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Mentor Match Handbook

Generating initial interest in your program and recruiting your first few cohorts of program participants can be one of the biggest challenges to launching a mentoring program. Consider the following advice:

Never underestimate the power of personal contact. In the early stages of the program, it is often necessary to reach out to pre-identified participants individually to recruit them into the program.
As the program gains momentum, engage alumni and their networks of contacts to communicate program benefits and recruit new participants. Word of mouth is a surprisingly effective marketing mechanism.

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Implementation

Get started.

Define objectives.
Determine the purpose, value/benefits and resources (time, money, equipment, personnel, etc.) required.

2. Build the program.

Plan the project.
Develop program components (categories, groups, testing).
Create resources.

3. Marketing

Create a marketing strategy.
Develop communication materials to generate awareness and recruit program applicants.

4. Implementing the program.

Have mentors and mentees fill out an application form to get matched.
Provide guidelines for a kick-off meeting to establish objectives and expectations.

5. Evaluating the program.

Get feedback from mentors and mentees.
Make continuous adjustments.

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The design and structure of a mentoring program is closely tied to your organization’s aims and objectives. When deciding on the structure and format of the program, consider the following elements to determine how best to tailor the program to align with your organization’s needs. A mentoring group or circle is a trusted environment. Participants should be able to share information in a comfortable and confidential space.

Program Duration – Recommend between six months and one year depending on the frequency of the meetings.
Frequency/Length of Meetings – Recommended group meetings at least once a month for at least an hour. More frequent meetings may be desired at the beginning of the program to help foster rapport and build trust.
Meeting Topics and Formats – You could opt for a structured mentoring program with a detailed outline and various themes (e.g., strategic HR issues, mentoring and coaching skills), or it could be designed by the mentor and mentee covering specific topics that are particularly relevant to the mentee.

Discovery call - the mentor and mentee should meet to decide whether they are a good fit.
Special Elements – For example, you could contract professional coaches to offer an introductory coaching session for each participant.
Special Events – Additional gatherings can be held a few times a year (e.g., happy hours/socials, anniversary celebrations) to create additional opportunities for informal interaction and networking. Or more structured formats with outside speakers including local subject matter experts (SMEs), chapter leaders or even mentoring program alumni or current mentoring program participants with particular expertise/interests.

Considerations for scaling the mentoring program

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Mentee Best Practices

Own the opportunity
Identify initial development and career goals
Decide on a mutually beneficial meeting schedule with mentor
Create a clear agenda for each meeting
Be willing to discuss short and long-term career goals as well as obstacles & successes
Seek and be open to feedback
Be willing to talk about how it’s going
Follow through on commitments or renegotiate appropriately
Maintain confidentiality of all topics discussed

What are the skill(s) you want to develop?
What type of organizational knowledge do you need to develop?
How will you know when you have successfully enhanced a skill or competency?
What developmental activities would help you to develop the most? (Brainstorm a list of possibilities and options.)
Of all the ways you might develop, which are most feasible?
How will you apply your learning on-the-job?

Build your mentoring Action Plan

your.yale.edu

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Set clear expectations

How many hours will you meet for at a time?
How many times a month will you meet?
Who will initiate the meeting?
Agree to meet until the date or goal is achieved
What platform will you communicate on?
Who will provide the agenda?
Who will write the summary?
How many days after the meeting will the summary be provided?

Number of page views of the mentoring page
Number of members that have enrolled in the program
Number of active mentors
Number of active mentees
Number of active relationships
Number of completed relationships�
There will be qualitative metrics which are difficult to measure like the impact that the mentor has had on the mentee’s career. These make good stories for the website.

Key Performance Indicators

your.yale.edu

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Admin support

Choose the categories

The first step to begin your mentor match program is to decide the categories or fields that your want in your application.

Fill out the spreadsheet template or add your own custom fields (and legacy codes) and we will bring them in from your AMS.

Set up applications

Create a Mentor Match group.

Create a group and enable Opportunities.
Create your opportunities application.
For mentorship you need two applications, don’t forget to match them.

Find your workflow

In this stage it is recommended to test and find your workflow.

Set up your automated messages in Marketing Automation> Notifications.

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Marketing Automation:

Personalized Messages

Automation rules:

Recruitment - People who post in discussion forums (sends once).�You care about sharing your experience, would you like to be a mentor?
Has enrolled as a mentee (in first 3 days, once).�You have enrolled as a mentee. Have you searched for a mentor?
Has received a mentoring request and has not accepted it (send every 5 days).�You have been requested as a mentor, have you had a kickoff call?
Has never accepted a mentoring request (send within 20 days, once).�You haven’t accepted your request. Is there something we can do? Offer to remove them from the program.
Has a mentoring relationship (send very 30 days).�Send resource links, Invite any feedback and questions.
Has completed their mentoring relationship (sends within 10 days of relationship ending)�Tell us a little about your experience. Ask them to fill out our survey.

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Member Guide to Mentor Match

Share these resources with your members to help them get the most out your mentoring program.