👤 This article is for Hub Administrators, Development Program Managers, or Development Program Administrators.
This article serves as a foundational resource, outlining the concepts and process of smart matching within development programs. It provides a high-level overview and links to more detailed "how-to" guides.
✅ What is Smart Matching? (The Core Concept)
Smart matching in 10KC Development Programs leverages an algorithm to match members, with the fundamental goal of optimizing development program matches for impact and engagement.
There are two primary matching options available:
1:1 Matching: One participant is directly paired with another, as seen in a Mentorship Program, Peer Networking Program.
Group Matching: One participant is matched with multiple participants in a group relationship, exemplified by a Group Mentorship Program. This functionality must be enabled in the program's Settings tab. When enabled, the algorithm creates individual 1:1 matches and then groups them using a participant with the primary role (e.g., a mentor) as an anchor. It's important to note that the algorithm prioritizes individual pairings and then consolidates them into a group display, rather than directly creating the optimal group.
The matching process involves two equally important phases for pairing members:
Admin Criteria (Phase 1): Focuses on specific organizational needs and rules set by the program administrator.
Member Criteria (Phase 2): Incorporates individual member preferences and attributes.
✅ Understanding Match Roles
A key aspect of smart matching involves defining and understanding match-level roles, such as "Mentor" and "Mentee." All development programs include a built-in segment to define whether a member is a mentor or a mentee, and matching based on this segment can be enabled.
How Roles are Assigned:
Roles in a development program can be assigned in a few ways:
Admin-Assigned: 10KC Admins can directly assign roles to members.
User Selection on Signup: Members can select their preferred role(s) when they sign up for a program.
Suggested Roles with Admin Edit: Roles can be pre-populated based on certain criteria, with the option for an member to make final edits.
When assigning or selecting roles, you'll typically choose from a dropdown list of available options. These options may include: Mentor, Mentee, Facilitator, Onboarding Buddy, Buddy, Peer, Student, and more, depending on your program's configuration.
"Both" Role Option
Members participating in a program can choose their preferred role: "Mentor," "Mentee," or "Both." As an admin, you have the flexibility to decide if you want to allow the "Both" role as an option for your program.
If you enable the "Both" option and a participant selects it, they might be able to serve as both a mentor and a mentee, depending on availability and your program's specific setup.
Mentor Mentee Capacity
Mentors can also define their mentee capacity, indicating the maximum number of mentees they are willing to take on in a given program. If there is a surplus of mentees, the system will identify mentors who have opted for multiple mentees, check their capacity, and then assign additional mentees based on program pairing rules, common goals, and interests. It's crucial to set realistic expectations for bandwidth for both roles upfront. For example, first-time mentors or those new to structured programming should ideally start with only 1-2 mentees to prevent burnout.
✅ The 4 Stages of a Matching
The smart matching process typically involves four stages: Setup, Run, Communicate, and Manage.
Stage 1: Setup (Defining Criteria)
This stage involves configuring the matching rules and preferences. You can access these options by clicking the "Matching rules" button in the Smart-matches tab.
Phase 1: Organization Criteria:
Segments: Define member matches based on attributes like Role, Department, Hire Date, Location, or other employee attributes from your HRIS. Rules can be inclusive (specifying which segment options match, e.g., VPs matching with Directors) or exclusive (specifying what not to match, e.g., Executives not matching with Interns).
Private Segments: Function similarly to segments but store different types of data.
Combo Rules: These are advanced rules allowing for more specific criteria, such as matching Managers in Compliance with Directors in Compliance. You can also define priority for certain rules.
Rule Types: All segment, private segment, and combo rules can be either:
Preferred (soft-rule): Taken into consideration but may be overridden if members don't meet it.
Required (hard-rule): Must always be followed.
Best practice is to have as few (or no) Required rules as possible to maximize the number of matched participants.
Settings: Allows for repeat matches from previous experiences. Under Advanced options, you can set member-level match exclusions to prevent specific undesirable pairings (e.g., employees with their managers).
