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Workplace mentoring programs have become more and more popular as companies look for ways to attract top talent. Many job seekers have shown they are looking for organizations that offer growth opportunities, such as mentorships. Research has shown that employees that have a mentor also have a 23% higher retention rate.
But how can companies go about starting mentoring programs? Who’s responsible for managing it? How much time and administrative effort will it take?
These are great questions. Mentoring programs are usually an additional responsibility on HR, L&D, DEI, or operations professionals. For that reason, using established mentoring apps to connect employees is a saving grace.
The rise in mobile app downloads further underscores the potential of leveraging mentor apps to enhance the effectiveness and success of mentoring programs. Recent statistics demonstrate a remarkable increase in global app downloads, with a 63.5 percent rise from 2016 to 2021. In 2016 alone, 140.68 billion app downloads worldwide, soaring to 230 billion by 2021.
What is a mentoring app?
A mentoring app handles the registration, pairing, managing, and reporting of a mentoring relationship. Employees can access mentoring resources, like session agendas, schedule meetings with their mentors, and leave notes on their sessions.
Mentoring apps are also used by human resource managers to monitor mentoring programs. They can see who’s meeting, who’s matched with who, and what the feedback is.
A key characteristic of a great mentoring app is that it is accessible from all devices; mobile and desktop.
Why do you need an app for mentoring?
Having an app or platform to manage your mentoring program streamlines the administrative aspects of managing a mentoring program. Rather than manually matching participants using tools like spreadsheets, mentoring platforms have pairing algorithms that instantly match mentors with mentees with a high degree of relevancy.
Mentoring apps also improve connection and communication between mentors and mentees because they don’t have to be in front of their computers to schedule meetings or access mentoring resources.
A mentoring program that is successful can produce a variety of benefits for the participants and the company, including:
- Develop communication and listening skills
- Increase knowledge
- Create personal satisfaction
- Enhance onboarding process
- Reduce employee turnover rate
- Improve employee engagement statistics
- Increase productivity and organizational profits
- Boost the organization's reputation
Statistics show that employees who are mentored often receive more promotions. They are more committed to their jobs, are more satisfied with their work, and are more positive in their thinking regarding their future career options.
Benefits of mentor apps for employees
For employees, mentor apps are a great place to keep everything about their mentoring relationship in one place.
Workplace mentoring programs have become a large part of an organization’s attraction and retention strategy. Employees who are mentored have proven to have better careers, receive more pay and be more positive regarding the company and their futures. This presents a win-win for everyone involved.
Benefits of mentor apps for managers
Through mentoring apps, human resource managers keep track of employee mentoring relationships at scale. Mentorships have often been defined as a work-related relationship that develops between a more experienced or senior member of the company and a younger or newer employee.
However, workplace mentoring programs today do not always follow the traditional path. Mentoring programs have become a place to promote diversity, encourage interns and attract new talent to the organization.
How to match mentors and mentees
The success of any mentoring program depends largely on how you create mentor-mentee pairs. Pair up the right people, and you will get higher engagement and better results. When matching mentors and mentees, keep the following in mind:
- Goals and experience – Pair mentors and mentees whose goals align and ensure the mentor has relevant experience in the areas the mentee wants to develop.
- Personality and preferences – Match based on personality traits and communication styles to ensure a strong, effective relationship where both parties can communicate comfortably.
- Job roles – Pair individuals with similar or complementary job roles, career paths, or educational backgrounds for relevant and insightful guidance.
- Compatibility – Ensure cultural compatibility while also promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion to create opportunities for rich, diverse learning experiences.
- Location and time zones – Look for geographical proximity and time zone compatibility so both parties can fully interact and engage in the mentoring process.
Doing all of the above can be difficult if you have to create multiple pairs, you’d have to create a mentor matching engine from scratch. Instead, use a mentor matching app like Together that uses intelligent algorithms to match mentors and mentees. These pairing algorithms create pairs based on criteria like skills, goals, and interests. This way, you get personalized and effective pairings at scale.
Scaling mentoring activities, events, and meetings
Speaking of scale, you will need to ramp up mentoring activities, events, and meetings as your program grows. To do so efficiently, you need mentor mentee matching software that offers multiple features designed to support extensive networks and meaningful interactions. Here’s what you can do to scale your program:
Create expertise-based groups
Engage with specialized groups that focus on specific subject matter. Look for a platform with features like Colleague Connect that allow employees to easily find and connect with colleagues who share similar interests, goals, or expertise. Through such features, you can create groups that act as hubs for individuals with similar interests and expertise. This will promote deeper discussions and more targeted mentorship.
Implement advanced mentoring formats
Take advantage of diverse mentoring formats such as:
- Interactive Q&A forums – Facilitate real-time interactions where mentors and mentees can ask questions and share knowledge.
- Topic-based learning modules – Offer structured content that focuses on specific topics relevant to the network.
Most coaching and mentoring apps have built-in features that facilitate interactive sessions and structured content.
Enable scalable mentoring activities
Execute activities that can handle large volumes of participants:
- Group mentoring sessions – Host sessions where one mentor interacts with several mentees simultaneously, amplifying reach and impact.
- Broadcasted webinars – Present webinars on critical topics, allowing mentees to gain insights from multiple experts at once.
Host events and meetings
Organize scalable events and regular meetings to foster community and continuous learning:
- Virtual conferences – Arrange large-scale online conferences featuring keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions.
- Networking events – Host virtual networking events that encourage attendees to build connections across the platform.
- Regular check-ins – Implement periodic check-ins to monitor progress, provide feedback, and maintain engagement.
To arrange these activities at scale, look for mentor mentee matching software with a feature like Together’s Events. Events allows HR and program managers to schedule, promote, and track attendance for events like workshops, webinars, and networking sessions.
Together: #1 easiest to use mentoring app
Together is the #1 mentoring app for seamless mentorship and professional development that empowers organizations to drive performance through relationships.
With a 4.8/5 star rating on G2, the world's leading software review site, Together's administrators report:
- 94% improved employee skills
- 95% a more connected company
- 100% improved inclusion and support
- 79% improved retention
With its user-friendly interface and robust features, Together revolutionizes how organizations foster mentor-mentee connections and drive employee growth.
Don't just take our word for it, though.
When faced with onboarding challenges, Cooley, a global law firm, partnered with Together to establish the Cooley Academy Mentoring Program (CAMP) using our mentoring app.
Cooley's mentorship programs have had an incredible impact across their organizations. On a scale out of 4, the average rating mentors and mentees gave of the program was 3.9. 95% of employees at Cooley say that it's a great place to work, compared to 59% at a typical U.S.-based company.
Randstad, a Dutch multinational human resource consulting firm headquartered in Diemen, Netherlands, aims to provide each employee with an exceptional mentoring experience.
Although they had other options available for mentoring apps, they ultimately chose the Together mentoring app due to its seamless integration with GSuite.
The result? The mentoring program significantly increased their retention rate, as employees who participated in Randstad's mentoring programs were 49% less likely to leave the company.
Ready to launch your mentorship program with Together’s mentoring app?
Transition from manual, time-consuming mentorship processes with Together's mentoring app. From registration to reporting, Together automates every part of the process, from registration, to matching, to reporting. Learn more by scheduling a demo with us today.
