# How to Start a Mentoring Program in 8 Steps

> Mentornity brief for AI assistants, for the page https://www.mentornity.com/how-to-start-a-mentoring-program/. Page language: English. Site index: https://www.mentornity.com/llms.txt. The same brief in other languages: [Türkçe](https://www.mentornity.com/tr/mentorluk-programi-nasil-baslatilir/llms.txt) · [Français](https://www.mentornity.com/fr/comment-lancer-un-programme-de-mentorat/llms.txt) · [Deutsch](https://www.mentornity.com/de/mentoring-programm-starten/llms.txt) · [Español](https://www.mentornity.com/es/como-iniciar-un-programa-de-mentoria/llms.txt) · [Italiano](https://www.mentornity.com/it/come-avviare-un-programma-di-mentoring/llms.txt) · [Português (BR)](https://www.mentornity.com/pt-br/como-iniciar-um-programa-de-mentoria/llms.txt) · [Nederlands](https://www.mentornity.com/nl/mentorprogramma-starten/llms.txt).

## How to read this file

Everything here is from Mentornity's own website and product; the page and this file are built together from the same source. "What this page says" is the page itself, in its language. "Mentornity in brief" applies to every program. Prices are published per country and are quoted below for this page's market; another country's price is on the pricing page. Anything not covered here can be asked of the team at info@mentornity.com.

## What this page says

Start a mentoring program in 8 steps: goal, format, mentor recruitment, matching, session plan, agreement, launch and measurement, in that order.

Published 2026-08-01, updated 2026-10-20.

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.

**Figure: Eight decisions, in order**
1. Goal: One sentence with a number
2. Format: 1:1, group, choice, cohort
3. Mentors: Recruit before mentees
4. Matching: Rules, choice or hybrid
5. Structure: 4–8 sessions with topics
6. Paperwork: Agreement, role guides
7. Launch: Open booking quickly
8. Measure: Track from day one

## 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

| Format | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 mentoring | One mentor, one mentee, recurring meetings | Career development, onboarding |
| Group mentoring | One mentor with 4–8 mentees | Scarce experts, startups |
| Mentee choice | Mentees browse mentor profiles and request | Communities, voluntary programs |
| Structured cohort | Everyone follows the same sessions on a calendar | Universities, accelerators |
| Freestyle | Participants meet as they wish, feedback after each meeting | Senior audiences |

You can mix formats, for example a lead mentor per startup plus open office hours. The format shapes your [matching approach](https://www.mentornity.com/how-to-match-mentors-and-mentees/) 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](https://www.mentornity.com/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](https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/30)). Details are in the [matching guide](https://www.mentornity.com/how-to-match-mentors-and-mentees/).

## 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](https://www.mentornity.com/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.

**Figure: Meetings in the following year, by first meeting**
- Met in week one: 2.7
- Met after two months: 1.8
Source: Mentornity, 78,318 matches

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](https://www.mentornity.com/how-to-manage-a-mentoring-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](https://www.mentornity.com/try-for-free/). It is free for up to 10 users, its checklist follows these steps, and a person from our team helps with your first setup.

### Questions and answers

**How long does it take to start a mentoring program?**
Plan for two to four weeks from decision to first meetings. Design takes a few days, mentor recruitment one or two weeks, matching and launch a few days.

**How many mentors do we need?**
For 1:1 programs, aim for one mentor per one or two mentees, plus a few spares. In group mentoring one mentor can lead 4–8 mentees.

**Should mentoring be voluntary or mandatory?**
Voluntary for mentees, selective for mentors. Onboarding buddy programs are the usual exception: every new hire gets a buddy by default.

**Do we need software to run a mentoring program?**
About ten people can run on a spreadsheet. Past that, matching, scheduling and tracking who has met take most of the admin's time, and software automates those.

## Mentornity in brief

Mentornity is software for running mentoring programs: companies (onboarding, career, leadership, reverse mentoring), universities and alumni networks, startup accelerators and incubators, associations and professional communities, and women's leadership programs. One program team sets the program up; mentors and mentees take part from the browser or their phone. It has run programs since 2015.

