How to Start a Mentoring Program in 8 Steps

Starting a mentoring program means making eight decisions in order. Most teams start with recruitment, but the goal and format come first, because they decide who you recruit.

Step 1: Write down why the program exists

Write one sentence, with a number if you can: “Reduce first-year attrition among new analysts.” That sentence decides who you recruit, how you match and what you measure. “Supporting growth” is not a goal, because nobody can tell whether it happened.

Step 2: Choose the format

You can mix formats, for example a lead mentor per startup plus open office hours. The format shapes your matching approach and session plan.

Step 3: Recruit mentors before mentees

Mentees are easy to find; mentors are the limit.

1. Make the ask small. “Six 45-minute sessions between October and March, two mentees at most” is easier to accept than “become a mentor”.
2. Collect what matching needs: expertise, department or sector, languages and capacity, through an application form.
3. Protect their time with booking caps, minimum notice and published availability. Share what makes a good mentor before they start.

Step 4: Decide how matching will work

• Admin matching by rules: score every match on weighted criteria and review the top suggestions.
• Mentee self-selection: set a limit per mentor so popular mentors are not overbooked.
• Hybrid: rules propose matches, people confirm them.

If something is a true deal-breaker, such as a shared language, make it a mandatory rule. Give participants a say where you can. In a study of formal programs, people who felt they had input into matching reported better mentoring. So did those who rated their training highly (Allen, Eby & Lentz, Journal of Applied Psychology, 2006). Details are in the matching guide.

Step 5: Give every match a structure

Define 4–8 sessions, each with a topic, a short brief per role and a question or two before and after. A simple arc: expectations, goals, skills, progress review, wrap-up. Monthly meetings of 45–60 minutes are a safe default.

Step 6: Prepare short paperwork

• Program agreement: confidentiality, commitment, code of conduct. Accepted before joining, versioned when it changes.
• One-page guide per role: what mentors and mentees do, where to get help.
• Kickoff announcement, sent by a named leader.

Step 7: Launch within two weeks

With mentoring software, setup fits in a week: create the program, enroll people, review the matches, open booking. Announce only when booking can open soon, so volunteers do not lose interest.

Then watch time to first meeting. Across 78,318 matches on Mentornity, participants who first met in week one averaged 2.7 meetings over the following year. Participants who first met after two months averaged 1.8.

Contact any match that has not met by day 14. In the same data, 52% of those matches still went on to meet, but the odds fall below one in ten around day 65.

Step 8: Measure from day one

Mentornity’s program health view uses these thresholds. Activation should be 70% or more; below 50% is a risk. Aim for 90% of mentees matched, a first meeting within 14 days, and 60% of matches meeting monthly. Matches silent for 60+ days count as stalled. Add a before-and-after question tied to your Step 1 goal. The guide on managing a running program covers the weekly routine.

Three common first-year mistakes

1. No session plan. Matches leave the kickoff with nothing to discuss.
2. Matching as an afterthought. Random matches lead to awkward meetings.
3. No owner. Name one admin, even at two hours a week.

To run these steps in software, start a free Mentornity program. It is free for up to 10 users, its checklist follows these steps, and a person from our team helps with your first setup.