Month: April 2023

In any organisation, cultivating a culture of knowledge sharing will have lasting impacts on innovation, productivity and growth.

We all know the saying ‘knowledge is power’ and yet, if we don’t share our knowledge with others, what power does it really have?

Because when you connect people across your business that have expertise with those that need it, that’s when the real magic happens. Without sharing knowledge, we can’t use knowledge effectively.

Whether you’ve heard the term before or not, this guide will break down what knowledge sharing is, why it’s important and show you how to make it work.

What is knowledge sharing?

Knowledge sharing is the act of ‘passing’ valuable information on to people who need it. It’s a way of guiding one another through the hurdles of a particular industry or niche and supporting continuous learning.

Sometimes the knowledge being shared is tacit, meaning that it was learned from experience. This is invaluable, as there are so many things in any industry that require first-hand experience to learn. 

Knowledge sharing can also be explicit. Meaning it was learned from documents or training programs. Again, an invaluable resource to learning.

Sharing knowledge allows your teams a first-hand gateway to information that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. It assists them with personal development, professional growth, and of course to connect with seasoned professionals. 

Why is knowledge sharing so important in the workplace?

The main reason why knowledge sharing is so important in the workplace is that it helps your team to grow off of the back of experience that is learned, acquired, or given. It’s goal is to streamline various business processes, improve staff performance, and is indispensable for workplace activities such as problem-solving.

Knowledge sharing is not about shortcuts, though. It’s about collaboration and bringing people together to work in the most effective way possible. It has lasting impacts for your people from onboarding to succession planning. 

Implementing formal channels for knowledge sharing is essential is in our modern, hybrid and remote workplaces. A common problem is that people from the same team are often isolated from one another in remote work. In this instance, a cohesive knowledge sharing strategy will help remote employees to connect and work more effectively, while boosting morale and engagement. 

Examples of knowledge sharing at work

✅ Mentoring

This is a one-on-one way to give knowledge to your people. It is a quintessential form of knowledge sharing that’s been around since the days of Plato and Aristotle. 

Mentorship is when a person gives advice to a mentee and assists them with their careers, or in other areas such as networking, inclusion, supporting mental health, and their general well-being.

✅ Feedback and appraisals

This is another one-on-one method of knowledge sharing that allows peers to analyse a piece of work they’ve done and pick up on the areas of improvement. This allows them to strengthen their best qualities and identify areas of improvement, leading to a more well-rounded, expertly trained team member with a greater ability for mobility, whether internal or industry-based.

✅ Guides and presentations

Thought leaders in the workplace can produce and deliver guides and/or presentations across the business to groups that want to upskill in that area. This can be used as part of training materials, or just as an added bonus during team meetings.

Businesses can even get in touch with thought leaders and invite them to speak to their staff. This works particularly well as a benefit of employee resource groups and networks. 

How do I cultivate a culture of knowledge sharing

There are many different ways that you can encourage a knowledge sharing culture at work. The first (and broadest) step is to set an example yourself, role-modelling and encouraging knowledge sharing in your team. 

Setting up formal pathways for knowledge sharing will help you go that extra step to embed the practice in your culture. We always recommend getting senior leadership buy-in to make this work and that rewarding participation can be really effective.

No matter how you achieve it, communication is the main component of knowledge sharing, so make sure you promote your initiatives far and wide. Whether it’s a lunch and learn, or a shared shelf of books and resources, people need to know it’s there to utilise it. 

4 top tips for improving knowledge sharing in your organisation

1. Implement a mentoring program

Implementing a mentoring program is a great way to exchange information between mentor and mentee. And best of all there are different types of mentoring from group mentoring to peer-to-peer, so you can choose the right type for your people. 

Setting up an effective program takes some careful planning, but the results are impressive. To get started, you can always talk to a us and we’ll guide you through the whole process. 

2. Consider peer learning

If you’re a fan of teaming your staff up, peer learning is the act of pairing team members with similar experience with one another so that they can help each other learn.

