Learn what makes a good mentorship program in 2025. Explore key phases, essential elements, and how mentoring software like Brancher supports success.
If you're running or designing a mentoring program this year, you’re probably asking: what makes a good mentorship program that actually delivers results?
It’s a valid question. Mentorship has shifted from a “nice-to-have” to a business-critical function. In fact, 98% of Fortune 500 companies now run mentoring programs, and closer to home, Australian organisations are rapidly investing in mentorship to improve retention, DEI outcomes, and leadership pipelines.
But a good mentoring program doesn’t happen by accident. It’s designed with intent, launched with care, and measured with rigour. In this guide, we’ll walk through:
What makes a good mentorship program✅ Already managing a program with 20+ pairs? It’s time to consider mentoring software. Here’s why.
A good mentorship program is structured, intentional, and aligned to clear business goals. It doesn’t rely on goodwill alone; it’s built with processes that support mentor-mentee success from day one.
Here’s what the data shows:
If you’re going to do mentoring, you need to do it well. That starts with the three core phases of success: design, engage, and evaluate.
These are the non-negotiables for a good mentorship program:
These elements are what separate ad hoc initiatives from mentorship programs that actually drive results.
Before you launch your mentoring program, you must ask yourself:
You may want to bring in an expert Mentoring Program Manager to facilitate a Design Workshop with your key stakeholders to work through the questions above and align on key mentoring principles.
Some software providers such as Brancher will facilitate a complimentary Design Workshop during the implementation process so you don’t need to do the heavy lifting.
Look for a mentoring software provider who will ask you the following questions (or similar) in the sales process. This can help you to determine if the provider truly cares about your organisation (and is looking to implement a program that will deliver real results as opposed to hitting their sales target or KPI):
Also, look for a mentoring software provider who will help to customise the platform for your needs. Many providers are 100% self-service with minimal customer support. Good mentoring providers will help you (or even do it for you). This means you can spend your time talking to internal stakeholders rather than configuring the back end of a mentoring tech platform.
Look for providers who will provide you with key design and implementation resources including:
Within the Engage Phase, there are two steps:
When you launch the program, it’s one of the most exciting steps. But it can also be quite daunting.
A mentoring program is a highly visible program - everyone can see if it’s successful or not. You need to ensure that your mentoring software provider will help you and your users through this process.
With Brancher, you get a 45-minute launch webinar, automated mentor-mentee matching, and nudges every 30 days to keep people engaged. You’ll see everything in your admin portal - who’s meeting, who’s falling behind, and what needs attention.
As the program administrator, you get access to an admin portal where you can see how the relationships are tracked including which pairs are on track or off track. You can then proactively manage relationships and ensure everyone achieves their goals, including your organisation.
Once the mentoring program is launched, many software providers will stop their ‘human touch’ customer support. Brancher does things differently. We provide ongoing program management monthly check-ins and 6 monthly reviews.
We recognise that you’re busy, and whilst you have access to an admin portal where you can track success 24/7, we still want to meet with you for 30 minutes once per month to check in, share best practices, and help you prioritise your mentoring program management. Even if you’ve never run a mentoring program before, you can run a successful program with Brancher.
Without Brancher, customers need to employ a full-time staff member to manage their mentoring program. If your mentoring program will have more than 20 pairs, it’s time to consider mentoring software.
Lastly, the mentoring software you use should allow you to easily measure your program’s success. At a minimum, the tool should allow you to:
Brancher’s evaluation tools include:
This data doesn’t just help you prove ROI. It helps you continuously improve your program and adapt to organisational needs.
Brancher provides live mentoring relationship health metrics so you can see and act on the program at any time. Through Brancher’s customisable check-in and relationship wrap-up surveys, you can take actionable steps to improve your mentorship program. This data will also allow you to prove how effective your mentoring program is in your organisation.
The larger your program, the harder it is to manage manually. Mentoring software helps you:
Learn when to switch from manual to software-based mentoring.
| Phase | Brancher’s Advantage |
|---|---|
| Design | Done-for-you design workshops, templates, and smart matching logic |
| Engage | Automated check-ins, personalised nudges, monthly expert support |
| Evaluate | Live data, pulse surveys, ROI reporting, goal tracking |
Choosing the right mentoring software is crucial to maximising your organisation’s mentoring efforts. You need to choose a platform that meets your needs and effectively implements it so you can build transformative mentoring relationships within your organisation.
Book a demo with us today. We’ve helped organisations like Women With Disabilities Australia, the Government of South Australia, and Calm launch mentoring programs that scale and sustain over time. We’d love to show you how.
The three phases are: Design, where you plan and structure the program; Engage, where you launch and manage momentum; and Evaluate, where you measure success and refine over time.
Mentoring software removes the manual workload, automates matching, tracks progress, and ensures your mentoring program delivers measurable outcomes at scale.
You should track session frequency, satisfaction, goal completion, and behavioural outcomes. The best platforms offer live dashboards and survey tools for this.