Mentor Match Programme
The Mentor Match programme identifies and brings together Mentors and Mentees.
A secure confidential place is then provided for both parties to engage in and track all aspects of the mentoring relationship.
The programme, which is a joint collaboration with the PM Forum, is continuous with people able to join at any time and new matches shared daily.
The Mentor Match programme identifies and brings together Mentors and Mentees. A secure confidential place is then provided for both parties to engage in and track all aspects of the mentoring relationship. The programme, which is a joint collaboration of PM Forum and the Managing Partners’ Forum, is continuous with people able to join at any time and new matches shared daily.
Mentor Match is open to both PM Forum members and non-members and provides a range of benefits for both mentors and mentees and provides them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
The programme is very flexible. Anyone can be a mentor and a mentee at the same time. A mentor can have multiple mentees and vice versa. For example, a mentee may choose to have a local mentor along with an international one.
Benefits for Mentors
Guidance & Support
Our Mentor Match Programme provides mentees with valuable guidance and support as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of their careers.
Skill Development
Mentees can learn new skills and strategies from experienced mentors, and gain insights into emerging trends and technologies in business development.
Networking
Our programme provides mentees with the opportunity to expand their professional networks and connect with other professionals in the industry.
Career Development
Mentees can gain valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses, and receive guidance and support to help them achieve their professional goals.
Benefits for Mentees
Leadership Development
Our programme offers mentors the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills, as they guide and support mentees in their professional development.
Giving Back
Being a mentor provides the opportunity to make a positive impact on someone’s career, and gives mentors the satisfaction of helping someone grow and achieve their goals.
Professional Growth
Mentors can learn from the experience of their mentees, and gain new perspectives and insights into emerging trends and technologies in business development.
Networking
Our Mentor Match Programme provides mentors with the opportunity to connect with other professionals in the industry, and build valuable relationships and connections.
To support learning activity between mentoring sessions, Mentor Match is fully integrated with the Skills Development Platform. Mentors can curate and share individual content items and bespoke playlists (collections of content items) with their mentees. Exclusively for the benefit of a specific mentee, mentors can add content items to the Platform or reference content on other Platforms. Mentors can track the time, comments and ratings of mentees for evaluated content items in shared playlists, but need to request their mentee to share equivalent data for other evaluations.
Mentors have free access to both Mentor Match and the Platform.
How it works
For Mentors:
1. Apply to Become a Mentor
Interested professionals can apply to become mentors by filling out an application form on our website.
2. Matching Process
Once we receive the application, we’ll review it and match the mentor with a mentee based on their experience, interests, and goals.
3. Orientation
Once a mentor is matched with a mentee, we provide an orientation session to help them understand the mentorship programme and their roles and responsibilities
4. Mentorship Sessions
Mentors and mentees will engage in regular mentorship sessions, which can take place in person, online, or over the phone.
5. Evaluation and Feedback
We regularly evaluate the mentorship programme to ensure that it’s meeting the needs of both mentors and mentees, and we welcome feedback from mentors on their experiences.
Core mentoring principles
Mentoring is an L&D partnership between someone with vast experience and expertise (the Mentor) and someone who wants to learn (the Mentee).
Mentoring is a process that involves communication and close relationships.
For mentoring to have an impact, the mentorship should last for at least six months with monthly or more frequent sessions.
The relationship must be owned by the Mentee, who needs to articulate areas requiring guidance or direction.
Mentors do not need to be more senior than their Mentees, and anyone can be both Mentor and Mentee concurrently.
Mentorship agreement
The purpose of a mentorship agreement is to assist both parties in documenting mutually agreed upon goals and parameters to serve as the framework for their mentoring relationship.
Supporting Services
Guidance is provided for both Mentors and Mentees. This includes formal training for novice Mentors on a commercial basis.
Matching algorithm
Each participant specifies their preferred matching criteria in six areas:
Mandatory: Area for help; Language for test session
Optional: Expertise; Sector; Seniority; and Location.
Cost: Participation in the programme is free of charge.
Programme Overview
Purpose
The programme helps people achieve their career and other goals through sharing experiences and learning from someone at a different organisation within a structured business relationship. An external perspective avoids the political issues that frequently trouble intra-firm mentorships.
On-boarding
Enrolment involves adding a pen portrait and your experience as a Mentor/Mentee, specifying areas for help and the preferred background of the other party (sector, seniority, expertise etc).
Matches
Potential matches may be identified by a proprietary algorithm, but the decision to notify either party to a match is always made by a human being. Initially, Mentors are requested to approve the suggested Mentee. Then the other way around.
Agreement
Best practice is for both parties to complete a formal mentorship agreement – see opposite.
Eligibility
Mentors are welcome from any professional services firm or relevant consultancy. The only membership requirement is that Mentees in marketing roles must work for a PM Forum member firm. Anyone can be both Mentor and Mentee at the same time.
Training
Novice Mentors are encouraged to undergo formal training in being an effective Mentor. This is provided by Mentor Match on a commercial basis.
Test session
Once mutually approved, Mentor and Mentee are encouraged to meet – either in-person or online – for a test session, before deciding whether to embark on a mentoring relationship.
Feedback
At the conclusion of each mentorship, both parties are encouraged to comment on the programme and also anonymously rate the performance of each other. Aggregate mentorship performance scores will be available as a selection criteria in due course.