This means that they can bond over common ground and may have some unique tips to impart on one another. What works in peer learning, is that the relationship is equal – this creates a safe space for learning. The best part is, your people may already be doing this so formalising a peer learning program will be building on learning that’s already taking place.  

3. Set up a lunch and learn program

Lunch and learns or programs of events are a great way to encourage knowledge sharing. Whether run in teams or across the business, the idea is that your people will run a session on their area of expertise.

They’re a great way for people to learn something new without having to go out of their way to do it. Plus the presenter practices their skills teaching, speaking publicly and clarifies their own knowledge at the same time.

4. Create a ‘shared shelf’ 

Teams that learn together, grow together. Starting a team library of books and resources that your people have found useful is a great way to encourage knowledge sharing.

You can also start Slack channels or groups for people to recommend resources, training courses or other materials. What’s key here is that senior leaders role model using this resource, and remind people that there are free learning materials at their finger-tips.

The verdict

Knowledge sharing is an essential way to upskill your people. It works for both the learner and the teacher to practice new skills and solidify their knowledge.

Over time, you will increase staff retention, office morale and equip your team with actionable advice that they can use in their everyday working lives. It really is a win-win way to develop your people. 

Knowledge sharing is a pragmatic, streamlined way to take the expertise that is already in your organisation and make the most of it. By implementing formal channels for knowledge sharing, you will build a strong rapport in your company, and help people to learn and grow, together. 

If you’re looking for help setting up a mentorship program, consider talking to our expert team!

We know that great mentors will help people learn skills and contribute towards building a team that works together for the greater good of your company. 

In order to get the best out of your mentoring program, we recommend incorporating mentor training before and during. This will help you to empower your mentors with the skills they need to excel.

In this post, we’ll explore the importance of training for mentors and reveal how you can plan and execute an effective mentor training program, today!

What is a mentor training program?

Did you know that 84% of Fortune 500 companies have mentoring initiatives? This article by Forbes shows how important mentors are for the world’s most successful businesses. 

In its simplest form, a mentor training program helps mentors gain the skills and knowledge they need to support mentees effectively. During training, mentors will learn the skills they need and build confidence in their abilities.

Mentor training programs can be customised depending on the experience level of participants. For example, new mentors will learn about the principles of supporting others, while programs for experts will cover more advanced techniques. 

Any training program aims to ensure participants emerge with a clear purpose and are ready to foster positive relationships with their mentees. 

And this is good news for your organisation. Effective mentors are a proven way to improve employee retention rates, as employees want to know they have opportunities to progress within a company. According to HCA Mag, studies also show that companies with a mentoring scheme can expect their retention and employee engagement rates to increase by up to 50%. 

Do mentors really need training?

So, do mentors really need training? Surely if someone has a positive mindset and can’t wait to set the world alight with their immense skills and knowledge, that’s all that matters—right?

Erm, no. Mentors benefit from training because it helps them understand the needs of each mentee, build confidence in their ability and helps maintain healthy boundaries in the relationship. 

Mentors need the following traits/skills: 

• Understanding 
• Empathy 
• Great listening skills 
• A willingness to support people 
• Proactive mindset 

A person may have these traits, but that doesn’t mean they know how to offer practical guidance to people. This is where mentor training comes in. 

Here’s what should happen by the end of a mentor training program: 

• Effective communication: Training teaches essential techniques for effective communication, including active listening. 
• Flexibility: A mentor should also know how to tailor support and guidance for each mentee’s unique needs. 
• Relationship building: Professional relationships have firm boundaries, and training allows mentors to understand how to maintain them. 
• Self-awareness: Mentors are only human, and a good training program allows participants to reflect and learn from past experiences. 

Mentor training is an essential way to equip your mentors with the right skills and information. It’s also a great way to bring mentors together to swap tips and advice.

What topics should your mentor training include?

Before planning the training, it’s important to understand what you need to achieve. Unfortunately, many mentoring programs fail because businesses don’t consider the participants’ needs and how the type of training will impact the outcome. 

