
(FOR B2B PROGRAM MANAGERS)

Mentorship programs are proven to help strengthen employee onboarding and retention, decrease learning curves, and improve company culture. Most importantly, mentorship programs increase employee happiness levels and help create an open and supportive environment where everyone feels heard and empowered.

In building your own powerhouse mentorship program, there are many variables to consider. Building a program from scratch can be daunting, but the great news is we’re here to help. Here is a step by step guide to help you build your program.

In this article, we will explore Mentorly’s **“PLAN IT”** guidelines, to make sure your program is successfully launched.

**P**rogram structure
**L**isten

**A**ttract

**N**urture
**IT**erate

# 1\. Program structure

_Before deciding the structure, the first and most important step is to define the objective of your program._

## 🤔 What is your overarching goal?

In alignment with your company’s strategic goals, define the area that has the most room to improve or benefit from mentorship. The structure of the program will be different whether you want to welcome new remote employees with a mentor by their side or want to provide executive mentorship to the company’s current and future leaders.

Within your Mentorly portal, you can have multiple programs running at once - having an idea of the specific objectives and guidelines for each will help tremendously. By having multiple programs, you can ensure that all employees are offered the benefit of mentorship.

A program’s goal should be connected to your company’s Key Performance Indicators, or for short, KPIs. Some examples of these KPIs are: internal promotion rate, talent satisfaction, turnover rates, employee engagement, and cost per hire. Remember, mentorship has a net positive result for both the mentors and the mentees, so your outcomes can be reflective of both of their growth, not only limited to the mentees. The benefits of mentoring for mentors include reinforcing mentors' own skills and knowledge, developing their management style, and creating higher levels of overall fulfillment in the workplace.

## 🏗 What kind of structure would you like to create?

Since you are reading this article, you are likely the dedicated Program Manager for this mentorship program. If not, it is important that someone is assigned to this role.

The role of Program Manager is no longer such a heavy commitment thanks to the magic of Mentorly streamlining all of your tools and data in one place. However, a Program Manager **_is_** **_elemental_** to the smooth running of your program and should have a few hours a week set aside to ensure the success of your mentorship initiatives.

Now, a successful mentorship program has a few basic requirements to consider, such as the time commitment of the mentor and mentee, the length of the program, matching criteria, and so on.

Let’s evaluate **mentor-mentee-matching** and see a bird’s eye view of matching structures available within your Mentorly portal.

##

💡 What are some ways to match mentors and mentees?

**One to one:** Mentorly will match each mentee with one mentor. This reflects a traditional mentorship model of the master and the apprentice.

**Mentor suggestions:** Mentorly will suggest multiple mentors for each mentee, enabling them to decide who to connect with first. It’s also a great option for mentees seeking guidance on varying topics.

**À la carte:** This allows mentees to book with any mentor within a program. This is a great offering when you have a large mentee base and would like to empower mentees to feel supported within a company culture. Allowing your mentee’s to self-select shows a sense of flexibility from the company, and an acknowledgment that there are no limits to who they may be mentored by.

**Program manager matching**: This allows you, as the Program Manager, to create matches. Ideal for small programs, you can use your historical knowledge to generate custom matches.

# 2\. Listen

_While planning your mentorship program, it is very important to listen to your people._

Before choosing which types of mentors to recruit, listen to both your mentees’ and company’s needs. Sending assessment surveys is one way to get the insight you need, and we also invite you to speak directly to your employees to have a solid sense of their most pressing needs. Use past exit interviews to see the gaps in talent experience and learning & development. You can bridge those gaps by providing opportunities for growth through this new digital mentorship initiative.

Consider sending a **Mentee Assessment Survey**, which you can send to all mentees prior to building your program. This kind of survey is designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data around the needs of mentees. Some areas that mentees will be looking to develop are: strategic thinking, planning, communication, networking, public speaking, and the ability to adapt. With mentee’s answers, you will be able to clearly see the areas in which they want to improve, and thus recruit mentors that have these skills and qualities.

On the other end of the equation, it is important to listen to mentee’s expectations of a program. It should be made clear that participation does not have any guaranteed outcomes. For example, participating is not a guaranteed path to promotion!

By gaining a better understanding of what your employees expect out of a program, you as a Program Manager you will have a better chance of delivering a positive experience for both mentors and mentees. As the saying goes, “You cannot achieve success if you don’t know what success looks like!”.

# 3\. Attract

_Select mentors and mentees who are not only willing to participate but also are excited about mentoring. There are two pillars of success when it comes to attracting participants._

🔎 **Clarify expectations**

Be clear about the time commitment, nature of the mentorship relationship, and other expectations for all program participants. Engagement won’t be as strong if these are unclear.

