Performance analysis, KPIs and evaluation of a mentoring program

In a previous article, we published in Mentiway a guide to implementing a mentoring program. An important element we look at in it is the definition of the program’s goals and, extremely importantly, the ongoing monitoring of the degree to which these goals are achieved and the evaluation of the program at the end. In this article I will take a closer look at precisely the topic of analytics, monitoring and evaluation of a mentoring program by its organizers. 

Guide to implementing a mentoring program 

Before you go any further, if you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to take a look at the guide to implementing a mentoring program that I mentioned in the introduction. 

You may also be interested in the special checklist, which outlines in a condensed form the specific issues to be taken care of from the side of mentoring organizers. 

And if you prefer to absorb knowledge in the form of a video / podcast, I invite you to watch a video in which Tomasz Sąsiadek – Co-founder Mentiway talks about the key stages of the mentoring program: 

Why monitor processes and evaluate the entire mentoring program? 

Implementing and running a mentoring program is to be considered a business process To be effective as such, it is necessary to take care of the basic parameters of the process, such as clearly defined boundaries, order, selection of stakeholders, and embedding in the organization.  

But an essential element of any business process is also the fact of delivering value to the organization and individual participants.  

A mentoring program is a process that generally involves a lot of people and has a significant cost in terms of hourly commitment. As such, it must provide a tangible benefit that organizers should be able to identify. 

For the purpose of preparing this article, I divided the criteria for assessing the value of a mentoring program according to when they are measured: 

• verified on an ongoing basis – during the program 
• and collected and aggregated at its conclusion. 

Ongoing monitoring of mentoring processes 

The mentoring program is a long-term process, spread over a minimum of 6 months. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor its basic parameters while it is still ongoing. This allows you to notice possible shortcomings and gives you the opportunity to make modifications For example, if in the participants of the mentoring program they find that they do not have sufficient knowledge to implement the processes, such knowledge can be provided to them in the form of additional training or intervision. 

Evaluation of the mentoring program at the end 

On the other hand, an aggregate evaluation of the processes and a summary of the entire program at its conclusion allows one to evaluate the mentoring program as a full process, or at least one cycle of it. With the knowledge gathered in this way, it is possible to identify lessons to be used in subsequent mentoring cycles, but also to prepare a summary for investors – owners of HR or departmental budgets who have invested some of their resources for the organization of the program and the participation of Mentors and Mentees. 

Possible KPIs and ways to measure the effectiveness of a mentoring program 

So we already know why it s worthwhile to monitor and evaluate a mentoring program. The question now is how to do it 

Here are some possible KPIs, some ideas on how to analyze the program on an ongoing basis and evaluate its effectiveness at the end. Most of the metrics mentioned here are also applied in the Mentiway app and organizers of mentoring programs based on our platform use them on an ongoing basis. 

Of course, these are just a few examples and the list is definitely not exhaustive. However, I hope you will find inspiration for your mentoring program in it. 

First meetings in mentoring pairs 

Monitoring of the mentoring program can begin even at the stage of recruiting participants. This is when the first questions to collect and address arise. This is also when the first potential KPIs appear – for example, the number of participants and their balance between Mentors and Mentees. In practice, however, these metrics are very obvious and naturally monitored in the process, so I have not included them below. 

A possible parameter that may be less obvious is matching competency areas I covered this topic in a separate article.  

Arranging the first meeting 

Scheduling a mentoring session is the first opportunity for Mentees to use their initiative. Counterintuitively, there may already be commitment issues at this stage. It is a good idea to check several days after the official start of the meeting to see if all pairs have already scheduled their first mentoring session. 

Contract signing 

Another point for verification can be the fact that the first session has been implemented and its effect, i.e. the signing of the mentoring contract by both people in the pair. 

Failure to sign a contract may be the first sign that the process has not begun properly This may be due to a lack of agreement on the rules of the mentoring relationship, although more often it signals a potential lack of commitment on the part of those in the pair to maintain the structures and rules. It is worth monitoring the signing of the contract and paying attention to the substance of this activity, which in practice begins the mentoring process in terms of the proper definition of mentoring. 

