This article is designed for Administrators who are looking to configure and launch effective mentoring programs for their team members. By following this step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to create a structured and engaging mentoring experience that fosters professional growth and collaboration within your organization.
Let's get started! 🙌
Feel free to use our program template "🦋 Mentoring program", accessible from the "Use Cases Library" in your RandomCoffee platform!
1. Configure new categories
Participant Type
Start by creating a new category called “Participant type”, and choose the dropdown type.
Define the category values: “Mentee” and “Mentor”.
Note that, with this configuration, a Mentor cannot also be a Mentee.
Skills
Create another category entitled "Skills".
Select the multiple choice type.
Define the category values with a predefined list of skills Mentees could learn and Mentors could teach.
Example:
Communication
Team Management
Conflict resolution
Work-life balance
Time Management
Problem-Solving
Project Management
Business acumen
Client engagement
Other categories (departments, location…)
For now, you have 2 categories linked to the Mentorship initiative (Participant Type, Skills).
Feel free to add others (like Department, Timezone, etc.) to refine your matching rules within your program.
2. Configure your program
Program settings
Create a new program from scratch.
Define a name and a goal, then, click “Create”.
In the "Settings" tab, choose your group size. In our example, we'll select a group size of 2 (to match 1 Mentor with 1 Mentee).
Select the "Group composer" algorithm.
Define seat-by-seat distribution. In our example, we want each mentor (seat 1) to be matched with one mentee (seat 2).
🤔 You probably won't have the perfect number of Mentors to match with Mentees. That's not a problem, thanks to the new "rematching" feature!
You have 3 options:
Allow unlimited rematching - some people will be rematched several times so that everyone gets matched.
Allow rematching - up to a maximum number of rematches per session.
Do not allow rematching.
In our example, we only have 2 Mentors and 6 Mentees.
Option | Result |
Allow unlimited rematching | Each Mentor will be matched 3 times (so that each Mentee has a Mentor). |
Allow rematching - up to a maximum number of 2 rematches | Each Mentor will be matched with 2 Mentees. 2 Mentees will not be matched at all. |
Do not allow rematching | Only 2 Mentees will be matched with the 2 Mentors. 4 Mentees will not have a Mentor. |
Type of participation
You can choose between 3 options:
— Send opt-in messages + match messages to all ("Automatic participation")
— Only send match messages to all ("Ask for participation")
— Send opt-in messages + match messages to some people (based on category values) and only send match messages to the others ("Ask for participation - specific people only").*
*With this option, what we call “the others” (above) are automatically counted as participants in the "open session chart".
In our example, we can send opt-ins only to Mentees. Mentors will not receive opt-ins, and will automatically be counted as participants.
Matching rules
Add a matching rule to ensure that Mentors and Mentees are matched together depending on the skills they have chosen in the form. Add an optimization rule ("Optimize based on field's values"), and select "Skills", "Has the most in common":
Additionally, you can add more rules relying on other categories (like Department, Timezones, for example):
Communication
In the “Communication” tab of your program, select your preferred communication channel, between Emails, Slack or Microsoft Teams.
For the Audience, select only Mentors & Mentees (from the “Participant type” list).
Then, customize your opt-in (if activated) and match message:
If you're using the Email communication channel, choose a subject for each email (e.g.: "Meet your Mentor at {{company_name}}!")
For the match message:
In the matching details, add the "Participant type" merge tag to indicate which member is the Mentor and which member is the Mentee
You can also add the "Skills" merge tags (like in the example below) so that we can know what skills have been chosen by each member.
In the case when there is a divergence between the skills each member selected, we recommend adding the following message:
"🧐 Is there a divergence between the skills that each of you wish to acquire/teach? The matchmaking algorithm does its best to match you according to the skills you have selected, but this can happen given the number of people participating in the initiative and the skills each of them has indicated. In this case, we invite the Mentee to take advantage of the Mentor's experience with the skill he or she has entered! 😉"
Add an "How does it work" section, detailing next steps for Mentors and Mentees.
If you plan to have Mentors and Mentees paired for a period of 6 months, here is an example of message to include in your communication:
"How does it work?
