Not every mentoring match will work out, and that's okay. Here's how to identify what's gone wrong, address it appropriately, and make sure every participant still has a great experience.

How do I create an environment where participants feel comfortable raising concerns?

Let participants know from the start that you're available to hear feedback at any point, not just during formal check-ins. A friendly, approachable tone in your communications makes it far more likely that issues are raised early, before they become serious problems.

On Mentorloop, you can reinforce this message in two places:

• Your dashboard message — one of the first places participants look for program information. Customise it in your Program Settings.
• Your Loop introduction message — the first message sent when a match is made. Keep it warm and make clear you're a point of contact if anything comes up.

Mentorloop also sends regular post-meeting surveys after each meeting, giving you a quick snapshot of how individual relationships are progressing. These are delivered by email and, for participants using the mobile app, by push notification. Your PC dashboard's sentiment card also surfaces alerts when MQS scores are low, helping you proactively identify matches that may need attention before participants reach out to you.

How do I figure out what went wrong before deciding to rematch?

When a participant raises a concern, don't jump straight to a rematch. Take a moment to understand the root cause first, the fix is often simpler than it seems.

Ask yourself:

• Was this a timezone or scheduling conflict?
• Was there a communication style mismatch or language barrier?
• Has one participant been unresponsive? (Check whether they're receiving notifications correctly before assuming disengagement.)
• Has inappropriate behaviour occurred that needs escalating?
• Is this a genuine mismatch of goals or experience level?

Participants matched via Smart Match can now view their Match Rationale, an AI-generated explanation of why they were paired. This can be a useful starting point for understanding what the algorithm prioritised and where expectations may have diverged.

Address the underlying issue before rematching. Many concerns stem from simple miscommunication that can be resolved with a short conversation or some gentle guidance.

When should I mediate, and when should I close the loop and rematch?

If it's a minor misunderstanding, it's worth attempting to smooth things over. Many matches recover well from a rocky start once both participants understand what happened.

If the relationship isn't salvageable, close the loop as amicably as possible. Here's how:

1. From within the loop, click the three-dot menu (⋯) in the top right corner.
2. Select Close Loop.
3. Complete the Close Loop Survey — the participant selects a reason for closing and can rate how well the match worked. Survey responses are only visible to you as Program Coordinator, not to their match partner.

Once the loop is closed, you can rematch the participant. A few things to keep in mind:

• Smart Match — If your program uses Smart Match, the platform will automatically prevent the same two participants from being rematched via the algorithm. Review the new match draft before approving, and check for the same issues that caused the original match to fail (for example, timezone clashes or goals misalignment).
• Self Match — If your program uses Self Match, guide the participant on what to look for in a new partner. Remind them to use the match request messaging feature to communicate preferences (communication style, time commitment, language) before accepting a match.
• Manual Match — Review participant profiles carefully before creating a new match, using what you've learned from the first pairing.

Participants can also view profiles and LinkedIn links (if provided) to make better-informed decisions before accepting a new match.

Benching a participant vs. removing them

If a participant needs to be temporarily taken out of circulation, for example, while you work through a match issue or they take a break from the program, move them to Benched status rather than removing them. Benched participants can be invited back into a program when they're ready.

Removing a participant is now reserved for serious situations, such as inappropriate behaviour or someone who has permanently left the organisation. If you're unsure which status to use, Benched is almost always the right choice.

How do I use match issues to improve future programs?

Every match issue is an opportunity to improve. Document what went wrong and review your signup form and matching configuration to address it for future cohorts.

Ask yourself:

• Could a location or timezone preference field on the signup form have prevented this?
• Do you capture language preferences?
• Are participants setting a realistic loop capacity (maximum number of matches)?

You can use Prompt Profile Review (found in the Participants tab) to ask participants to update their profiles, making sure their matching data is current before the next round of matching.

Reviewing and refining your signup form between cohorts is one of the most effective ways to improve match quality over time.