PIA - the platform for digital mentoring services
An innovative and layered mentoring platform
PIA is a dynamic, multidimensional platform designed to offer tailored mentoring services. The service layer governs, plans, and executes mentoring processes through a diverse portfolio of services tailored to specific needs.
Each mentoring service is structured as a guided process, allocated specific resources, and based on a well-defined mentoring methodology. This ensures a targeted approach and optimal utilization of resources.
Organizations benefit from continuous improvement and adaptation options, guaranteeing unique support for their current and future requirements.
PIA heralds a new era of transformation in mentoring, providing individuals and organizations with tools to address new challenges with efficiency, confidence, and clarity.
Explore PIA and discover how it enhances the efficiency and achievement of mentoring processes. With PIA, you will experience an innovative mentoring solution that brings significant added value to your organization and your initiatives. Step into the future of mentoring practices with PIA today.
Roles in PIA
RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) is an NIST/INCITS standard used to ensure that only authorized users have access to resources within a data solution.
Access control in PIA utilizes the principles of RBAC.
The user’s role in PIA is designed to manage the user’s overall access within PIA.
Roles in defining content. Content is pivotal in PIA and sets the direction for mentoring. The quality of the content significantly influences the outcome. Defining content in PIA involves a creative process led by roles. Only PIA administrators can assign roles/authorize users. PIA encompasses four content types: Goals, Competencies, Tasks, and Topics. Each user is assigned roles for each of these content types in PIA.
Role in the planning of development processes. This entails defining internal programs/processes to achieve the organization’s strategic goals. For instance, implementing a new data solution or structured training for new employees. The PIA methodology consists of three steps: 1) Establishing development paths for key content, 2) Implementing the paths to achieve the desired situation, 3) Evaluating and quality assuring content, process, and outcomes. In PIA, a user can be assigned two roles for organizational development: 1) Planning of programs/processes and 2) Evaluation and improvement of the development process.
Role in mentoring. Mentoring processes follow development paths. Planning a path involves content selection, scheduling, mentoring method, and participant groups. Groups usually have roles such as mentors and practitioners. Role requirements vary among different mentoring methods. Users are assigned roles per method in PIA. PIA supports the mentoring role both in dialogue and process. Formal mentoring competence enhances the execution of the mentoring role but is not obligatory. In PIA, a user can have four roles per method: mentor, practitioner, both, none.
Steps in the mentoring process
The process of a mentoring service consists of steps. The steps implement the method chosen for the mentoring service. The picture display the steps for the mentoring service “Goal-Oriented peer mentoring.”
PIA encompasses numerous building blocks that provide functionality within these steps. For instance, Step 2 (Getting Acquainted) revolves around becoming comfortable with each other, the framework, and the purpose of the mentoring. The building blocks in PIA provide insights into how this can be achieved digitally.
Every mentoring service in PIA has its own distinct process.
Resources in the mentoring process
The resources in each step of PIA are sourced from:
- Functions in PIA
- Users affiliated with the same organization
- Content defined by the same organization
- Internal resources
- External resources available to the organization
Resources of type 1 are added during the establishment of the mentoring service (by Peer-it). All other types of resources are managed and added by the organization itself (by users with designated roles).
Initiate your own mentoring process
Mentoring is becoming increasingly popular and can be carried out in various ways. If your mentoring needs are sporadic, limited, and have little benefit from coordination, it might be preferable to delegate mentoring to those involved.
If the need is more extensive and you wish to use mentoring as a strategic tool for the entire organization or specific segments, it is likely beneficial to implement a mentoring program.
You can opt to utilize external resources, but we recommend establishing your own internal mentoring service. This will provide your organization with:
- Enhanced strategic control over core competencies
- Increased capacity for change among employees
- Greater flexibility and adaptability
With PIA, you can easily set up and manage the execution of your mentoring services. You can also monitor the specific impact your mentoring services have on the organization’s core competencies and capacity for change.
Effective mentoring begins with a choice of direction
Our approach to mentoring is practice-oriented – aiming to assist individuals in effectively managing specific situations. Competence can be defined as the ability to solve tasks and master challenges within given circumstances. Through mentoring, active efforts are made to develop competence.
Developing the competence to handle a situation effectively takes time. This is where choice of direction becomes crucial. Which work situations should take priority? If the choice of direction is incorrect, you might end up developing competence that won’t find practical use.
Which work situations should mentoring contribute to developing competence for? Should new practices be introduced? Enhance competence for a specific work scenario?
The content of mentoring outlines desired practices – for an organization, department, group, or individuals.
Defining the mentoring content is crucial – it can be perceived as a guiding standard: This is how we do it here. Many find this beneficial – it provides structure and something tangible to adhere to. Others might perceive overly rigid structures as constricting, impeding effective work processes.
In PIA, employees collectively engage in a creative process to define the content elements needed – and at the level of detail deemed most suitable.
A solid plan leads to successful execution
When the content for mentoring has been selected, it’s natural to focus on the mentoring process. What is the best method to ensure that everyone who participates masters the desired practices?
PIA offers a portfolio of mentoring services that you can use as a starting point to establish your own. See further down this page for descriptions of these.
The subsequent planning is influenced by the PIA mentoring service you have chosen. Your mentoring service will be carried out through development paths. For each path, the following is planned:
- What content the path will introduce to the organization.
- Participants, group composition, and roles.
- The time participants need to invest to acquire the content. When does the path start and how long does it last? Estimated time consumption for activities. Specify how participants should allocate time to activities.
- Internal and external resources that will be available to participants during implementation.
Once the plan is feasible and is expected to facilitate the desired competence development, it can be activated. At that point, digital forms will be created for each participant. The digital form serves as the participants’ “working tool” throughout the mentoring.
You can continuously monitor participants’ development and progression throughout the course.
At the conclusion of a development path, an evaluation will take place. This evaluation serves as the basis for planning the next path.
Motivated participants lead to lasting change
The most significant quality indicator for mentoring is the success of the change. What proportion of participants excel in handling situations better? To what extent can the organization achieve the desired and planned collaborations?
It’s the participants – the employees – who are the key to succeeding in all types of change and transformation efforts. Studies show that the likelihood of transformation failing is remarkably high if employees aren’t engaged appropriately.
How to involve employees is an integral part of the planning process. The plan should provide employees with the assurance that mentoring is feasible within their work situation. This can be seen as the plan’s handling of hygiene factors.
The extent of change hinges on the motivation of participants. The mentoring services in PIA are designed to function as motivational factors in themselves.
Additionally, we recommend that in planning your mentoring service, you identify actions to foster motivation among your participants. We suggest basing this on the actions already available in PIA.
When you evaluate your mentoring service after its completion, we advise assessing the measures to motivate participants further.
Why choose a digital mentoring service?
With mentoring you can:
- Enhance team competence
- Reduce burnout and stress
- Implement specific skills
- Set quality standards
- Equip employees to excel in their work routines
- Alter habits, attitudes, and work environment
- Adapt practices
Why should you go digital?
- Manage time used in mentoring
- Ensure focused conversations
- Systematize competence development
- Professionalize and elevate the quality of mentoring
- Streamline mentoring processes
- Mentoring can be conducted in person, but also across time and space
Free resource
What does the research say about effective mentoring?
We have conducted a literature review in the field of mentoring and compiled an overview for you. The literature review encompasses research regarding the quality of mentoring. What constitutes effective mentoring?
