Promoting Mentoring: Six steps to set up for success
After an initial launch, interest in mentoring can disappear if the next step is unclear or feels difficult, which is why it is important to review the journey, from first hearing about mentoring, to arranging an initial conversation and remove friction at each stage.
1. Give every communication a clear next step
Toynbee Hall introduced CMN at an all-staff meeting which generated interest in mentoring, but there was no immediate route to act. That led to a simple rule for later communications: always include a call to action.
The charity honed its communications into shorter presentations that covered the essentials, including what CMN is, its benefits, time commitment, confidentiality and personal testimony, then used a QR code so colleagues could sign up immediately.
As you review each message, ask: what should someone do next, and can they do it now?
2. Create one trusted destination
Bring links, guidance and help together in one place instead of making colleagues search across different systems to find the information they need. Mary’s Meals created a SharePoint hub with direct platform access, FAQs, guides, training videos and a route to request help. Scouts used a dedicated web page, while Purple created a simple intranet site with registration links, FAQs and curated resources.
Use the system colleagues already know, such as SharePoint, an intranet or Teams, and link to the same destination from every piece of communication.
3. Keep the explanation short and useful
Answer the questions that may stop people acting: What is mentoring for? How much time will it take? Is it confidential? Do I need permission? What happens after I register?
WWF-UK kept information succinct because a long or complicated application process risked losing applicants. It also allowed employees to sign up directly without line-manager approval and provided clear information about ethics, data protection and technical support.
4. Offer more than one way in
Combine digital links with opportunities to see or discuss the offer.
Helen & Douglas House used intranet articles, all-staff meetings, line-manager community of practice sessions, individual development conversations, posters and QR codes. They also adapted resources from the CMN welcome pack for internal use.
Different prompts will work for different people. The important thing is that they lead to the same simple route forward.
5. Make matching feel manageable
Explain that finding a suitable match can sometimes take time. Scouts encouraged participants to contact several potential mentors or mentees whose profiles aligned with their goals, rather than waiting for one request to succeed. Purple followed up with registered employees and reminded them how to connect with possible matches.
Remind your people that mentoring is self directed learning and empower your people to be in control of their own mentoring journey.
6. Run a friction check
Test the journey yourself. Can someone find the offer, understand it, register, complete a profile, search and make contact without asking for help? Where support is needed, make the named contact or route obvious. Every unnecessary click, unexplained term or missing instruction gives a busy colleague another reason to stop.
The goal is not to remove all effort from mentoring. It is to make sure participants spend their effort on choosing a good relationship, not navigating the process.
The key here is designing, launching andremoving barriers fromthe process is the most important thing to do, to ensure that people actuallyengage with mentoring.
These insights and tips have been drawn from CMN case studies featuring Scouts, WWF-UK, Purple, Prostate Cancer UK, Helen & Douglas and Toynbee Hall.
Curious about using the Charity Mentoring Network in your organisation?
The Charity Mentoring Network hosts regular Virtual Coffee Mornings. They are friendly, informal group sessions where you can find out how the network works.