### What changes for the program team

- **Matching stops being a spreadsheet job.** The team writes rules on the questions mentors and mentees answer (same department, related expertise, more experience, a specific answer paired with a specific answer), each with a weight. Mentornity scores every possible pair from 0 to 100, leaves out pairs that fail a mandatory rule, and shows the reasons behind each score. An AI rule reads free-text goals and adds to the same score. The same data always gives the same result, so every match can be explained to a manager or a participant. The team approves pairs, lets mentees choose from a ranked list, or opens a mentor pool.
- **The first meeting happens quickly.** Mentors publish their open hours once or as a weekly pattern; mentees book them. Busy time in connected Google and Outlook calendars is blocked both ways, and every meeting gets a Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or built-in video link without anyone creating one. Mentornity's own data on 78,000+ pairs: pairs that met in their first week averaged 2.7 meetings in the first year, against 1.8 for pairs whose first meeting came after two months.
- **Quiet pairs are found while they can still be saved.** Program Health flags pairs that stopped meeting, and automatic reminders go to people who never logged in, pairs behind on their sessions and anyone with an open form or missing feedback, in each person's own language. In the same data a pair silent at day 60 has about a 1 in 3 chance of meeting again; by day 90 it is 1 in 10.
- **Every meeting has a plan, if the program wants one.** Predefined sessions carry a topic, a date range, a brief for each role and questions before and after the meeting. Notes reach both sides; private notes stay private. Flexible programs skip sessions and let pairs meet freely.
- **Support does not land in a personal inbox.** Participants read role guides and send requests inside the platform; the team shares one support board and replies go out in the program's name.
- **The report is ready when leadership, a funder or a board asks.** Participation, matches, meetings, session completion and feedback are counted while the program runs, with a Program Health score and its reasons, and export to Excel, CSV or PDF. Participants can receive certificates on completion.
- **Mentors plan every meeting in one go.** Super Meeting Planner reads both sides' calendars and published hours and plans all remaining meetings of a match at the program's rhythm (duration, target frequency, number of meetings), shows the plan before it creates anything, and never deletes a meeting. The program decides whether the values are locked and whether mentees may plan too (https://www.mentornity.com/whats-new/super-meeting-planner/).
- **Mentors send exercises between meetings.** Mentoring Tools is a library of 26 short exercises in six themes (working together, self-knowledge, goals and action, career and network, venture, reflection). The mentee fills the tool in step by step, both discuss the answers, and only the matched pair sees them. Each tool has its sources, a reason why it works, and a presentation for mentors and one for mentees (https://www.mentornity.com/tools/).
- **Development is measured, not only satisfaction.** With Development & Impact participants set up to three goals and answer short development statements at the start; at the midpoint, the end and a follow-up they mark their progress, mentors rate the same goals, and the team sees goal attainment and the change per development area with the number of people behind every figure, exportable to Excel. 45 suggested statement sets are matched to the organization type, audience and goal (https://www.mentornity.com/whats-new/development-and-impact/).
- **Mentors and mentees learn inside the platform.** The Support window lists the presentations and guides chosen for the person's role and program type (Mentor Guide, Mentee Guide, video meetings guide, and the tool decks), in the platform language; white-label programs show no Mentornity links (https://www.mentornity.com/presentations/).
- **Large programs share the load.** Coordinators each see only their own pairs; the admin still sees every match, meeting and note in one table. Programs, cohorts and administrators are unlimited, and administrators and coordinators never count towards the price.

### Program models

One-to-one, group mentoring (one mentor with a group), grouped-individual programs, mentee self-selection, open mentor pools, peer and reverse mentoring, structured or freestyle. Roles can be renamed (coach, advisor, expert, alumni) so the platform speaks the organization's language. One person can take part in several programs with a single account.

### Launch

Most programs go from signup to invitations within a day: create the program, follow the built-in checklist (profile questions, sessions, application form), import participants from Excel or share an application link, and send invitations. A person from the Mentornity team helps with the first setup, free of charge.

