How to launch this internally.
A mentoring programme lives or dies in its first fortnight. This is the plan other partners use: one owner, a short brief to leadership, a clear call-out to mentors, and bookings open in week two.
- Time to live
- Two weeks
- People needed
- One owner
- Meetings required
- Two
Week by week.
Nothing here needs a project plan or a steering group.
- 01
Day one: pick the owner
One person with an internal audience. They do not need to run sessions, only to send messages and answer questions.
- 02
Day two: agree the audience
Decide who this is for: everyone, one region, one department, or unsuccessful candidates. Narrow beats vague.
- 03
Day three: brief leadership
A short note to the exec sponsor and the leaders whose teams will take part. Ask for one named supporter per team.
- 04
Day five: announce it
One all-staff message explaining what it is, who it is for and what it costs the individual, which is nothing.
- 05
Week two: call for mentors
A direct ask to the people you want mentoring, not a general appeal. Name them where you can.
- 06
Week two: open bookings
Publish the link. First sessions usually happen within days of it going out.
- 07
Week six: review
Look at uptake, topics and feedback with your partnership lead and adjust the ask.
Five people worth having on side.
You do not need all of them, but each one removes a blocker.
An executive sponsor
One leader who mentions it publicly. Their name on the announcement doubles the response.
Internal communications
They know which channel people actually read, and when to send it.
People or HR
They confirm mentoring time is allowed and how it is recorded.
Team leads
One supporter per team turns an all-staff email into a personal ask.
Talent acquisition
Essential if you are running Redirect, since the offer sits in their rejection messages.
What a good launch gets you.
The difference between a strong first month and a quiet one is almost always internal communication.
More mentors signed up in the first two weeks
Sessions happening while leadership is still paying attention
A clear owner, so questions do not bounce around
Fewer duplicate approvals and less internal debate
Early data to show your sponsor at week six
A programme staff talk about rather than forget
No new system for anyone to learn
A repeatable plan for the next region or department
Rough markers for month one.
- Owner named
- Day one
- Announcement sent
- Day five
- Bookings open
- Week two
- First review
- Week six
What slows launches down.
Waiting for a perfect internal brand and landing page
Announcing to everyone before any mentor has signed up
Letting three teams each design their own version
Making mentoring time feel unofficial or unapproved
Launching the week of a reorganisation or results announcement
Leaving no name on the message for people to reply to
The things people ask first.
Do we need a formal internal policy first?
No. Most partners simply confirm that mentoring counts as working time and record it as volunteering.
Should we pilot with one team?
It works well. Pick a team with a supportive lead, run six weeks, then use their feedback in the wider announcement.
What if uptake is slow?
It is almost always the ask, not the appetite. A named message from a leader to twenty specific people outperforms an all-staff email every time.
Who answers questions from staff?
Your owner for anything internal, and your partnership lead for anything about mentors, matching or safeguarding.
Next: the messages to send.
Wording for the announcement, the mentor call-out, the reminder and the rejection line, ready to adapt.