Now that you are matched, you have the freedom to arrange meetings at your own pace over the next 6 months. We recommend bi-weekly meetings, as regularity is key to success!
In 6 months, each mentee will be paired with a new mentor (and vice-versa) to broaden your learning experience and networking opportunities."
3. Communicate about the Mentoring program & get your list of Mentors/Mentees growing over time
Announce the mentorship program via your preferred internal communication tool, and invite people to join as a Mentee or a Mentor.
The methodology then differs slightly depending on whether or not you already have members on your platform.
You already have Members in your platform
You already have Members in your platform
Ensure all the categories created in step 1 are visible to members (the "Hide category to members" field must be "NO", as shown below), and eventually hide others.
In your official communication, invite your Members to fill in their information (Mentor/Mentee, skills, etc.) from their Member Portal directly. They can access their Member Portal via this link: https://app.random-coffee.com/account.
With this mechanism, if a member indicates in their Member Portal that he's a Mentor or a Mentee, he will be automatically included in the Audience of the program! Note that if you don't want all your members to be able to join the initiative, you should use the "csv import" mechanism, described later.
You can specify in your communication that Mentees will get matched with a new Mentor every 6 months for example (it will depend on what you announced in your Communication message in step 2, and on the frequency of the sessions you will define in step 4).
If the Member Portal is deactivated, or if you don't want all the Members of your RandomCoffee platform to be able to join the initiative:
Collect the information regarding the "Participant type" and skills through a form sent outside of RandomCoffee. Read the Step 1 (Configure categories) to understand which values to collect.
Gather the data in an Excel file, with:
1 column called "Participant type" (values = "Mentor" or "Mentee")
1 column called "Skills" (values = Skills)
Upload your csv in your RandomCoffee platform to update your Member list with this new information.
You don't have Members in your platform yet
You don't have Members in your platform yet
Ensure all the categories created in step 1 are visible to members (the "Hide category to members" field must be "NO", as shown below), and eventually hide others. You can also make categories mandatory by activating the "required" option.
Get the invite link by:
Clicking "Add members" in the "All members" section
Selecting "Send an invite link"
Copying the invite link at the bottom of your screen
Copy-paste this link in your official communication, inviting people to join the program!
You can specify in your communication that Mentees will get matched with a new Mentor every 6 months for example (it will depend on what you announced in your Communication message in step 2, and on the frequency of the sessions you will define in step 4).
Each member registering via the form will be added to the Member list, with the right information (Participant type, Skills, etc.).
4. Plan your sessions
Once you have enough Mentors and Mentees having joined the initiative (you can check this in the Audience of your program in the "Communication" tab as shown in the screenshot below), let's plan your sessions!
It's up to you to decide at which frequency Mentees need to be matched with new Mentors (and vice-versa).
In our example, we decided to get Mentees matched with Mentors for a period of 6 months. So let's plan a first session in June, and another one in January.
In the "Sessions" tab of your program, select "Schedule a new session".
👉 Do you want to be able to review/modify the matches before they are sent? This is now possible! (For Enterprise Plans only).
Option 1: without review
Option 1: without review
Select "Automatic session(s)":
Define the dates when your opt-in (if applicable) and match messages will be sent, and the timezone in which it will be sent. We recommend leaving at least 5 days between both dates, so that members have time to opt-in.
Select "One time only" for the recurrence.
Create another session 6 months later, and so on.
Option 2: with review/modification
Option 2: with review/modification
Note that, with this option, no opt-in messages will be sent (only the match messages, at a date you will define later), even if you selected this option in the settings. All members of the Audience will automatically be part of the program.
Select "Review before sending".
A new section will appear below your program's name. The number of participants corresponds to the number of Mentors + Mentees included in your program's audience.
Click on the menu, and select "Review you matches":
You can now edit the groups. When you're done, click "Save and Exit".
Then, click "Update matching date", and select the date when you want the match messages to be sent out.
The matching date will be updated in the following window:
You can still review and update your matches before this date.
Now, wait until the connections happen, and analyse results!
By following this guide, you have set up a structured and effective mentoring program that promotes skill development, knowledge sharing, and meaningful connections.
Congratulations! ✨