For example, a live workshop where everyone can get actively involved might be best if you’re teaching beginners. However, experienced mentors might benefit from online training or self-guided courses.

Once you know your goals, you can incorporate the seven most important topics into your mentor training program: 

1. Program objectives 

Defining the program’s objectives ensures participants know what you’ll cover and keeps them on track during the learning journey. 

2. The benefits of mentoring 

Mentoring isn’t the easiest of tasks, but it can be highly rewarding. Everyone should know the benefits of supporting others so they can decide whether it’s right for them. This of course includes how mentoring benefits mentors too!

3. Defining the role of mentors and mentees 

Getting caught up in supporting another person can be easy, but mentoring depends on both parties knowing their responsibilities and roles. 

A professional relationship could become too personal if you don’t understand your boundaries, impacting mentoring quality. 

4. Building rapport with mentees 

A good rapport is central to any relationship, allowing both parties to speak freely and discuss any issues they might encounter. 

Establishing a good relationship will also enable the mentor to deal with conflict and understand the potential issues that might arise during the training. 

5. Reflecting on experiences 

Positive feedback is always vital with mentoring, and mentees will respond well to constructive insights. However, mentors should also be able to reflect on the training they deliver and look at the things they could have done differently. 

How do you structure a mentor training program?

Mentor training programs are a great opportunity to develop a strong foundation for the mentor-mentee relationship.

However, creating a comprehensive program incorporating all the necessary topics takes time and energy. 

A solid structure ensures you can deliver a program that covers all bases and offers an interactive learning experience. 

1. Define goals and outline the curriculum 

The program should start by outlining the goals of the program and establishing what the learner can expect to achieve. 

It’s also good to outline the curriculum and break it into topics and activities to establish a goal-based mindset. 

Nobody wants to dive into a course with endless information, but effective planning will give participants a clear idea of their learning journey and possible outcomes. 

2. Give participants a chance to ask any questions before and after the course 

If you’re running a live workshop or any form of online training, allowing participants to ask questions beforehand can help them understand the learning journey. 

Also, addressing questions after the training gives people a chance to clarify the curriculum and leaves them feeling like they’ve accomplished something. 

3. Decide on the number and length of sessions

Whether delivered online, in person, or a hybrid. Mentor training should be informative but digestible. We recommend a structure that includes a kick-off event, outlining the role of the mentor and it’s boundaries, and then a training session during the program.

This way mentors have the opportunity to ask questions that arise in session. However, the frequency and length of sessions will depend on your needs. One long session at the start of the session or several shorter sessions throughout may work better for you.

4. Provide materials to take away

Here at Guider, we have an integrated Learning Hub that contains everything you need to know to make the most out of mentoring as well as mentor and mentee training.

Whether you are using mentoring software such as Guider, or not, it’s important to provide mentors with training materials to refer back to and additional support outside of the training session.

Final thoughts 

Mentors are integral to any company, and their impact on mentees can result in higher profits, better retention rates and ongoing growth in the future. Investing time and money into training your mentors enables them to develop skills that will set your company apart. 

Developing a curriculum that covers relevant topics and ensures mentors know how to create strong relationships with mentees is the first step – but remember that ongoing training is also integral to a successful program. 

If you can provide lasting support to your mentors and give employees more opportunities to progress within the company, you’ll find each team member is more loyal, and you can attract top talent. It all starts with your first mentoring program. So, what are you waiting for? 

Want an all-in-one mentoring solution that includes mentor training? Talk to Guider. 

Mentoring is a highly valuable practice for both mentor and mentee. That’s a fact.

Mentorship is an opportunity to hear from someone who has already travelled the same path as you, receive guidance in tackling challenges, and gain constructive feedback on areas of improvement. Not only that, but it is also an opportunity for both mentor and mentee to broaden their perspectives, develop new skills and explore ideas.

More importantly, mentorship allows the mentee to have a safe and confidential place to talk about their objectives without judgement or criticism. All in all, it’s an investment in personal growth and professional development that will bear significant returns over time.

