Mentorship Program Survey Questions: 28 Examples to Add to Your Mentorship Questionnaire

Want to know if your mentoring program is having an impact? A mentorship survey can unlock a torrent of insights, from both mentors and mentees, into the success of your program. But how do you know if you’re asking the right mentorship program survey questions to get the most valuable answers? We’ve got you covered.

Below we have 28 different questions to ask mentors and mentees, and when to ask them. If you're planning your mentoring program, download our mentoring questionnaire PDF to have these samples on-hand.

💡Psst…this mentoring questionnaire PDF is a part of our Mentorship Superpack—a downloadable bundle of 14 tools and templates to help you get your mentorship started. Download the full superpack here.

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What is a mentorship program survey?

A mentorship program survey is a questionnaire designed to measure different aspects of mentorship and understand how participants feel about the program. Are they growing, being challenged, building a relationship? Understanding these things helps you build a better mentorship program.

Program managers may include mentorship program survey questions that gather information from participants, including:

• Demographic details
• To understand if their match is relevant and a good fit
• Understand if the program was successful or identify challenges
• Gather anecdotal feedback to help program managers improve mentorships
• Get quotes to use for program reports, which are particularly valuable to company leadership

Why is it important to survey mentors and mentees?

When participants are given the opportunity to answer a mentor survey or mentee survey, it allows them to share their mentoring experience. This information can be valuable to program managers in many ways.

To gain insight into how to improve your program

One reason it’s essential your participants answer mentorship survey questions is to gain insight into potential ways to improve your program. Mentors and mentees who have gone through the process will be in a stronger position to offer feedback about the advantages and disadvantages of the program. And understanding how to improve a mentoring program can help your organization build a better experience for future participants.

To evaluate your program

Another important reason to gather survey answers from mentors and mentees is to evaluate your mentoring program. Workplace mentoring programs are created around objectives or goals that the program is set to achieve. 

Measuring KPIs is one way to test the success of the program. However, collecting information from mentoring program participants can also tell you whether participants feel the program was successful for them. And if it was, it is powerful evidence that your mentoring program works. 

To quickly resolve poor mentor matches

Having mentors and mentees answer survey questions can also help program managers quickly weed out poor mentor matches. Identifying problems or challenges in a mentoring relationship can help you resolve the issues with your mentorship pairing questionnaire or make a better pairing for participants.

When should you survey mentors and mentees?

There are several key times that you should survey mentoring participants. These include: 

• During registration - This helps to get to know more about participants and what they want to achieve in the program. This information is critical to making a good mentor match. 
• After they are matched - Ensure they are happy with the pairing and gather information about their expectations for the mentorship. This information can be compared with their post-program survey to determine if the mentoring experience matched their expectations and goals. 
• Mini surveys after each session - Connecting with mentors and mentees after each session allows them to reflect on the session and consider whether they are progressing at their ideal rate.
• Midway through the program - Asking mentoring program participants some questions at the halfway point of the program is another critical time to gather information. At this point, mentors and mentees can consider whether they’re meeting their goals or if they need to change direction. 
• At the conclusion of the program - Learning more about participants’ experiences throughout the program is valuable information that can be used to improve the program and report to leadership on the success of the workplace mentoring program.

Preparing effective mentor program survey questions

Creating impactful mentor program survey questions requires an intentional and thoughtful approach well before distributing it. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you prepare your survey questions effectively:

1. Clarify your objectives

Begin by pinpointing the goals and objectives of your mentorship program. Do you want to develop emerging leaders? Onboard faster? Boost employee engagement and retention? Your objectives will be the compass for your entire mentorship program, including what kind of data you want to collect from a mentoring survey.

2. Formulate your hypotheses

Like any good experiment, hypotheses based on your objectives will help direct how you design your questions. For example, you might hypothesize that mentees who have a better match score with their mentors feel more satisfied with the program. To test that hypothesis, you might ask a program satisfaction question, and then compare that response with the mentor-mentee's match score.

3. Craft survey questions

Design your questions to directly address your key objectives and test your hypotheses.

• Quantitative Questions: These are easier to measure and compare. Questions like, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your mentoring experience?" provide clear, numerical data.
  
  
• Qualitative Questions: These offer rich, detailed insights. For example, "What aspects of the mentoring program do you find most beneficial?" can uncover deeper, more nuanced feedback.
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Balance both types of questions to get a comprehensive view.

4. Determine measurement criteria

Before sending out the survey, decide on how you'll measure and interpret the responses.

• Quantitative Responses: Use statistical methods to analyze numerical data.
• Qualitative Responses: Employ thematic or sentiment analysis to categorize and understand more detailed feedback.

5. Conduct a pilot test

Roll out a pilot version of your survey to a small group. This helps identify any issues with the questions or the structure of the survey and allows for adjustments before a full-scale launch.

6. Distribute the survey

Send your survey to mentors and mentees, making use of follow-up reminders to maximize response rates. Mentorship software can automate this process for you. 

7. Analyze the data

Once responses are collected, analyze the data according to your pre-defined criteria. Look for patterns, trends, and insights that either support or challenge your initial hypotheses.

8. Implement changes 

Based on your findings, make necessary changes to your mentoring program. Continuously monitor the impact of these changes to ensure they are effective.

