The 'Digi-buddies.'

What are the digi-buddies? I know - it sounds like a super cool band - but alas, it is not. It's actually a super cool peer-to-peer, workplace mentoring program. How it started: At work one day, one of my colleagues mentioned at an organization he previously worked at, they paired people up when a new person was hired so the more tenured staff member could help orient them and assist them with navigating the organization. I thought this was a great idea and thought the concept would be useful whether you were new to an organization or not. Thus, 'digi-buddies' were born. I work in a department in the digital space, and since this was a 'buddy/mentoring' type program we were creating, I named it the 'digi-buddy' program. How it grew: Ok, so I named a concept...then what happened? Well, I created a sign-up sheet and sent out an email to the department explaining what the purpose was and to sign up if they're interested in participating. The original sign-up form asked about their interest. For example, were they tenured and wanted to impart their robust knowledge to others or were they new and wanted someone to help guide them or maybe they wanted to guide and learn. Their selection helped me assign folks to their partners based on interest. That way I wasn't assigning two newbies to each other. I gave the team a sign-up due date, paired up the participants and then sent them a simple guide to get them started. The guide outlined the program purpose, set expectations for their role as a participant and some suggestions to get started. Then, after the participants had a chance to start buddy-ing up, I sent out a brief survey for their feedback about the program. Everyone that provided feedback indicated how much they enjoyed it! To spread the joy, I re-launch the program each year, so people had more opportunities to participate and/or get to know more people. Why it's important: Building good work relationships can have a huge impact on how much you enjoy your job. Since the pandemic, our department went primarily remote, and although there's a lot of benefits to working from home, it can be more challenging to build relationships with colleagues. It takes time and intentional effort, but the benefits are worth it! The internet tells me... positive relationships at work increase job satisfaction, empowers you to share your ideas, and provides you moral and practical support when times get tough. The structure details: The overall purpose of the program is to enable staff to connect with others they may not work with regularly to develop a relationship. The goals of what they want to achieve from the relationship are up to them - whether it be mentoring, help, or building their network. Upon reflection, I've not only enjoyed setting this program up at work, but I love seeing my coworkers benefiting from it and enjoying their digi-buddy relationships. I also value the work relationships I've gained from this program.

MENTORINGLEADERSHIP