But it’s not just about career progression. Mentoring has lasting benefits for employee wellbeing too, which in turn boosts employee engagement and productivity.

How access to mentoring improves employee wellbeing

Let’s delve into each of the ways that mentorship can boost your employee wellbeing in more detail: 

1. Be a reliable source of guidance and wisdom

Employee mentorship programs provide an opportunity to speak to someone with an unbiased perspective on any situation you may face. This allows you to look at issues from multiple perspectives and receive honest feedback.

With their extensive experience, mentors can offer credible and trustworthy advice to help you better yourself. The level of expertise they’ve built through the years enables you to make the most of potential opportunities while helping you create a plan of action to achieve your goals. This provides the safety and reassurance of knowing that you have someone on your team to guide you, reducing stress and improving resilience. 

📖 Find out more about building trust in mentorship here 📖

2. Give access to resources for furthering growth and career opportunities

A well-connected mentor can give you access to exclusive events, networks, and industry knowledge, which you wouldn’t otherwise be able to obtain. Moreover, mentoring can provide a strong foundation for your long-term professional development by giving you the necessary tools and advice for your ambitions.

This improves well-being by validating mentees skills and competencies through opportunity. Mentee’s confidence will increase as they learn and grow. It’s also a great way to remove systemic barriers and create a more equitable working environment – which has a positive impact on performance for you and your company. 

3. Increase motivation and accountability

Having periodic check-ins with your mentor adds another layer of accountability to reaching your goals. This serves as strong motivation when making changes or overcoming obstacles related to any area of your life. If you’re feeling stuck in a rut professionally or emotionally, talking things through with someone who can provide clear insight can prove incredibly beneficial in moving beyond roadblocks. A mentor’s guidance helps us persist and remain inspired to achieve our goals. 

📖 Mentoring is also an impactful way to support people returning to work, find out more in our guide to returnships 📖

4. Provide emotional validation during tough times

Mentors may also provide support during difficult times and transitions at work. They can equip you with suitable coping strategies or provide emotional validation to triumph over life’s challenges. By securing the space and opportunity for you to reflect and process events or experiences with greater clarity, mentorship can bolster self-awareness and facilitate acceptance. All of these can ultimately enhance your overall emotional health.

📖 Find out more about how mentoring improves mental health in our guide 📖

5. Help you build confidence

By teaching the skill of active listening, mentors can help you understand yourself on a deeper level and help you improve your communication skills. With their valuable advice, mentors can offer support without judgment, empowering individuals to reach their full potential without fear of failure or criticism. This is known as psychological safety, an essential in mentoring. 

Their trustworthiness can give you the courage to take risks safely. Slowly but surely, your confidence in your abilities will increase as you overcome more and more obstacles to your personal growth.

📖 Find out more about the top mentoring skills needed in our guide 📖

6. Encourage you to practice self-care

A mentor can remind you that taking care of your well-being is paramount for employee mental health. A mentor can help you manage stress, stay emotionally healthy, and become more in tune with your goals and needs. Likewise, they can advise you on setting boundaries at work that reduce stress and protect wellbeing. 

A mentor can help you develop self-care practices such as:

• Taking time for yourself every day
• Learning to say “no” when needed
• Developing healthy habits, such as learning new skills or celebrating achievements
• Creating a distraction-free environment to focus on tasks
• Prioritising important projects and managing workload 

7. Enable you to set realistic goals

Mentoring also empowers us to set achievable objectives tailored to our individual needs. They can provide a structure you can use to assess your strengths and weaknesses accurately. Through honest conversations, a mentor will help you identify any potential obstacles or challenges ahead and develop strategies for overcoming them.

More importantly, they will help us realise that it takes time to achieve a goal, that it’s the consistent and small steps that will eventually get you there. The rewards of reaching our goals are huge and can be highly beneficial to our wellbeing. 

