πŸ¦‹Set up your Mentoring program in RandomCoffee with our new features!

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! πŸ™Œ

Feel free to use our program template "πŸ¦‹ 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 β€œParticipant type”, and choose the dropdown type.

  • Define the category values: β€œMentee” and β€œMentor”.

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

  • 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).

πŸ€” 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.

Type of participation

You can choose between 3 options:

β€” Send opt-in messages + match messages to all ("Automatic participation")

β€” Only send match messages to all ("Ask for participation")

β€” 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 β€œthe 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 β€œCommunication” tab of your program, select your preferred communication channel, between Emails, Slack or Microsoft Teams.

  • For the Audience, select only Mentors & Mentees (from the β€œParticipant 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! πŸ˜‰"

  • 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.

  • 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:

  1. 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.

  2. Gather the data in an Excel file, with:

    • 1 column called "Participant type" (values = "Mentor" or "Mentee")

    • 1 column called "Skills" (values = Skills)

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".

πŸ‘‰ Do you want to be able to review/modify the matches before they are sent? This is now possible! (For Enterprise Plans only).

  • 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.

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! ✨

Last updated