Mentoring Services

The Problems

The Complexity Gap

The examples and exercises used in training are designed to highlight the important elements of a concept (or a set of concepts) without overwhelming the participant. As the course progresses, the participant gains more knowledge and confidence, and the exercises get more sophisticated.

Rarely, however, do the examples and exercises match the complexity of real-world problems. Those problems require significant effort -- often spanning weeks, months, or longer -- to analyze, explore solutions, implement one, and test it. Thus there is necessarily a gap in task complexity between the training exercises and real-world problems.

The Time Gap

A separate problem is that training is often scheduled at the most convenient time, which does not always immediately precede the start of the project for which the training is intended. Without reinforcement, newly acquired knowledge can start to fade. So the problem here is a different kind of gap -- a time gap.

The Solution

Both of these gaps can be addressed through the judicious use of mentoring. Using on-site visits, phone conversations, or even e-mail, our instructor can help your employees in a number of ways.

To deal with the complexity gap our instructor can work with your employees to analyze a larger project and break it down into more manageable pieces. The various pieces and how they'll interact can be discussed in detail, helping your employees get up to speed and immersed, without becoming overwhelmed.

To deal with the time gap our instructor can create a sequence of exercises of increasing complexity, beginning at the point where the course ends. The instructor will be available to the employees for consultation as they work on the exercises. Furthermore, the employees' solutions can be discussed along with the provided "ideal" solutions.

By working on these exercises, employees will not only prevent their knowledge from fading, they will also deepen their understanding, their confidence, and their competence. So when the project begins they'll be ready.

Interested in Our Mentoring Services?

If so please contact us to discuss the possibility further. As always, we're happy to work with you.