8. Help you safely explore different paths in life

Mentoring provides expert guidance to think outside our comfort zone and become aware of different opportunities we may not have considered before. It offers an opportunity for safe exploration by allowing us to try out activities that can aid career development or personal growth with robust support from an experienced source. In addition, a mentor can introduce new techniques to learn from mistakes rather than avoiding them. This encourages strategic risk-taking where necessary, leading us down a path toward success.

There we have it, the top ways that mentoring can boost your employee wellbeing. To maximise the impact of mentoring on your wellbeing, you need to identify what attributes make an individual the right fit for a mentor. Finding someone that resonates with your own values is key. Common qualities to look out for in a mentor are wisdom, integrity, availability, curiosity, authenticity, and sincerity. When paired with understanding and active listening skills, this person has the potential to become an invaluable resource for personal growth within the realm of mental health and wellness.

Want to learn more? If you’re looking to start a mentoring program to improve your employee wellbeing, talk to Guider. 

To support your mentoring program’s success, it’s important to have the right tools. That’s why we’re here to recommend the top 5 apps that you need to support mentoring and dig into why mentoring software is the best tool of all for effective mentoring!

Considering that 79% of millennials consider mentoring to be a crucial step on their journey to career success, it’s more imperative than ever that you use mentoring apps and software to keep everything running smoothly.

In this article, we take you through some of the best mentoring apps and software, so that you can be more informed when you pick your tools. Let’s dive in!

What is a mentoring app?

A mentoring app is a virtual platform used to handle all aspects of mentorship. This includes scheduling meetings, session plans, and of course, keeping all of the information relevant to each mentoring client in one concise space. When looking for a mentoring app, all-in-one is what you are looking for.

Its function doesn’t stop there. Mentoring apps allow program leads to stay on top of their mentoring program. This way, they can easily check in on who’s meeting who, how it’s going, and keep track of all of the feedback.

Some mentoring platforms will have a mobile app, while others will have a platform accessible through your browser on desktop and mobile. Either way, a mentoring app can transform your program.

Mentoring apps can also include other tools that facilitate mentoring such as calendars or virtual meeting tools. In this article, we include advice on both so that you can find the tools you need to support mentoring in your organisation.

📖 Find out more about how mentoring software works in our guide 📖

How can apps benefit my mentoring program?

Without mentoring apps, we are ultimately restricted in our methods for delivering mentoring programs, as program leads have to use spreadsheets and manual notes to make matches and track success. This is time and admin intensive.

And that’s time that could be spent pursuing more productive activities for HR and L&D teams. By using a mentoring app or software, you can ease that admin burden and still maximise mentoring in your organisation.  

📖 Find out more about why mentoring programs fail and how to prevent it in our guide 📖

As an employee, using a mentoring app or software will keep all aspects of your mentoring relationship in one place. And as a program lead, mentoring apps help companies to keep track of employee-mentor relationships at scale.

Here are some more benefits of using mentoring apps or software:

• Smart matching that connects the right people to the right mentors
• Set and track mentoring goals to stay motivated as a mentor/mentee
• Find resources and learning materials to support the mentoring journey
• Built in messaging, video conferencing and goal setting to keep mentoring all in one place
• Plug-and-play integrations that make the platform fit seamlessly into your existing tech
• Detailed data reporting that allows program leads to iterate and report on ROI with ease

If you’re not ready to use mentoring software, then there are a range of additional apps that you can make available to your people to make mentoring run more smoothly. Easy access to mentoring apps can support sign-up and engagement with mentoring. Find out more below.

📖 Find out more about the benefits of mentoring software in our guide 📖

Top 5 mentoring apps you need

1. Slack

Slack has been going from strength to strength since its inception. It now has over 20 billion (woah!) users and is predicted to have billions more in 2024.

It can be used to support mentoring by providing an easy chat function and the ability to start channels (aka groups) where your program participants can all interact.

It’s a great tool for remote and hybrid teams and allows you to communicate with your mentors and mentees with ease. 

2. Zoom

The cloud-based Zoom is a universally known video chat platform. It’s simple to use and share meeting links, making it a good app to have on hand for mentoring. 

