Everything looks different amid the pandemic—including relationships between mentors and mentees. Without the ability to meet face to face and without the impromptu conversations that happen in the workplace, effective mentoring requires a new approach.

Even though you may need to put a fresh spin on your current mentoring practices, it is worth the extra planning. When you have a solid mentoring process in place, you can help your inexperienced sales reps refine their skills and help develop them into your organization’s next leaders. Another upside to prioritizing mentoring, even though it looks different these days? You can help increase professional opportunities for women and people of color, says William Comcowich, CEO of Glean.info.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share Comcowich’s insights on how to pursue and prioritize virtual mentoring.

Commit to clear and consistent communication. When your sales reps are working remotely, your junior staff members can’t see and hear how your more experienced sales reps do their jobs. Whether or not you have a formal mentorship program in place, it helps to clue younger workers in on what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how it all fits into the bigger picture. For example, after a call with a client, your team’s mentors could explain to mentees why they made specific recommendations or how they chose to respond to a specific challenge. It’s important for those in a mentor role to take time to share their hard-earned wisdom for virtual mentoring to work best.

Be candid and transparent. With remote mentoring, it becomes even more important to say what needs to be said. When communicating via Zoom, mentees can’t pick up on physical clues and body language like they can in an office setting. Encourage your team’s mentors to offer specific advice on how their mentees can gain new skills and improve.

Emphasize the human part of mentoring. Everyone has other things going on in their lives, from extra childcare tasks to concerns about their health. Comcowich says it’s a good idea for mentors to check in on their mentees to see how they are faring. And if their video calls get interrupted by children or pets, let them know it’s okay. Also, remember that mentors do not have to immediately give feedback and advice. Sometimes, just asking mentors to listen is a way to nurture the relationship. In time, mentors will come to understand when thoughtful feedback is helpful, and when they should just listen instead of offering their thoughts.

Encourage new sales reps to get involved. Rather than waiting for an experienced sales rep to contact them, talk to your junior employees about reaching out to the more experienced employees on your team. They could talk to seasoned sales pros through phone calls or video calls, which are more personable than emails or texts. Both mentors and mentees must put in the work to make the relationship succeed.

Mentorship relationships can help bring out the best in your team. It takes time and creativity to make the most of these relationships when face-to-face contact is limited. You can make mentoring work in a virtual environment by following the tips above.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: William Comcowich is CEO of Glean.info, a media monitoring service.