Using E-mail to Mentor Youth

Did you know that 35 percent of youth who do not receive regular mentoring are likely to look for another church within 12 months? On the other hand, only 16 percent of those with good mentors expect to leave their present organization.

Mentoring, in a business scenario, is defined as the intentional transfer of knowledge between employees. It is a relationship that gives people the opportunity to share professional and personal skills and experiences. A mentoring relationship traditionally has a more experienced employee guiding a less experienced one.

E-mail not only enhances the mentor program as a whole; it also can be used to reinforce individual mentoring relationships. There are three ways you can use e-mail to enhance your current work relationships and strengthen the mentoring relationship with your protege.

Encourage the protege by recognizing successes
One of the main roles of a mentor is to encourage the protege throughout the learning process. E-mail messages are a fast and easy way to offer encouragement.

For example, you can strengthen your relationship by sending an inquiry asking how your protege is handling a new task rather than waiting for your protege to ask for assistance. You can send a short congratulatory note when your protege reaches a major milestone. You also can send a supportive e-mail message to the protege's supervisor outlining progress and accomplishments.

Advise the protege about useful information
A second way to strengthen a mentoring relationship using e-mail is to advise your protege about useful information. For example, you could use e-mail to clarify company information, forward to your protege useful web site addresses or articles, or provide more details when necessary.

You can show you care about the mentoring relationship if you take an active interest in your protege's work projects. This, in turn, will strengthen the relationship. E-mail enhances two-way communication and enables you to continually support your protege.

Establish a set time for interaction
The third way to use e-mail to strengthen your mentoring relationship is to establish a set time for interaction. Successful mentoring depends on many things. However, one of the most important ingredients in a good relationship is time.

Make sure you set aside some time each day to devote to your mentoring relationship. When you establish a time for using e-mail to check in with your protege, you guarantee that you address issues and concerns while they are relevant. This demonstrates your commitment to your protege.

As a mentor, you can inspire your protege to strive for success. The regular use of e-mail as a communication tool can enhance the positive relationship between you and your protege.

Marthoma.com Email is best way to fulfill this requirement.

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