Phase 2: Member Criteria:
Members can define their "Program preferences" in Settings, including their role (Mentor, Mentee, Both), preferred matches, and mentee capacity. Note that preferred matches are not hard rules and do not guarantee a match; only participants with "Confirmed" status will appear in this list.
The 10KC smart-matching algorithm also automatically considers additional member-based criteria: fewest previous matches with the current member, most overlap for custom segments, most similar activity level, and most similar selections of Goals & Interests.
Stage 2: Run (Creating Matches)
Once the matching criteria are defined, navigate to the Unmatched or Draft tab tab to create matches.
Create with algorithm: This option uses 10KC's smart-matching algorithm to automatically generate matches. You can choose to create matches for all participants, only confirmed participants (recommended), or specific participants. The process typically takes seconds to minutes, depending on the number of participants.
Locking Matches: Once you are satisfied with a batch of matches, you can lock them individually or using the "Lock all matches" button. This prevents their pairings from being affected if additional participants are added or new matches are created later. Locked matches remain untouched.
Create manually: This option allows you to manually select and pair participants.
Automation: For convenience, you can enable an Automation setting in Smart matching rules to automatically create matches and send match emails on a scheduled date. This option is found in the Settings under "Edit matching rules" for recurring or "always-on" programs.
Stage 3: Communicate (Making Matches Live)
While matching rules are being set and matches are being created, reviewed, and updated, you will primarily be working on the Unmatched and Draft tabs.
To officially launch the program and enable participants to view their matches and start connecting, you will need to publish the matches and send them a notification.
From the Draft matches tab, click the "Publish all matches" button.
After clicking "Publish," you will be prompted to send the match emails to all participants who have been paired.
Stage 4: Manage (Post-Matching & Ongoing Oversight)
This stage focuses on managing the matches and participants after the initial launch.
Unmatched Participants: Any participants who remain unmatched can be viewed, downloaded, or their email addresses copied for further communication. It's a best practice to offer alternative engagement paths for unmatched participants, such as group events, priority access to future cohorts, or self-paced learning materials.
Human Touch: While algorithms are powerful, it's important to add your strategic insights to create optimal pairings. Spot-checking matches, locking in obviously good ones, and discarding sub-optimal ones, along with continually adjusting your process, offers peace of mind and ensures program success.
✅ Best Practices for High-Impact Matches
Achieving successful development programs involves more than just identifying participants; strategic thinking is crucial for high-quality matches and enhanced engagement.
Prioritize Quality over Quantity: A smaller program with highly impactful matches, coupled with feedback and areas for improvement, is significantly more valuable than a large program with unengaged participants.
Clear Goals: Crystallize your program goals before opening enrollment. This clarity helps in designing an effective matching process and evaluating results.
Consider Participant Bandwidth: Set realistic expectations for how many matches each participant can handle to prevent burnout.
Effective Mentor Recruitment: Actively encourage potential mentors, especially those in middle management, by highlighting the program's benefits for their own professional development (e.g., refreshing knowledge, building leadership skills). .
Address Mentor-Mentee Imbalance: If mentees outnumber mentors, explore creative recruitment strategies, incentives, and showcasing success stories to attract more mentors. Consider highlighting the program internally, incentivizing participation, or launching targeted campaigns for mid-career professionals.
Offer Alternative Engagement: Even if some participants can't be matched in a cohort, provide other engagement opportunities like group events or learning resources.
Balance Experience Levels: While the algorithm may pair based on shared interests, ensure a balance in experience levels to create meaningful and helpful matches. Encourage strategic distribution of mentors across different career stages; for example, experienced mentors supporting mid-level employees can allow newer mentors to work with early-career professionals, often yielding excellent results.
Iterate and Evaluate: Matching is an ongoing process. Trust the algorithm as a foundation, but don't be afraid to apply a human touch by spot-checking, making strategic adjustments, locking in good matches, and refining your process continually based on feedback and results.
Think Holistically: Consider the entire participant experience, from attracting participants and thoughtful matching to providing ongoing engagement pathways.
Minimize Required Rules: To maximize the number of matched participants.