If the mentors are unsure of their willingness to mentor, you can replicate this insightful template on [Mentor Assessment Quiz](https://mentorly.typeform.com/to/JoAwmGYo) to measure interest, availability, and desires. _Note, that if you share this link, we'll be able to see responses._

We also recommend that you create a Code of Conduct for your users to ensure that they engage with each other and the platform respectfully. You can refer to our [Code of Conduct as described in section 7](https://mentorly.co/terms).

📣 **Marketing**

In order to attract mentees and mentors, you have to talk about your mentorship program within the company! It sounds like a no-brainer, but often programs fail because nobody knows about them.

Mentorly enables you to invite and onboard participants at any time. Have a couple of super users? Let them be your cheerleaders! If a user is loving her experience as a mentor, grab a quote from her and share it within your company. If you’re looking for external participants, be sure to be active on social media to highlight the benefits of your program - it may just help you recruit more talent!

Recruiting is the most time-demanding piece of the puzzle. We recommend setting aside 1.5 to 2 months prior to kicking off your program, to send internal and/or external communications announcing the initiative and giving interested mentors and mentees a clear call to action: SIGN UP!

# 4\. Nurture

Mentorship programs have 3 major players: mentors, mentees and you, the Program Manager.

As participants' needs evolve, so do their mentorship needs. Thankfully, Mentorly collects ongoing usership data, which lets you feel the pulse of your mentorship program at all times. Despite this, it is always recommended to check in on participants from time to time, sending them individual or group messages of announcements and encouragement. Without your regular participation, you may miss key interactions that require your assistance.

In the case they are not paid for their efforts, it is important to keep your mentors incentivized at all times. So, recognize your mentors! If mentors are doing a great job, speak about their contributions publicly on your website, their LinkedIn, etc. This will help them feel recognized, valued, and will encourage them to provide more mentorship.

🎉 **Celebrate results**

Be sure to highlight and nurture the importance of mentorship within your company, specifically among the leadership team. Speak to them about the progress and impact of your program by sharing key data and testimonials on how it is improving your overall company culture. This way, you can ensure that the program will continue to grow and support your people.

# 5\. Iterate

Great mentorship programs are always evolving. With Mentorly’s live data tracking and feedback from participants, don’t get stuck repeating the same exact structure program to program! Improve and expand on the exceptional parts of your program, and iterate on the elements that fell short. Great company culture is built when a workplace stays aligned with their employees needs, however they evolve.

Mentorly has been able to uncover some great improvements to programs! Here are some great adjustments you can make if your program depending on your desired outcome.

🔄 **Change matching style**

You may consider switching your matching style. Mentorship traditionally is based on one-to-one matching, however mentoring is evolving to fit the needs of the next generation of workers, and Mentorly’s matching styles are setting the stage for what mentorship can look like. For example, if in the first 6 months of your program you are seeing feedback that the mentees would like to meet with multiple mentors, you may want to consider from a one-on-one matching to an à la carte program.

🕺🏾 **Recruit more mentors**

We generally suggest that a 1:3 mentor to mentee ratio is the sweet spot where mentees are getting enough support and information from their mentors. If you have a less than a 1:3 mentor to mentee ratio, you risk the change of overwhelming your mentors with too many mentor requests which can lead to mentor churn.

📆 **Extend and renew your mentorship program**

Often times, mentorship programs make the mistake of only allowing a few months for connections to be made. Based on the engagement of your members, you may want to consider expanding the time in which they have to interact with their mentor. Mentorly has found that mentees need ample time to book sessions, gain insight, and put their mentor’s advice into action! With a short time frame of a mentorship program, mentee and mentor growth can be less than their full potential.

# And there you have it! 🥁

You now have the information you need to kick off your mentorship program.

The great news is that Mentorly will support each step of the way. If you have a Pro or Enterprise plan, your dedicated **Mentorly Success Advisor (MSA)** can help you work out through these steps. If you are on a Teams Plan and feel like you could use the extra support provided by an MSA, [get in touch](https://mentorly.co/en/pricing)!

Now, go forth and build your impactful, digital mentorship program like the rockstar you are! 👩🏾🎤🎸

---

# What's next?

- [Program Manager collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/program-manager)

- [Onboarding resources to share with mentors and mentees](https://mentorly.com/en/help/general)


Set your mentorship program up for success

How to Build an Impactful Mentorship Program


**Is Mentorly for me?**
If you’re looking to set up a mentorship program or support an existing one with ease, efficiency, and insight into its success, then yes! Mentorly’s for you!

