Receiving negative feedback is a normal part of running a mentoring program, every Program Coordinator will encounter it. This article covers the most common types of participant feedback and how to respond effectively, so you can keep your program on track and your participants engaged.
Keep perspective
Mentorloop typically sees roughly one piece of negative feedback for every 20 positive ones. Taking action on concerns matters, but don't let the negatives distract you from the great work you're doing overall.
What should I do if a participant is unhappy with their match?
First, acknowledge that this is completely normal, it happens in every program and is no reflection of your capabilities as a Program Coordinator. Then determine why they feel there is a mismatch, and address it from there.
Our guide to Troubleshooting Bad Matches covers this in detail.
Advice from our Customer Success team — Kristin
"Encourage your participants to be open-minded about unlikely connections. You may encounter a scenario where a mentee feels they haven't been assigned a suitable match and believes they cannot learn anything from their mentor. Although this may sometimes be the case, it's important to remind participants that great mentors can look different to what they might expect. Encourage them to check out the Mentorloop Academy for resources and practical tips on how to get the most from every mentoring relationship, and stay open to the value an unlikely match could offer."
What should I do if a participant's mentoring partner is unresponsive?
As with match complaints, start by determining why. Unresponsiveness usually comes down to one of four causes: language barriers, time zone difficulties, technical issues, or capacity problems.
Language barriers
A participant may be struggling to communicate in a second language and may need support, or a mentoring partner who speaks their primary language.
Enterprise customers
If language is likely to be a factor in your program, make sure you've included a language question in your signup form before matching begins. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager for help updating your signup form.
Pro customers
If you've chosen the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program theme, check your participants' mentoring connection preferences, specifically the question "It is important to me that my mentoring partner is __________." If you have any questions, contact support@mentorloop.com.
Time zone difficulties
Large time zone gaps can make regular communication difficult in global programs. A few options to consider:
- Mediate to check whether there's been a misunderstanding about when and how the pair has chosen to communicate. The Mentoring Agreement can help structure this conversation. If that doesn't resolve things,
- Rematch the participant with a partner in a more compatible time zone.
- If more than a handful of participants are affected, consider asking all participants to indicate their meeting-time flexibility on their profiles.
Technical issues
A participant may be unresponsive because they aren't receiving notifications via email or Slack. Check with your IT department that Mentorloop's emails aren't being blocked, or, if your program spans multiple organisations, that the participant's own IT department isn't blocking them.
You can also ask the participant to check that their integrations, such as their calendar and Slack, are set up correctly.
Time and capacity issues
Sometimes a participant overcommits, they approve matches with multiple partners and find they no longer have the time or capacity for everyone. If this is the issue, encourage the unresponsive participant to send a brief message with their apologies, explain they're unable to continue, and invite their partner to reconnect in the next cohort or stay in touch on LinkedIn. You can then rematch the other participant with someone new.
Advice from our Customer Success team — Marina
"If you encounter motivation issues, try to understand what has changed since the participant signed up, presumably they were motivated then. If they don't have the time or energy for mentoring right now, ask them to mark themselves as unavailable on Mentorloop until they're ready to re-engage."
What should I do if a participant feels lost or unsure how to proceed?
Check where the participant is in their mentoring journey by looking at their Milestones in Mentorloop. This will give you a clear picture of what support they're most likely to need.
If several participants are stuck at the same stage, use filters and tags to send targeted messages or resources in bulk, rather than following up one-to-one. Useful resources to share include:
- Self Match guides for mentors and mentees
- First meeting checklists for mentors and mentees
- The Mentorloop Goal Setting Framework
Advice from our Customer Success team — Marina
"If participants are experiencing stagnant periods or lulls in their mentoring journey, encourage them to schedule recurring meetings so they can build a rhythm in their relationship."
Advice from our Customer Success team — Lucy
"Encourage participants to mix things up if they're getting stuck. Try a reflection session, a lifeline session, or even a storytelling session! Share our mentoring session guides with them to get started."
What should I do if a participant reports inappropriate behaviour?
Reports of inappropriate behaviour are rare, the vast majority of people approach mentoring with positive intent. When you do receive a report, act quickly.
Immediately close the Loop. You and the participants will retain access to previous messages if they are needed for documentation.
Speak to both parties as soon as possible, document statements and timelines carefully, and escalate to the appropriate people, this may mean supervisors or Human Resources, depending on the nature of the incident. Communicate clearly to both parties that you are taking the matter seriously and will ensure it is resolved appropriately.
Advice from our Customer Success team — Lucy
"To help prevent these situations, share Mentorloop's Community Guidelines with your cohort at the start of the program. It's also a good idea to reiterate your organisation's code of conduct, or, if you're a smaller organisation without a formal code, outline some basic conduct expectations upfront."