How to Restart a Mentoring Program

Practical guide on how to restart a mentoring program and relaunch with stronger matches, engagement, and ROI.

Your mentoring program died. Maybe it limped along for months before finally flatting out, or perhaps it never gained traction in the first place. Either way, you're sitting there wondering how to restart a mentoring program without repeating the same mistakes that killed it the first time.

Here's the truth: most mentoring programs struggle, and most organisations make the same fundamental errors when trying to resurrect them. But you don't have to be part of that pattern.

TL;DR

Most mentoring programs fail because of poor matching, lack of structure, and no measurable outcomes. Restarting one successfully means auditing what went wrong, setting clear objectives, designing a structured framework, piloting before scaling, and using the right technology to keep it on track. Brancher helps organisations relaunch dormant mentoring programs with science-based matching, built-in engagement tools, and proven ROI.

Table of Contents 

• The 8-Week Mentoring Program Restart Plan
  • Weeks 1-2: Foundation Reset
  • Weeks 3-4: Structure and Content
  • Weeks 5-6: Pilot Testing
  • Weeks 7-8: Full Launch Preparation
• The Technology Question: Why the Right Platform Changes Everything
  • How Brancher Helps Dormant Mentoring Programs
• Making Participation Compelling (Not Compulsory)
• How to Revive a Mentoring Program That's Worth Everyone's Time
• The Follow-Through Framework
• Measuring Success Beyond Feel-Good Metrics
• How to Restart a Mentoring Program? Work With Brancher!
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Your Program Failed (And Why That's Actually Good News)

Before you can restart mentorship program initiatives, you need to understand what went wrong. The most common killers aren't what you think:

• Poor matching systems: You paired people based on seniority or department proximity instead of goals and personality fit. Result? Awkward coffee meetings that fizzled out.
• Lack of structure, training and resources: "Just grab a coffee and chat" isn't mentoring - it's socialising. Without clear frameworks, both parties wander aimlessly.
• No success metrics: You couldn't measure impact, so leadership pulled funding. 
• Lack of ongoing support and engagement: Pairing people together and letting them go is not enough. People are busy - they need ongoing personalised check-ins and reminders.

The good news? An inactive mentoring program that failed gives you data. Use it.

The Forensic Audit: What Went Wrong Last Time

Start with your post-mortem. Pull the numbers:

• How many matches were made vs. how many actually met regularly?
• What percentage of participants completed the program?
• Where did people drop off most frequently?
• What feedback did you receive from both mentors and mentees?
• What did senior leadership think of your program?
• What impact did the program have on engagement, promotions, employee retention?

Don't skip this step. Your failure data is worth more than generic best practices.

The 8-Week Mentoring Program Restart Plan

Here's your roadmap to re-activate mentoring program success:

Weeks 1-2: Foundation Reset

Week 1: Conduct stakeholder interviews. Talk to five people who participated in the previous program and five who didn't. Ask what would make them participate in a new version.

Week 2: Define clear program objectives with senior leadership. Not fluffy goals like "improve employee development," but specific outcomes like "increase internal promotion rates by 15%" or "reduce graduate turnover by 20%."

Weeks 3-4: Structure and Content

Week 3: Design your mentoring framework. Create structured conversation guides, milestone checkpoints, and clear expectations for both parties.

Week 4: Build your matching criteria. Develop a proper assessment that considers career goals, personality types, and availability - not just who's senior enough to mentor.

You can also partner with us (Brancher) to be your mentoring partner. Brancher uses skills, values and more to match mentoring participants. This way, your program is more likely to succeed. 

Weeks 5-6: Pilot Testing

Week 5: Seek feedback on your communications, matching approach and training material with a selected group of people. These should include some of your most reliable employees who can provide honest feedback.

Week 6: Gather feedback and refine your approach. This is where you'll discover the practical issues that look different on paper.

Weeks 7-8: Full Launch Preparation

Week 7: Finalise your mentoring program relaunch checklist. Include training materials, communication templates, and tracking systems.

Alternatively use Brancher, for pre-built training, resources, templates, matching forms and tracking systems.

Week 8: Train your mentors and launch to your first full cohort of 25-50 pairs.

The Technology Question: Why the Right Platform Changes Everything

If you’re wondering whether you need mentoring software or not, here's the reality check: if your previous program failed because of poor matching and unclear objectives, the right mentoring platform can actually solve these core issues. 

And if you're scaling beyond 20 pairs, manual tracking becomes not just unworkable; it becomes the reason programs fail.

How Brancher Helps Dormant Mentoring Programs

When you're restarting a mentoring program, you need more than basic matching software. You need a platform designed by organisational psychologists who understand why programs fail. 