Given how widely it’s used in the workplace already, it’s a great video chat app to support remote mentoring meet-ups as well as mentoring events or training sessions. 

📖 Find out how virtual mentoring supports remote teams here 📖

3. Notion

Notion gives its users the option for Team, School or Personal formats and has an extensive note-taking format that makes maintenance as convenient as it gets. Not only this but it has many great reviews from satisfied customers.

It’s important in mentoring that both parties take and share notes. An app like Notion can be a helpful way to share agendas, goals and action points that keeps both parties accountable.

4. Google Calendar

The Google Calendar is accessible, familiar, and integrated very well with most platforms (including Guider!). It can be used for scheduling and timing, and is also transferable. It also has a tonne of great features such as an address book, reminders, and alerts.

To make sure your mentors and mentees are getting their next meeting scheduled with ease and arriving on time, a calendar app is a fantastic tool.

5. Guider

As great as the above platforms are, none of them are designed specifically for mentoring. Guider is.

To that end, Guider is chock full of features akin to that of Google Calendar, Notion, and Zoom. In fact, it contains meeting scheduling (that integrates with calendars such as Google), video conferencing, messaging and goal-tracking. This means participants can stay in one place, boosting engagement with mentoring. 

On top of this, with full customisation, you can create a platform that fits into your company’s look and feel – helping to fully embed mentoring in your culture. It also integrates with your HRIS, making reporting on ROI easier and more detailed than ever. 

In short, Guider is an all-in-one mentoring platform that allows you to craft your mentoring program to you and your mentee’s specifications and preferences. While we don’t yet have an ‘app’, our platform works on mobile and desktop with ease, making it the perfect tool for opening up mentoring in your organisation. 

📖 Find out more about how Guider’s mentoring platform works here 📖

The wrap up

Overall, mentoring apps are a great way streamline and optimise your mentoring programs. They bring so many benefits to your program participants, as well as your ability to track and maintain your mentoring success.

Whether you choose to support mentoring through a range of standard off the shelf apps or go for an all-in-one solution, like Guider, there are plenty of mentoring apps on the market that can help set you up for success.

Ready to find out about mentoring software? Talk to our expert team today, free of charge.

We get it. Sometimes finding the right software tool for your business can feel overwhelming. With so many mentoring platforms on the market, how do you know which one is right for you? 

That’s where we come in! In this article, we run through the pros and cons of the top mentoring platforms out there to help you find the one you need. Starting with Mentorloop, we’re here to give you the lowdown on this platform and its best alternatives. 

We’ve scoured through the reviews so you don’t have to!

Let’s dig in with our top 5 alternatives to Mentorloop: 

Tell me more about Mentorloop 

Mentorloop is an Australian mentoring company founded in 2016. It aims to connect people by creating an accessible mentoring platform that allows users to benefit from the power of human connection for learning and growth. 

They’re big on smart reporting and their software uses data to measure the program and optimise as you go. They also use contextual nudges throughout their programs to encourage engagement. Overall, they provide software that takes care of the process from start to finish and covers all the bases. 

If you’re considering Mentorloop, let’s look at the pros and cons of this software in more detail: 

Pros 

Head to Mentorloop’s website and you’ll see that they offer a pretty standard mentoring software package. From set-up to reporting they take care of the whole program, which is very much what mentoring software should do. 

The main pros of Mentorloop include: 

• An equitable matching algorithm
• Commitment to creating personal advisory boards for mentees 
• Sentiment live dashboard for program leads
• Milestones journey mapping throughout the user journey 
• Data insights including a ‘program health’ function

All of this creates a solid offering for a mentoring platform that does what it sets out to do – make mentor-mentee matches. 

Cons

So, what are the downsides of using Mentorloop? After searching through reviews on G2 and Capterra we’ve identified the top cons that customers have identified so that you can make an informed decision. 

Overall, the main cons seem to be issues with mobile responsiveness and the general feel of the platform, with one user describing it as like a dating site. Given the nature of mentor matching, dating app comparisons are inevitable. However, with good UX design a platform can avoid feeling too much like a dating app. 