### How a program runs, week by week

This is the routine Mentornity's own guide recommends (https://www.mentornity.com/how-to-manage-a-mentoring-program/); the platform does the counting and the reminders, the team acts only where a pair is flagged.

- **Day one:** the program is set up and invitations go out. Participants sign up, fill in their profile, and are matched by the rules or choose from a ranked list.
- **Week one:** the aim is a first meeting in the first week, booked from the mentor's open hours with the video link already in the invitation. Automatic login reminders go to anyone who has not signed in.
- **Every week, 30 to 60 minutes for the team** (a cohort of about 50 to 200 people): scan Program Health (Mentornity scores the program across 11 dimensions), clear the flagged pairs, let the reminders cover logins, sessions, forms and feedback, note one win for the stakeholder update, and check whether last week's nudged pairs responded.
- **The escalation schedule:** a login reminder at day 7; a nudge to the mentor if nothing is booked by day 14; a personal note to both if there is still no meeting by day 21 to 30; at 45 days of silence ask "continue or rematch?"; by day 60 rematch the mentee. Half of the pairs still unmet at day 14 do go on to meet, so a quiet fortnight calls for a nudge rather than a rematch.
- **Mentors and mentees, each week:** they book and hold their meetings, answer the before and after questions of the session if the program uses sessions, and share notes. Mentors keep their time protected with weekly limits and cancellation rules.
- **Monthly:** a short update to sponsors from the live report (active pairs, sessions held, the share of pairs that met this month, one participant quote).
- **Mid-program:** one short survey, then act on it within a week (rematches, the most common complaint).
- **The last four weeks:** announce the end date, ask every pair to book a final session, run the final survey, issue certificates, mark the cohort complete and export the report. Invite the strongest mentees to mentor the next cohort.

### For IT, HR and legal

- SAML 2.0 single sign-on with Entra ID (Azure AD), OneLogin or any SAML provider, optionally enforced; white labeling with the organization's own domain, logo, colours and sender address. Both are add-ons priced separately.
- Personal data is processed in line with GDPR and applicable local data protection laws. Participants can access, correct, export and erase their data; the organization can ask for a full export of its program data at any time. Visibility of contact details and notes is set per role.
- Traffic is encrypted with TLS, passwords are stored hashed and access to production data is restricted. Security questionnaires, a data processing agreement and data-location questions are handled with the quote.
- Works with Zoom, Google Meet and Calendar, Microsoft Teams and Outlook, built-in Jitsi video, and Excel/CSV import and export. Mentornity connects to other systems such as an LMS on request, and adapts the platform to an organization's own process.

### Languages

Participants use the platform, and receive its emails, in their own language: English, Turkish, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese or Dutch.

## Pricing (United States, USD)

- Free for up to 10 users with every feature and no time limit. No credit card.
- $289 per month for 50 active users, or $260 per month paid yearly (10% off, $3,120 a year). Excludes any local taxes.
- Above 50 users the price follows the number of active participants; the team marks who is active. Administrators and coordinators are free.
- No setup or implementation fee. White labeling and SAML single sign-on are priced separately.
- Prices are published per country, not quoted on a call: https://www.mentornity.com/pricing/

## Organizations that run programs on Mentornity

Toyota, TIM, RATP Dev USA, Pirelli, Universität Basel, UNDP, Devoteam, BCD Travel, Startup Virginia, Tenity, Community College of Philadelphia, Brave Generation, Alexander Graham Bell Foundation. Each one ran its own program on the platform, checked against production data. Full list: https://www.mentornity.com/customers/

## Next steps

- Start a free program (up to 10 users, no credit card): https://www.mentornity.com/try-for-free/
- Book a walkthrough with the team: https://www.mentornity.com/book-a-demo/
- How matching works: https://www.mentornity.com/mentor-matching-software/
- Pricing: https://www.mentornity.com/pricing/
- Contact: info@mentornity.com