31 May 22 The Benefits Of Using An Online, Mentoring Platform

Almost a decade ago, sfG MentorNet was created in partnership with Highland youth mentoring charity DAY1 to provide a secure, online mentoring platform which would have the ability to streamline the overall process between mentor, mentee and administrator.

Fast forward to 2022, we have customers joining us from all over the world, making now as good a time as any to shout about the benefits of using our online mentoring platform, sfG MentorNet to effectively manage your mentoring and coaching programmes.

We understand that each organisation and workplace have their own challenges when running mentoring schemes, and one major benefit of our online sfG MentorNet platform, is the ‘all in one’ functionality that can help target these individual pain points.

You can say goodbye to the days of flicking between multiple spreadsheets or word documents that contain users’ information profiles, matchmaking requirements or expenses – with sfG MentorNet, this is all stored in one easy-to-navigate platform. All you need to do to get started (other than the initial set-up!), is log into the platform with your username and password, much like any other website or social platform.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the functional benefits you can expect when using an online mentoring platform such as sfG MentorNet –

Reduction of Admin Time

It’s no surprise that with running a mentoring programme, comes some element of administration. However, by using our online mentoring platform, you can heavily reduce the work involved with the usual arduous processes – one of the major ones for most of our customers being matchmaking.

Programme administrators will receive an automated email notification when someone registers for the programme, and at a click of a button administrators can decide how to manage this registration.

sfG MentorNet allows programme leads and administrators, at a glance, a clear visual of the mentees and mentors who are still waiting to be matched, along with their skill sets.

Within the platform, personalised evaluations can be created, as well as reports, on things such as number of logins and mentee/mentor relationships – all of which are stored online and are quick and easy to access. For those who do need to download a copy, this can be done at the click of a button – with the added ability to export to excel.

You can more about the administrative benefits of sfG MentorNet in this case study from one of our customers, Brunel University London.

Visibility and Safe Guarding

With sfG MentorNet, you can rest assured that full consideration has been made in regards to compliance in terms of data protection and the safeguarding of vulnerable groups.

As users are logging onto the system using username and passwords,  they can then communicate without needing to share any personal information such as an email address or phone number, protecting their identities and private information.

Programme administrators can manage access to areas of the online platform, such as messaging forums – and can be notified when certain words are used within the chat functionality – allowing easy moderation.

You can read more about safeguarding, in our Cambridge University Student Union case study.

No Geographical Restrictions

sfG MentorNet can be used for managing mentoring programmes that are solely online, face to face, or a hybrid mixture of the two.

Historically, where an individual mentor or mentee lived, could have had a large effect on their ability to access, or provide, mentoring. By using an online platform, individuals can easily sign in and complete, or provide, remote mentoring or coaching programmes.

sfG MentorNet also has a mobile app, which allows mentees and mentors to catch up ‘on the go’, providing a more convenient and flexible approach.

This has been especially useful during COVID, where face-to-face meetings were unable to happen due to restrictions.

Final Thoughts

At sfG MentorNet, we are proud to provide our customers with our secure, online system – in the knowledge that by using our platform, individuals all over the world have access to educational guidance, through a user-friendly platform.

If you would like to find out more about the functionality of sfG MentorNet, or would like a discussion about how the team can support you or your programme, please reach out to us – we would be delighted to hear from you.