Other cons identified were issues with calendar capabilities and the notification function. This indicates that the platform itself might not live up to the expectations of users. Interestingly, one reviewer noted that the data analysis was too complicated for them – meaning that more data isn’t always what program leads wish for if it’s not shown in a digestible format. 

Mentorloop’s offering is clearly robust – its features cover what you need from a mentoring platform and more. However, there are downsides to consider, so it’s worth checking out other products on the market to find the one that’s right for you. 

What reviewers are saying on G2: 

What are the top 5 Mentorloop alternatives? 

1. Guider

Guider is a multi-award-winning mentoring and peer learning platform. Founded in 2018, we’ve grown to provide mentoring for users in 175+ countries. We’re experts in setting up and running mentoring programs that connect people from wherever they are in the world. 

The Guider platform takes care of your mentoring and peer learning programs all-in-one place. This means you can start and run multiple programs at once targeting the exact people you want to help, while you get on with other tasks. We have a wealth of resources on hand as well as a team of dedicated customer success managers that support you every step of the way. 

Let’s dig into the pros and cons of choosing Guider mentoring software further: 

Pros 

We are obviously going to sing the praises of our own product, and we really do mean it! A big pro of choosing Guider is the quality of our user experience. We’ve invested heavily in our platform to make it the best on the market. 

We guide you seamlessly through the entire process from setting up your program to reporting back your success. We have our customer success team on hand and a wealth of expertise to help you design the right program, engage the right people and get the right results. 

As a user, a major pro for Guider is that users can join multiple programs at once, find new mentors, sponsors and coaches, and manage their relationships all in one place. Our equitable matching software creates connections that last because it’s embedded with our mentoring expertise. 

On top of this, the expert Learning Hub is full of the resources you need to make the most out of the experience. It was created by our in-house, accredited experts and includes training for mentors and mentees so they can get the most out of the experience. 

Between smart integrations and fully customisable branding, Guider powers software that blends effortlessly into your existing tech. This makes it easy to use and efficient, as well as encouraging better engagement with mentoring and peer learning. 

Another major pro of the Guider platform is that it’s as effective for remote mentoring as it is for in-person. Connect your people globally in one place through our smart software. People can connect for learning and growth by finding a great match and scheduling a video session without leaving the platform. 

Finally, our comprehensive reporting function means that you can monitor and improve your program as you go. Tracking the user journey means that you can prevent drop-out and see your best engagement with mentoring yet.

With a wide range of top brands already championing Guider, our platform is growing fast and for good reason. We make matches that are set up to last and get results. This is why we focus on creating the best platform we can to facilitate meaningful connections in your organisation today. 

📖 Find out more about how Guider works here 📖

Cons 

One to highlight is that, unlike some competitors, we don’t provide mentors or coaches as part of our service.  

This is because we believe your best mentors are the people already in your business or network. It’s important that the people in your organisation engage with mentoring and share their knowledge and expertise. This then creates a lifelong culture of mentorship and peer learning, meaning your people can reap the rewards for years to come. 

We cater to organisations that want to match their people with people in their own businesses or membership networks. So, if you’re looking for a service that provides mentors too, then we’re not the one for you. 

What the reviews on Capterra say: 

2. PushFar

Founded in 2018, PushFar advertises itself as the ‘free mentoring platform’. Its key USP is the PushFar Network; a free-to-join mentoring network that gives individuals access to mentors. Clients paying for the platform also have access to external mentors through the network too. 

Let’s look at an overview of the pros and cons of this platform: 

Pros 

The thing that sets PushFar apart is its free network offering. Being able to find a mentor through the network at no cost is a plus that other platforms don’t offer.

Other pros include: 

• Set up within 24 hours
• Reports for program managers
• iOS and Android app
• Full custom branding 
• Integrations with some LMS platforms

The platform provides a solid offering of the basics that you’d expect from mentoring software. 

Cons 

For all the pros of PushFar, it’s clear that you get what you pay for. A big part of the offering is the free entry point and so it’s fair to say that the platform itself isn’t going to be the best on the market. 