9. Iterate and adapt

The best mentorship programs are ones that adapt and iterate as you master best practices and key learnings. Regularly revisiting and refining your survey and analysis methods will help you keep improving your mentoring program for everyone involved.

By following these steps, you ensure your surveys are well-prepared and yield meaningful data, helping you make informed decisions about your mentoring program's future.

Examples of mentorship program survey questions

Asking the right survey questions at the right time in a participant’s mentorship journey is key to gathering the most insightful data. Here are some excellent questions to use at various stages of the mentorship.

Survey questions to ask during registration

The registration process is about more than just collecting names for your mentoring program. It is an opportunity to get to know participants better. Understanding who they are and what they want to accomplish is key to helping get a great mentor match. 

Here are some registration mentoring program survey questions to ask:

1. What other professional disciplines are you interested in learning more about or prefer your mentor to be from?
2. What other professional disciplines/functions do you have experience in, either here or at other employers?
3. What goals do you hope to achieve through this program?
4. Which goals or accomplishments have you achieved in the past, which you can mentor on?
5. Describe any experiences or learnings you hope to get from this mentoring program.
6. Describe any experiences or topics you can help with as part of this mentoring program.

Survey questions to ask after matching

Once a match has been made, it’s another opportunity to ask questions and gain some insight into the success of your mentorship pairing questionnaire. Here are some sample mentoring program survey questions to ask at this point.

1. How did you find the matching process?
2. How did you feel about browsing available mentors?
3. What would you do to improve the pairing process?
4. Were you excited or disappointed about the quality of mentors available?
5. Were you excited or disappointed about the quantity of mentors available?
6. Has the pairing process made you more or less hopeful about the mentoring experience?

Survey questions to ask after each mentoring session

Consider asking just a few mentoring program survey questions after each session, such as:

1. How is your mentorship with [mentor or mentee]? 
2. On a scale of 1-10, rate your session.
3. What was discussed?
4. Did you take meeting notes, and what was the key piece of information you took away from the session?

Survey questions to ask midway through the program

The midway point of mentorship is a good time for participants to stop and reflect on what they’ve experienced and what hopes they have for the remainder of the program. Here are some questions to consider. 

1. How is your relationship with your mentor/mentee?
2. What do you enjoy about the program?
3. What about the program do you not enjoy?
4. What would you like to see for the second half of the program?

Survey questions to ask when the program concludes

The end of mentorship can be a bit of an emotional time. If the mentorship was successful, participants might need some closure. And if the experience was more challenging, participants may want to make suggestions on how to improve it next time. 

These questions can help them do that. 

1. How would you rate your overall experience with the mentor program?
2. What did you like most about the mentor program?
3. What were some things you felt could be improved?
4. Did the mentor program run as you planned?
5. What are the most memorable things you learned from your mentor/mentee?
6. How would you describe your relationship with your mentor/mentee?
7. What activities or discussions did you have with your mentor or mentee?
8. Would you have preferred to meet more or less with your mentor/mentee?

Mentorship survey design tips

The way you pose survey questions impacts the type of answers you receive. For example, closed questions only require a yes or no answer. You want to choose open questions that invite a more detailed response from program participants to gather more valuable information. Below are some key tips on how to design your surveys to yield valuable, actionable data.

Mix up your question types

Utilize a blend of question formats, including open-ended, Likert scale, and multiple-choice. Open-ended questions allow participants to provide detailed, personal insights. Likert scales offer quantifiable data, and multiple-choice questions streamline the survey process. This variety helps paint a complete picture of the participants' experiences and opinions.

Steer clear of leading questions

Make sure that your questions remain neutral and unbiased. Leading questions can sway participants toward a particular response, compromising the reliability of your data. Neutral phrasing encourages honest, unbiased feedback, providing a more accurate reflection of participants' true thoughts and feelings.

Keep responses anonymous

For honest answers, make sure responses remain anonymous. Communicate to participants that their responses are confidential and won't be traced back to them. This fosters trust and openness, resulting in more truthful and valuable feedback.

Select the best timing and platform to distribute your survey

The timing and platform of your survey distribution can significantly influence response rates. Choose moments when participants are likely to be receptive, such as during work hours or weekdays. Use platforms that are familiar and easily accessible to your target audience, increasing the likelihood of participation.

Streamline surveys with mentoring software

Consider using mentoring software to streamline the survey process. These tools can help customize surveys, automate distribution, and analyze responses efficiently. Incorporating feedback directly into your mentoring program can provide real-time insights and support continuous improvement.

Launch and manage a mentorship program with ease using Together

Workplace mentoring programs have so many advantages for participants and employers. It’s why over 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programs. Whether you want to improve your employees' skill set, create a more collaborative workplace, improve employee engagement, or reduce turnover, mentorships can accomplish all that and more. 

Starting a mentoring program in your organization doesn’t have to be complicated. With Together, you can be up and running in no time. Our mentorship software handles all the heavy lifting, from registration to pairing to reporting. And it easily integrates with software you’re already using.

With Together’s platform, you’ll be able to scale up your mentoring program as needed. Find out how Together can help you launch and manage a mentoring program for your company today.