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AUTHORS
DeShane Briscoe, Katie Head, Idot-Enyin Louis, Elizabeth
Moore
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Research Proposal
Introduction
As eLearning programs continue to evolve as the primary vehicle for businesses
seeking to deploy consistent, streamlined training initiatives to wide audiences of
employees, instructional designers in industry training pursue a parallel course in
maintaining design standards that promote engagement and interactivity. This
race to achieve a competitive continuum of quality development practices
necessitates recognition of the changing nature of the workforce. Even as
industry training practitioners pursue approaches to engage the demographics
and associated dynamics currently present in the average workforce population,
all must realize that the makeup of that very population is rapidly undergoing a
significant transformation.
According to a recent Forbes article, it is estimated that Millennials will make up
40% of the workforce by 2020. Of these workers, almost 80% cite mentoring as a
desired role for the boss or supervisor, and almost 90% prefer a collaborative
working environment (Asghar, 2014). These statistics make a strong case that
industry trainers and instructional designers must therefore transition their design
approaches to integrate a mentoring aspect in online professional development
programs if they are to remain competitive. While this may appear on its surface
to be an obvious and simple task, one must first consider the nature of why
businesses have moved to primarily asynchronous online training programs in
the first place.
Cost, time, and resource efficiencies have all contributed to the proliferation of
online training programs in business. The economic downturn experienced by
many companies throughout 2008 and 2009 (and beyond) necessitated a shift
towards less expensive, less resource-intensive online training programs
(Villachica, Stepich, & Rist, 2011). While mentoring has proven to be an effective
approach in workplace training, it is most widely associated with its use in live,
one-on-one training environments, which some companies automatically
discount as too time- and cost-intensive to undertake. The argument naturally
then becomes how to align company expectations and expenditures now with the
needs of a rapidly changing workforce in the coming days.
In order to make the argument for adjusting the approach of online training
programs to incorporate mentoring as a design component, one must first test
whether this integration achieves significant improvements in quality, either from
the standpoint of measurable performance improvement or from the aspect of
employee satisfaction and efficacy of the programs themselves.
Literature Review
E-mentoring as a training practice
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Research Proposal
Purpose
Although mentoring has proven to be an effective tool for performance
improvement in the workplace, asynchronous online training programs rarely
integrate a mentoring component. The purpose of this study is to determine
whether the integration of e-mentoring increases the effectiveness of online
training programs.
Research Questions
Does the inclusion of an e-mentoring component in online training programs in
the workplace increase employees' retention/performance as measured by a
post-training skills assessment?
Does the inclusion of an e-mentoring component in online training programs in
the workplace increase employees' satisfaction rates as measured by posttraining surveys and interviews?
Method
Participants
The participants for the study will be randomly selected from the employee
population at a large media company in the Northeast. A sample of 120 newly
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Research Proposal
Design
This study will use an experimental approach to obtain qualitative and
quantitative data to evaluate the proposed research questions related to
increasing retention/performance (quantitative) and employee satisfaction
(qualitative).
Quantitative data will be collected via the existing skills assessments that
accompany each training module. All participants will complete these
standardized assessments in the same way, online via the company LMS, using
a secure browser connection and completing within a time limit determined by
the number of questions in each assessment. All assessments will use a
combination of true/false, multiple-choice, and matching questions. Assessments
will be electronically scored within the LMS environment.
Quantitative data will also be collected from the post-training surveys. A Likert
scale will be employed, allowing respondents to identify their level of satisfaction
with different components of the online program on a scale of 1-5, where 1 =
least satisfied, and 5 = most satisfied.
Qualitative data will be gathered via phone interviews of 10 randomly selected
members of the experimental group. These interviews will include more in-depth
and open-ended questions related to the e-mentoring component. These
interviews will be transcribed for evaluation of common themes.