A common con identified is that it’s a start-up platform and the UX can be clunky. Given that they offer 24-hour set-up, it’s clear that the platform itself is simple and prioritises quick access to mentors over creating a quality user experience. 

3. MentorCliq

Founded in 2012 and based in the United States, MentorCliq is another mentoring platform that provides the whole package from support setting up a program to reporting back. 

Let’s look at the pros and cons of MentorCliq: 

Pros 

The platform offers everything you’d expect and a few nice extras. For example, they provide mentor training and a mentoring success plan. These nice bonus features add to the customer experience. 

Other pros include: 

• Platform and mobile app 
• A-Z training 
• Not a ‘canned’ product, MentorCliq customise its product for each client 

It also has good integrations and strong security. These are important if you’re looking for fast set-up and ease of use. 

Cons

On the other hand, there are downsides to choosing MentorCliq’s software. Reviewers identified issues such as manual admin for program leads in the set-up process and some issues with reporting. 

Similar to other platforms, the reporting features could be more user-friendly and are not as accessible to program leads as needed. The reporting features could also be better integrated and more inclusive.  

Another reviewer also notes that translations are not a part of the MentorCliq package, so if this is an important feature for you, it’s worth speaking with different providers to see who can offer the best and most comprehensive translation services. 

What the Capterra reviews say: 

4. Qooper

Next up is Qooper, a mentoring and learning software that covers mentorship, coaching and training based in the US. 

Their platform offers a popular solution, covering program design to reporting and engaging participants. Like other mentoring platforms on the list, it covers the whole process of mentoring and learning. 

Pros 

With some major clients under its belt, Qooper is clear that it does more than just mentoring. They have 4 learning methods in one platform, this includes mentoring, which seems to be its main offering. 

The main pro identified by reviewers has to be the ease of use. Many people noted that it was easy to use the product for both end users and program leads. One person noted that it has ‘everything you need, no more and no less.’ 

Cons

Reviewers have identified the quality of customer support as lacking, as well as struggles with onboarding as the two main pain points of using this software.

When we look at the onboarding issues more closely, there are lots of training materials and learning when onboarding new users. This indicates that the platform is not as user-friendly as some of its counterparts, meaning you may struggle to scale mentoring effectively. 

What the G2 reviews are saying: 

5. Together Platform  

And finally, our last alternative to Mentorloop is the Together Platform. This cloud-based platform helps enterprises to run mentoring programs in their entirety online. It has a smart algorithm that matched mentors and mentees and can be used across employees, from new starters to diversity groups. 

Pros 

Like its competitors, the platform covers all the basics in the process of setting up a successful mentoring program from design to reporting. 

Other pros include: 

• Off the shelf templates for quick start
• HRIS integrations
• Access to resources 
• Provides prompts to guide the user journey

It also has a free starter offer that allows users to get into the platform.

Cons

Finally, the cons to the Together Platform are varied. With some users noting that integrations could be used better and others saying they found the UX difficult to navigate. 

In some reviews, users found that the admin side of the platform was not as intuitive as hoped and took a while to learn how to navigate. Including one user finding that it didn’t work for admins other than themselves. 

It was also found that the user prompts that encourage engagement can limit the way that users interact with the platform and actually not provide enough freedom for users to connect in the way that they want. 

What the Capterra reviews are saying: 

There we have it! The top 5 Mentorloop alternatives on the market. So, how do you know which is right for you? We can’t tell you that without understanding your needs so why not book a chat with our team – we’re happy to help.

To find out more about starting or scaling a mentoring program, we have plenty of further resources help you: 

What is Mentoring Software? 

The Cost of Not Doing Mentoring

How Mentoring Software Works

How to Start a Mentoring Program

How to Scale a Mentoring Program

The Best Way to Structure a Mentoring Program

How to Match Mentors and Mentees

How to Measure the Success of a Mentoring Program

Virtual Mentoring: How to make it work

The Different Types of Mentoring