Introduction
There are two self-match workflow methods: Structured and Gap-free. Generally speaking, smaller programs with fewer than 200 participants and a more targeted focus (e.g. high potential programs, grad students in a certain department connecting with professionals in their area of study, etc.) benefit most from a structured workflow set, while larger programs (200+ participants) with a broader focus (e.g. general career mentoring, undergraduate programs to facilitate the transition from high school to college, etc.) benefit most from a gap-free workflow set. Type of organization can also be a factor (academic, association, corporate). Reach out to a Customer Success team member for consultation.
Why it matters: Whether you're starting a brand new program or beginning a new cohort for your existing program, the enrollment and matching workflows you have participants follow can have a strong impact on the overall success.
Structured
- Mentors have a specified duration for creating and publishing their profiles
- Mentees have a specified duration for creating and publishing their profiles
- Mentees wait until a designated matching period to find their matches
Advantages
- Provides additional structure gives a sense of urgency to participants.
- Provides a equal opportunity for all mentees to review all available mentors and decide which ones they would like to reach out to (this pairs well with the Bookmarking feature[link]). No first-come-first-served urgency.
- When messaging to non-connected participants is enabled, mentees have time to reach out to a mentor about any questions they may have before making a connection request, increasing the likelihood of a strong pairing.
Drawbacks
- Creates an artificial time barrier to matching which can result in fewer mentees remembering to return to the platform to find a partner.
- Can feel constraining or over-engineered to some cultures, resulting in lower participant turnout.
Gap-free
- Mentors have a specified duration for creating and publishing their profiles
- Mentees can begin requesting a mentoring partner as soon as they publish their profiles
- Mentees can match at their own leisure (rolling enrollment program; enrollment-only cohort workflow
Advantage
No time barrier to matching, which typically results in a higher number of mentoring requests being sent
Drawbacks
- Without a specified time to send requests, mentees may feel more inclined to put off profile completion and finding a mentoring partner, leading to participant fall off.
- Less mentors available at any given time and therefore, mentees may not have the opportunity to reach out to the mentor(s) of their choice.
Factors to consider:
- Culture of your organization: Do people typically expect or respond better to structure?
- Number of participants: With more mentors, the likelihood of mentees finding a mentor that can assist them with their specific needs.
- Goal of the program: General career mentoring increases the likelihood of more mentors having experience in across the program in general skills, as opposed to meeting highly specific needs among mentees.
- Audience type: Everyone, high potential program w/ execs, grad school students pairing with professionals, etc. (ties in with # of participants).
- Connection duration: Does the duration increase the likelihood of returning participants, increase the likelihood of participating mentees?
- Messaging campaign: How and at what frequency this information will need to be conveyed to participants.