👤 This article is for Program Administrators
Matching mentors and mentees successfully is the cornerstone of a great mentorship program. However, program administrators often face the challenge of having more mentees than mentors, making traditional 1:1 pairings difficult. But fear not! With 10KC’s flexible features, you can cultivate a thriving mentorship environment that maximizes participant outcomes.
Inviting More Mentors
Expanding your mentor network is one strategy for accommodating a larger group of mentees. Here's how to invite more mentors:
Identify Potential Mentors: Utilize 10KC’s profile segmentation features to pinpoint individuals within your organization who possess the desired skills, experience, and willingness to mentor. Consider factors such as job title, department, years of experience, or specific areas of expertise.
⭐️ You can do this right in the development program Participants modal! Simply select Add participants, click Search, then set your filters by desired profile segments.
Targeted Outreach: Craft personalized invitations highlighting the benefits of mentorship and the positive impact they can make on mentees' professional development. Share testimonials and success stories from past participants to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of your mentorship program. Consider having the invitations sent by a senior leader in your organization.
Enabling Group or Multi-Mentee Matching
10KC also offers flexible matching options that allow mentors to support multiple mentees.
⭐️ Consider group matching if you’d like to enable participants to build more connections and learn from their peers, while keeping the time commitment from mentors in line with a traditional program.
⭐️ Consider multi-mentee matching if you want to allow mentors to take on multiple mentees but retain the 1:1 format.
Let's explore how to activate these settings.
Accessing Matching Settings:
Navigate to Development Programs > Manage Programs.
Select your desired program.
Open the Settings drawer from the left-hand menu.
Group Matching:
Toggle on 'Enable group-matching' and 'Program-based mentor/mentee matching'.
(Optional) To allow mentors to specify their group size preference, toggle on 'Mentee capacity' under the Program preferences menu and set a maximum number of mentees that can be accommodated in groups (recommended max: 5 mentees).
Multi-Mentee Matching:
Toggle on 'Program-based mentor/mentee matching' and 'Mentee capacity' under the program preferences menu.
Set the maximum number of mentees that can be assigned to each mentor (recommended max: 3 mentees).
Mentors will have the option to choose their preferred number of mentees when accepting their program invitation.
By implementing these strategies and utilizing the available settings within 10KC, you can effectively address the challenge of having more mentees than mentors.