**How does Mentorly work?**
Mentorly was designed as a cloud-based turnkey digital mentorship solution that features a manager portal, seamless user onboarding, user dashboard, mentee and mentor profiles, matchmaking, browsing, booking, video calls, chat and inbox, insightful engagement stats and more!

Whether you’re looking to connect your team or a large network, Mentorly is your solution to centralize all mentorship processes and exchanges and benefit from our team’s expertise and assistance along the way.

[Request a demo](https://mentorly.co/request-demo) for a tour of Mentorly and get all of your burning questions answered.

**Do I need to be a developer to use Mentorly?**
You don’t have to be a developer to use Mentorly! We’ve designed Mentorly so that you can easily manage and track your own mentorship program(s) while benefiting from our customer service and technical support. We’ve also created handy product tutorials that will assist you in managing your program and users.

A dedicated Success Manager is available for Mentorly Pro and Enterprise plans. They will assist you in setting up your program(s), manage pairings, and provide insightful tips and tricks to help you ensure the success of your program(s).

**I want to set up a mentorship program but how should I start?**
Setting up a successful mentorship program requires a few elements. We recommend starting with the most important part, setting your program objectives, requirements, and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

\- What is the objective of my program?

\- Who will be managing this program with access to the Manager Portal?

\- Which mentors do I want to involve in the program?

\- What kind of mentorship do I want to provide for my people?

\- What is expected of each mentor in terms of time commitment?

\- How often are mentees and mentors expected to connect?

Next, you’ll want to gather a good group of mentors and inform them of your program objectives. Once they have confirmed their participation and availability, it’s time to onboard them onto the platform.

Then you’ll want to either invite a select group of mentees to the platform or cast an open invitation. Mentorly then provides matches or recommendations of mentors to each depending on your objectives.

Along the way, it is crucial to be clear about your program objectives and expectations so that the experience for each participant is frictionless and has a lasting impact.

**How long does it take to launch a program?**

Mentorly can launch your custom branded portal within a few weeks time. We recommend staggering onboarding to ensure that mentors have completed profiles and availability before mentees are onboarded to create their own.

**How much control will I have over my program?**

As Program Manager with access to the Manager Portal, you will be able to onboard and tag users, track sign-ups and sessions, along with message users individually or as a group.

You will also be able to upload your own documentation and resources, such as a Mentor Contract, Mentoring Tips, Program Guidelines, etc.

**What kind of support can I expect from Mentorly?**

Mentorly prides itself on its friendly and highly-responsive technical and client support. You can find out more by visiting our [Pricing page](https://mentorly.co/pricing).

A dedicated Success Manager is available for Mentorly Pro and Enterprise plans. They will assist you in setting up your program(s), manage pairings, and provide insightful tips and tricks to help you ensure the success of your program(s).

**How does Mentorly work with our system?**
Mentorly offers integration with several social login services (Google GSuite, Facebook, LinkedIn), as well many calendaring services, such as iCal, Outlook + Outlook Pro, Google Cal, Yahoo Cal and Calendly. We can also integrate with existing HRIS systems, contact us for more information.

**Which devices does Mentorly work on?**
We recommend holding sessions on a computer in a quiet environment with a reliable Internet connection. You’ll need an up-to-date browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.) and a working webcam, as sessions are held by video conference on the platform itself.

**In which countries can I purchase Mentorly?**
Teams and Pro Clients can currently purchase Mentorly in any English and French-speaking countries that are supported by Stripe, our third-party payment provider. Clients interested in in-app user billing will require Stripe Connect, which is not supported in every country. To find out if your country is supported, click [here](https://stripe.com/global).

**Which languages does Mentorly support?**
For Teams and Pro Clients, English and French are supported. Our Enterprise Plan offers multilingual support. To know more, please contact [info@mentorly.co](mailto:info@mentorly.co)

**What supporting materials are provided by Mentorly?**
We’ve created a whole collection of materials to ensure the success of your program which are available for all pricing plans. These include but are not limited to [Mentoring Tips](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips) for mentors, [Session Tips](/en/help/articles/session-tips-for-mentees) for mentees, Mentee Code of Conduct, Mentor Contract, Product Tutorials, and webinars. We also have a [blog](http://mentorlyblog.co/) with insightful articles on the benefits of mentorship in the workplace and in schools.

We are continually updating this content to provide you with the latest expertise and insights into the best mentorship practices.


General questions about Mentorly Enterprise

Mentorly Enterprise - General FAQ


**How will my subscription be charged and is it automatically renewed?**
Your subscription will be billed and charged monthly, annually or by quarter via Electronic Transfer, Check, or Stripe, our third-party payment processor which requires a valid credit card, such as Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, American Express, Google Pay, Apple Pay. No additional fees, processing or otherwise, will be charged.