Brancher is the only mentoring platform globally that matches based on personality and values - achieving an average of 98% matching satisfaction because they tackle the root cause of failed mentoring relationships.

Here's what makes Brancher different:

• Evidence-Based Matching That Actually Works: Unlike platforms that pair people based on seniority or basic skills, Brancher's algorithm considers personality, values, communication styles, and goals. When your previous program failed because of awkward or poor matches, this matters enormously.
• Built-In Training and Engagement: Brancher includes bite-sized e-learning modules and personalised nudges that keep pairs engaged. No more relationships that fizzle out after the first coffee meeting.
• Proven ROI for Restarts: Organisations report 27X ROI and save over 82% in admin time. Brancher achieves 98% match satisfaction and one recent program had a 100% increase in mentee employee engagement. These engagement and retention rates make your restart worth the investment.
• Government and Enterprise Track Record: From Government to major corporates, Brancher has successfully relaunched mentoring programs that previous platforms couldn't sustain.

The Queensland Department of Tourism and Sport's DDG Corporate, Sarah Vandersee, puts it perfectly: "The platform is absolutely fantastic. I think the Brancher platform should be rolled out in other areas of Government. The platform has been quick and easy, and maintained program engagement."

When you're investing in a program restart, choose technology that addresses why your first attempt failed; not just basic matching and tracking.

Making Participation Compelling (Not Compulsory)

The biggest mistake organisations make is thinking they need to mandate participation. Instead, make it irresistible:

• Create FOMO: Start with a selective pilot. When people see others getting valuable development opportunities, they'll ask to join. A recent Brancher customer has grown their program by 20% each year working with Brancher, and is now onto their third year and is going national with the program, involving other sub-entities.
• Show career impact: Track and publicise internal promotion rates among program participants. Research shows that employees who are mentored are promoted 5 times more often than those who are not.
• Make it convenient: Schedule meetings during work hours and provide conversation frameworks. Remove every possible friction point.

How to Revive a Mentoring Program That's Worth Everyone's Time

Your revival strategy should focus on three non-negotiables:

• Clear value proposition: Every participant should know exactly what they'll gain and what's expected of them.
• Measurable outcomes: Track relationship quality, goal achievement, and business impact. Use pulse surveys every 6 weeks (or check-in, after every meeting - make it easy by using purpose built mentoring software).
• Executive sponsorship: Secure visible support from senior leadership. When the CEO mentions the program in company meetings, participation follows.

The Follow-Through Framework

Programs die in the follow-through phase. Here's how to avoid that:

• Monthly check-ins: Not to micromanage, but to identify and solve problems early. When a mentoring relationship isn't working, intervene within two weeks, not two months.
• Quarterly celebrations: Recognise successful partnerships publicly. This reinforces the program's value and encourages others to participate.
• Annual review and refresh: Update your approach based on what you've learned. Successful programs evolve continuously.

Measuring Success Beyond Feel-Good Metrics

Forget satisfaction surveys as your primary success metric. Track these instead:

• Retention rates: Employees who are involved in mentoring programs have a 50% higher retention rate than those not involved in mentoring
• Internal mobility: Are participants advancing their careers?
• Goal achievement: What percentage of mentees accomplish their stated objectives?
• Network expansion: Are people building stronger internal connections?

These metrics prove business impact and secure ongoing support.

How to Restart a Mentoring Program? Work With Brancher!

You now have a practical framework for how to restart a mentoring program that delivers real business value. The question isn't whether your organisation needs mentoring—it's whether you're ready to do it properly this time.

Start with that forensic audit of your previous program. Those insights will save you months of trial and error and hundreds of hours of wasted effort.

Your people are waiting for development opportunities that actually matter. Give them a mentoring program that works.

👉 Want to see how it works in practice? Book a demo with Brancher and discover how a trusted mentoring platform can transform your mentoring program.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should you wait before restarting a mentoring program?

You don’t need to wait long. Once you’ve completed a proper program audit and gathered feedback, you can begin relaunch planning immediately. Most organisations can restart within 2–3 months.

Should you bring back old mentors and mentees or start fresh?

Both can work. If previous participants gave positive feedback, re-engage them as champions. Otherwise, prioritise new participants with clear onboarding to reset expectations.

How big should the first restarted cohort be?

About 10% of your company’s total workforce is a good goal for a pilot. You want to start small but it needs to be large enough that you’re getting a representative sample size for feedback.

What role should HR play when restarting a program?

HR should act as facilitators, not micromanagers. Their role is to set clear structures, provide resources, and track outcomes — not control every meeting.

How often should mentoring program goals be reviewed?

Review goals annually at minimum. Ideally, use quarterly check-ins to confirm alignment with organisational priorities and adjust where necessary.