Recent Trends and Challenges on Mentoring and Virtual Coaching in IT & ITEs Companies during Pandemic

Abstract

The year 2020 opened new realities as companies had to adapt to the COVID-induced new normal. As entire nations went into lockdown and businesses shut down, virtually became the go-to way of working. Even as essential services endured the field, an enormous segment of the employee population was forced to work remotely, almost overnight. Besides, organizations had to engage with these people differently, to keep them motivated in an impersonal virtual environment. Employee engagement, learning & development, and performance management took on a new embodiment, as HR and business leaders strove to engage their people in the disruptive environment. Mentoring and virtual coaching has been used as a useful personal development tool in this situation. Many companies apply mentoring and virtual coaching programs as part of the employee recruiting and employee development programs. This research paper aims to examine the current positioning of mentoring & virtual coaching programs in organizations in the IT and ITEs companies’ environment. For the study, a structured questionnaire was administered to 50 participants. To analyze the advantages and disadvantages of mentoring and virtual coaching programs in organisations, as well as the positive and negative outcomes of such development programs. To draw conclusions in the context of the analysis and will make suggestions for future improvements in the IT and ITEs companies mentoring &virtual coaching programs as a strategic tool for employee recruitment and employee development.