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Research Proposal
Materials/Instrumentation
The following materials will be needed to conduct the study:
Procedures
For each wave of new hires, the participants selected will have four weeks to
complete all assigned trainings within the onboarding program. The companys
online programs are asynchronous to allow employees to set their own pace and
balance training requirements with the immediate business demands of their new
positions. The experimental group will be asked to participate in the following
weekly activities:
Instant messaging (IM) sessions with their mentor as needed, using the built-in
messaging feature in Outlook
One 30-minute web conference each week to discuss progress and questions
o Mentors will use the existing training agendas for each department to highlight
priority items and areas where special attention is needed
o For each training piece completed by the employees during the preceding week,
the mentor will provide a brief explanation for how the training is intended to
address a specific job function, human resources requirement, or company
objective
A discussion forum embedded in the LMS for general questions, available to all
participants within the experimental group and their mentors
o Email notifications will alert discussion forum members to new postings
Email communication with the assigned mentor as needed
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Research Proposal
The training programs are comprised of soft skills training, aimed at the
development of communication skills, business acumen, work ethic, and other
personal qualities, as well as hard skills training, designed to promote proficiency
with company software and systems. All training assets are designed to help
acclimate new employees to the companys practices, procedures, and
organizational culture. At the conclusion of each training module, participants will
be required to complete the associated online skills assessment.
After completing the entire onboarding program, both groups will complete an
online satisfaction survey to determine how satisfied they were with the quality
and effectiveness of the training. Ten respondents from the experimental group
will be selected randomly for an informal interview. The interview will include
more in-depth and open-ended questions specific to the e-mentoring component.
Skills assessments scores will be all calculated on a 100-point scale. All
questions will be weighted equally. Scores will be reported as a percentage, i.e.
correctly answering 9 out of 10 questions results in a 90% score. Scores will be
evaluated in terms of means and ranges for each group for each individual
training assessment, as well as using each users average score across all
assessments completed.
Surveys will be deployed through the LMS within one week of program
completion. Management will notify each department that their responses are
required. The LMS administrator will provide reports in Excel format inclusive of
all assessment scores and survey.
Figure 1: Sample Satisfaction Survey
For the following questions and statements, please rate your level of satisfaction
on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being Most Satisfied.
Questions
1. How satisfied were you with the
effectiveness of the training in
providing the information needed
to successfully complete
assessments?
2. How satisfied were you with the
quality of the training provided?
3. How satisfied were you that
completing the training better
prepared you to perform your job?
4. How satisfied were you with the
level of support available during
training?
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References
Asghar, R. (2014). What millennials want in the workplace (and why you should
start giving it to them). Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2014/01/13/what-millennials-wantin-the-workplace-and-why-you-should-start-giving-it-tothem/#32ea16462fdf
Bierema, L. & Merriam, S. (2002). E-mentoring: using computer mediated
communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher
Education, 26(3), 211-227.
Corner, J. (2012). Tech-infused mentoring. T+D, 66(6), 50-53.
Cravens, L. (2003). Online mentoring: Programs and suggested practices as of
February, 2001. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 21(1/2), 85109.
Dorner, H., & Karpati, A. (2010). Mentoring for innovation: Key factors affecting
participant satisfaction in the process of collaborative knowledge
construction in teacher training. Journal of Asynchronous Learning
Networks, 14(4), 63-77.
Dreher, G., & Cox, T. (1996). Race, gender, and opportunity: A study of
compensation attainment and the establishment of mentoring
relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 297-308.
Hodes, C., Foster, J., Pritz, S., & Kelley, P. (2011). Structuring professional
development with an online community. Journal of Educational
Technology Systems, 39(3), 295-319.
Knouse, S. (2001). Virtual Mentors: Mentoring on the Internet. Journal Of
Employment Counseling, 38(4), 162-69.
Lotter, G. (2015). E-Fundi as a viable way to do e-mentoring. International
Association for Development of the Information Society,
Owen, H. (2015). Making the most of mobility: Virtual mentoring and education
practitioner professional development. Research in Learning Technology,
231-14. DOI:10.3402/rlt.v23.25566
Sherman, S., & Camilli, G. (2014). Evaluation of an online mentoring program.
Teacher Education Quarterly, 41(2), 107-119.
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