The Mentiway platform automatically reminds participants to sign the contract. In addition, the organizers themselves also have a real-time view of the progress of the mentoring processes, including the dates of the pair meetings and the fact that the contract has been signed. This makes it possible to react in real time to any deviations from the process. 

Goal setting in mentoring processes 

The next criterion, goal-setting for the process, basically already applies to the second or even third session, but is related to the start of the process, hence its presence in this section. 

In mentoring programs implemented with Mentiway’s support, we recommend starting to work on goals even during the first session (when completing the contract), but this is a time-consuming process and often takes more time. We also know from experience that setting goals for the Mentee is itself a very important outcome of the mentoring process. The pair works together on the goals using a variety of suggested techniques and tools, often in more than one session. 

This is also where significant problems sometimes arise in the couple. Sometimes caused by the Mentor’s lack of resources to support the Mentee in the intended goals. Sometimes caused by a misunderstanding of the process or the immaturity of the Mentee. It is therefore necessary to monitor the fact that goals are set and to react if the process is prolonged beyond the 3rd session.  

It is worth noting here that although in Mentiway organizers can see whether couples have set their goals for the process and the number of those goals, they do not have access to the detailed findings of those goals or their measures of success. This data is confidential and should remain so given the security of the mentoring process. 

During the mentoring  processes

First feedback on the mentoring program 

After the contracting and goal-setting phase, when the processes are already starting to go full steam, it is worth conducting the first initial evaluation of the mentoring program based on participant evaluations.

The Mentiway platform sends automated feedback surveys after the third session, in which participants are asked to evaluate their preparation for the program, the selection of pairs, and their satisfaction with the process so far. Mentors and Mentees have the opportunity to share their insights, which in turn allows organizers to possibly respond to the most commonly identified problems.  

Meeting evaluations 

A similar, albeit somewhat more limited, role is played by satisfaction ratings for individual mentoring sessions. Beginning with the first meeting, participants at Mentiway have the opportunity to rate their degree of satisfaction with the sessions on a scale of 1 to 5. Organizers, in turn, have insight into these ratings and should respond by contacting participants if these values deviate from the desired value. 

Frequency of meetings 

The last parameter to monitor during the process is maintaining the right frequency of meetings. The idea here is to identify possible problems related to session cancellations and too much time between meetings. 

At Mentiway, organizers keep track of meeting dates and are notified when couples fail to meet for more than 30 days This can be a signal of declining motivation, which can ultimately lead to the breakup of the mentoring relationship.  

It is clear that mentoring requires commitment on both sides and proactivity especially on the part of Mentees. But some sometimes need a gentle push, motivation or a reminder of processes. On the other hand, it’s also worth consciously ending those mentoring relationships where commitment has fallen below a meaningful level or where the pair has not found a sufficient fit. 

Completion of the program 

Evaluation of the degree to which goals 

The final element of the mentoring processes should be the evaluation and feedback given to each other in pairs. Elements from this evaluation should also be used to evaluate the entire mentoring program. What I have in mind here is primarily the degree to which goals were met – both at the level of individual pairs and aggregated to the level of the entire program. 

Surveys at the end are also an opportunity to take final stock of couples’ satisfaction with the mentoring program as a whole and a place to gain insights for optimization and improvement for future editions of the program. 

At Mentiway, the completion of the processes takes place on two levels. First, the Mentor completes a report summarizing the cooperation with the Mentee and recommending further development of his/her mentee. This report is made available to the Mentee and only to him/her. Secondly, the couple together, during the last mentoring session, fills out a questionnaire with an evaluation of the program’s progress, where, among other things, on a scale of 1 to 10, they rate the degree of achievement of each of the established goals, based on the previously established criteria. 

Summary of the program 

Ultimately, organizers using the above-mentioned metrics are able to prepare a summary of the entire mentoring program, including average ratings of satisfaction with the sessions, feedback on the program, the number and frequency of meetings and, ultimately, the degree to which mentoring goals were met. Such a summary provides a comprehensive answer to the question of the effectiveness of the entire mentoring program and facilitates decision-making regarding the next edition. 

In Mentiway, we often supplement the summary report with aggregate statistics on platform usage. For example, we summarize the most frequently read materials from the knowledge base, or the frequency of use of particular functionalities.