players in The Online Mentoring Market |
||
| Platforms | Revenue | Founding Year |
| Clarity.fm | $17.5 Million | 2012 |
| GrowthMentor | $5 Million | 2018 |
| PushFar | $1.7 Million | 2018 |
| Together | $1.1 Million | 2018 |
| Mentorpass | $1 Million | 2020 |
The global mentoring market is constantly evolving with more and more online mentoring platforms springing up and adapting to the changing needs and expectations of individuals. Here are some trends that are shaping the market.
As technology is improving by the day, eLearning is growing tremendously. It provides people with the opportunity to learn new skills from the comfort of their houses, so the mentorship industry is growing parallelly. Growth in demand for new skills also creates demand for people who can impart their knowledge.
Also, people opt for eLearning as it takes 35% to 55% less time than traditional learning methods and connects people from across geographical boundaries.
The result of Covid 19 has been a surge in turnover intention among employees. Many studies have revealed that work-related stress, emotional exhaustion, and job insecurity have all been major causes for employees to quit their jobs. Therefore, to keep employees motivated, many organizations have turned to online mentoring programs. Also, people are increasingly looking to upgrade their skills to navigate the unknown environment.
In the current times, there is a growing need for individuals with high emotional intelligence, virtues of self-awareness and the ability to motivate and influence others. Mentors with these skills are further driving the rise of the global mentoring market.
Online mentoring platforms have made mentorship more accessible, convenient, and inclusive for individuals who seek personal development and professional growth. They also provide access to mentors from diverse backgrounds and industries. In this section, we cover the benefits of an online mentoring platform.
Traditional mentoring platforms vs virtual mentoring platforms have a main key difference, i.e., the flexibility and convenience the latter provides. Virtual mentoring platforms are far more convenient and flexible as there is no commute needed. Moreover, users can access the platform as per their availability.
An online mentoring platform bypasses location barriers, i.e., having no geographical restrictions allows mentors and mentees to connect seamlessly irrespective of the time zone or location.
Mentors can polish their leadership skills and fast-track their careers through a successful online mentoring platform. This means that if a mentor is listed on a successful mentoring platform, and has good ratings and reviews, then they can use it on their CV and shape a career path for themself.
As effective communication, periodic checkpoints and efficient planning are inclusive of mentoring, an online mentoring platform becomes the first step to leadership development.
When people face obstacles, they need assistance in finding resolutions to their problems. Virtual mentoring offers 24×7 access to a broader range of experienced mentors from across the globe who with different backgrounds, perspectives, and areas of expertise can offer guidance that might not be available locally.
| Types of Mentoring | ||
| Individual | Group | Collective |
| This is the most efficient way of mentoring as the mentor gives individual attention to the mentee. | A mentor interacts with a group of mentees who have the same goal. | As the name suggests, a group of mentors interact with a group of mentees. |
Online mentoring platforms have bypassed the traditional methods of mentoring. They consist of 3 main players:
In this section, we share the workflow of an online mentoring platform.
The admin manages the entire platform:
Once you have made up your mind to start an online mentoring platform, it is essential to decide upon the revenue channels. Some of the possible revenue channels are:
The admin charges a commission from the mentor and mentee on every booking.
The mentee can pay a fixed amount of money to get a subscription to the platform with advanced features.
This allows the admin to generate revenue via online advertising methods like ads, PPC, and more.
The admin can charge mentors for a featured listing.
Ratings and Reviews allow mentees to make confident decisions about selecting a mentor.
This is a pivotal feature as notifications allow mentors and mentees to not miss any session. It also allows them to get interesting updates.
An online forum allows all participants to discuss trending topics, share their opinion, say what they think about a mentor, or talk about what is needed in the solution.
As mentioned above, the role of the admin is to measure tangible business results so an online mentoring platform should have access to pivotal data via the feature of analytics.
Tracking progress is another important feature as it is important to keep track of the mentees’ progress.
Both mentors and mentees need interaction tools to develop their own self-knowledge for the session and clearly express to inspire and be inspired. These tools include:
As a mentoring platform caters to a global audience, it is important for the platform to have multilingual and multicurrency functionalities.
An online mentoring platform can be created using two approaches: Custom built & opting for a readymade solution. Custom-built mentoring platforms are built from scratch as per the tailored requirements and are costly and time-consuming. Therefore, readymade solutions are widely considered as they are time-tested and have features as per the set industry standards. Moreover, they are more affordable and their time to market is also less.
To choose the right readymade solution for an online mentoring platform, we have made a checklist. Below mentioned are the essential points you should look for in a readymade solution.
The platform should be easy to use, i.e., the interface should be user-friendly and intuitive.
As mentioned above, a ready-made solution is less expensive than a customized solution. But still, you would want to consider the cost of the solution before making a choice.
As already mentioned, the platform should have interactive features using which mentors and mentees can interact with each other.
If you need help with troubleshooting or just getting advice, active customer support is a must.
As your business grows, it is important to have a platform that accommodates more users. So choosing a scalable solution is another must-have.
Yo!Coach is a popular readymade online consultation solution that is perfectly suited to launch an online mentoring platform. It incorporates impeccable functionality that empowers the admin to run the platform seamlessly. Furthermore, mentors can take either one-on-one sessions with the mentees or group sessions in real-time using the platform. In addition, Yo!Coach comes with readymade apps that provide mentees to easily search, book, and schedule sessions.
Other Key Highlights of Yo!Coach
Online mentoring is reshaping the traditional ways of mentorship. As many players are vying for a piece of the online mentoring market (the magnitude of the market shift and the increasing competition they herald), it is recommended to use a ready-made solution like Yo!Coach to kickstart an online mentoring platform in a few days. For more information, get in touch with us.
Q1. Why mentoring?
Mentoring (online mentoring) provides a supportive, private environment where people from diverse backgrounds can mentor and seek mentorship.
Q2. What are the different types of mentoring?
Q3. What should you look for in an online mentoring platform?
Q4. How does an online mentoring platform work?
An online mentoring platform has three players: an admin, a mentee, and a mentor. After successful registration, a mentee can choose and book a session with a mentor. A mentor can accept or reject the booking request. If accepted, the mentor successfully conducts the session and receives payment for it from the admin. The admin manages the entire mentoring platform and pays the mentor after deducting the commission.
Q5. What are the essential features of an online mentoring platform?
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Vibha Sharma is an accomplished senior content writer and marketer at FATbit Technologies, where she brings her passion for storytelling and digital expertise to create compelling narratives. With a Master’s Degree in Computer Applications, Vibha successfully blends creativity with technical acumen. Outside of her professional pursuits, Vibha is a voracious reader, an avid traveler, and a lifelong learner.