If you want to set up an alternate method of payment, a 3% convenience fee will be charged on the total billable amount.

If your payment is declined, refused or otherwise rejected, we will provide you with a written notice pursuant to which you will have 14 days to update your payment information and/or pay for the fees that are due. If you do not do so within 14 days, you agree that we may suspend Mentorly's services until the fees are paid in full, along with any interests.

**Can I set up charges through Mentorly?**
We enable our clients to capture payment and issue payment via their manager portal in the case a participation fee is collected from mentees, or sessions are paid between users and a percentage is, in turn, taken by the client. This way, clients can finance their mentorship program(s) and/or benefit from in-app billing flexibility for users.

**How can I update my payment information?**
We’ve set up automatic billing and charging through Stripe that knows when your payment method is no longer valid. You will be directly notified to update this information by email prior to its expiration.

Should you like to switch payment methods, please [contact us](mailto:info@mentorly.co).

**What do I do if I want to cancel my subscription?**

**Monthly Plans:** Unless indicated otherwise in an order form, Monthly Plans refer to no-commitment month-to-month subscriptions. You may terminate the order form at any time for Monthly Plans. We just need you to give us a 30 days’ notice. Also, if you do not want us to invoice you for the next month, you must provide us with this notice 30 days before the next billing cycle, otherwise, you will be charged for the services for the entire billing cycle even if you terminated the order form. Here’s an example: If you cancel on June 15th, the cancellation is effective on July 15th. This means you will pay for the entire month of July, because you didn’t cancel 30 days before this billing cycle. However, you will not pay for August, because you cancelled 30 days before this billing cycle.

**Annual Plans:** Either party may terminate an order form for cause if the other party has committed a material breach of our Terms of Services and following a written notice providing details to this effect, has not cured this material breach within thirty (30) days. If we terminate because of your material breach, we will not reimburse the fees. If you terminate because of our material breach, we will reimburse the Fees in proportion of the remaining days in the annual plan.

Read our [Terms of Services](https://mentorly.co/en/terms) for more information.


Payment questions about Mentorly Enterprise

Mentorly Enterprise - Payment FAQ


**How do I know which plan is good for me?**
If you’re unclear about our [pricing plans](https://mentorly.co/pricing), we encourage you to [contact us](mailto:info@mentorly.co) so that we can assess your needs and objectives and point you to the right plan for your business.

**Are there any setup fees?**
There are zero setup fees to set up your subscription. Once you’ve selected your pricing plan and billing preference, you can expect to pay a fixed amount per month or year.

**Can I purchase features à la carte?**
Yes! You can most definitely purchase certain features à la carte. In order to do so, head over to our [Pricing page](https://mentorly.co/pricing) and [contact Sales](mailto:info@mentorly.co).

**How would I exceed my plan’s limit and what happens if I do?**
While sessions are unlimited for each pricing plan, there is a limit to the number of users that are included for the Mentorly Teams and Pro [plans](https://mentorly.co/en/pricing). The Mentorly Teams plan offers access to up to 100 people and the Mentorly Pro plan offers access to up to 500 people. The Mentorly Enterprise plan offers unlimited access to users.

We will be in touch should you near the max capacity of users for your subscription. You will not be billed out of the blue for extra costs!

**How long are Mentorly’s contracts? Can I change plans?**
Mentorly's contracts are for a period of 12 months for the Pro and Enterprise plans. The Teams plan can be on a monthly or annual basis.

Mentorly can be set up within a few weeks, but it can take up to 5 weeks to launch your mentoring program and become familiar with the system. A short subscription is not recommended as it would not leave you enough time to set up, track and identify trends in your program.


Plans & pricing questions about Mentorly Enterprise

Mentorly Enterprise - Plans & Pricing FAQ


## **What information does Mentorly have access to?**

Mentorly holds specific non-sensitive personal information in order to provide its services, including user name, email, location, linked social media, profile and galleries images, preferred and spoken languages and any information that was saved by users to their profiles.

Mentorly does not hold nor have access to users’ banking or payment information.

## **Will my data be private and safe?**

Mentorly is hosted on Amazon Web Services which protects web applications by filtering traffic based on the guidelines we’ve created and identifies threats regularly, by monitoring the network and account activity within our cloud environment so that clients and users’ information and data is protected at all times.

To learn more, visit [AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/security/).


Security questions about Mentorly Enterprise

Faq

All Articles (5)

How to Build an Impactful Mentorship Program

Mentorly Enterprise - General FAQ

Mentorly Enterprise - Payment FAQ

Mentorly Enterprise - Plans & Pricing FAQ

Mentorly Enterprise - Security FAQ