The making of a mentorship program
2020 was a challenging year for many people. To help UXers connect and support each other during the pandemic, we decided to launch the first-ever Ladies that UX Seattle virtual mentorship program.
First, I want to take the time to say “thank you” to Ramya Ramaswamy and Lexus Avila! I wouldn’t be able to manage the program without you! You are both fantastic to work with. It’s my pleasure to be part of the program with you both!
This blog documents how we used the UX process to develop a UX mentorship program for the community. :)
TIMELINE
- June 2020: We start to chat about our goals and intentions
- July 2020: We draft out the applications for mentors and mentees
- August 2020: Applications open
- September 2020: The mentorship program starts
- December 2020: The mentorship program ends
DEFINE
We identified the need for a mentorship program from the community because other programs were too competitive, required some working experience in UX, or were part of a school program that was not open to the public.
To bridge the gap, we wanted to provide a fair chance for career transitioners, new grads, and junior UXers to get into the program. By pairing them up with experienced UXers, we’d help them to get the support they need.
The number of women in senior leadership roles remains low, hovering from 19% — 21% in the past five years. (Sources: www.mckinsey.com) One of my personal passions is to help women leap into leadership roles.
Besides helping junior UXers, we also had the intention of encouraging mid-senior level UXers to build leadership skills and confidence to be prepared for future management roles by mentoring. More importantly, we wanted people to connect, have fun, and create a lasting network.
Goals:
- Match a minimum of 20 pairs.
- Make suitable matches where mentors and mentees can get what they need from the program.
- Help Mentees reach their goals, get portfolio help, and interview tips.
- Help Mentors improve leadership skills and communication skills.
RESEARCH
First, we started by doing research. A couple of us organizers previously participated in different mentorship programs. We shared our experience, the pros, and cons. We also interviewed other mentors and mentees in our network to learn more about expectations and needs.
PLANNING
We explored different methods to match mentors to mentees. Here are a few formats we considered:
- Peer circle
- Weekly open mentorship
- Mentor office hour
- One-on-one mentorship
One of our goals was to help people build a lasting relationship with other UXers. While group meetings and short-term programs can be great ways to connect UXers, one-on-one mentorships would strengthen the connection over time, so we put our focus on this format.
LENGTH OF PROGRAM
With working professionals’ busy schedules and the optimal amount of time to build a lasting mentorship relationship taken into account, we decided on the program’s length and the meeting cadence.
After evaluating qualitative feedback from potential mentors and mentees, we decided on the following:
- 12-week program
- 1-hour meeting every other week (6 sessions total)
GROUP MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM
One thing we identified as a gap from existing programs was the lack of opportunities to build a network with others enrolled in the program.
To help address this, we implemented group meetings throughout the program to provide advice to mentors/mentees, and opportunities for everyone to meet others in the cohort.
HOW TO MATCH MENTORS TO MENTEES
Here are a few possibilities that we considered:
- Speed dating format
- An open introduction meeting
- Match based on interest area
- Match based on skills
- Match based on the years of experience
Due to the difficulty of setting up such a space virtually and with limited time, we decided to assign pairs based on background, experience, and interest.
PRELAUNCH
As we started accepting applications, we understood why other programs were competitive and challenging to get into as a mentee.
90+ people signed up as mentees and about 60 people as mentors. The interest from both the mentors and mentees exceeded our expectations. However, with way more UXers signed up as a mentee, even though some mentors were open to mentoring more than one mentee, we still had to turn away about 30% of the mentees who applied.
Another challenge we had was the various backgrounds and interests between mentors and mentees; it was difficult to get everyone the perfect match. Even though we could not get every person a 10-out-of-10 ideal match, we made sure that there were at least a few things the pair have in common based on interest areas and desired skills.
THOSE WHO DIDN’T GET IN
One of our goals was to bridge the gap and provide additional options for people who need help.
Although we could not admit every mentee to the program, we still wanted to help them the best that we could. We offered a one-off group meeting to create a space for those who didn’t get in to ask questions and get some guidance.
LAUNCH
We were excited to launch the program in September 2020. We encourage mentors and mentees to focus on topics they are interested in the most. At the same time, we sent some guidelines, resources, and suggested discussion areas as conversation starters every other week.
To encourage people to connect with others, we added a private Slack channel for mentors and mentees for this cohort only for discussions relating to the program.
We implemented three group meetings at different points to help build a stronger mentor/mentee community.
- Week 2: Tips for successful mentoring — This was a mentors only meeting. We invited Ashby Fiser, who has extensive experience in the tech industry and mentorship, to provide tips and advice to our mentors. (Thank you Ashby for sharing your experience!)
- Week 6: Learn from LTUX mentors — We invited four mentors from the program to share their experiences and answer common questions from mentees. This meeting provided different perspectives for mentees in the cohort.
- Week 12: Mentees closing party — This was a mentees only meeting. We invited a few mentees to share notes and talk about their experience as a mentee in the program.
We received a lot of positive feedback on the group meetings implemented throughout. Many people expressed that they wish there were more group meetings within the cohort to connect.
CONCLUSION
Hosting the first-ever LTUX mentorship program was not an easy task. It was fun and a little stressful at times. Although the program was not perfect, we were happy that many people found it beneficial for their UX careers.
While we received quite a bit of positive feedback, we also learned that some mentor-mentee pairs didn’t work out well. To help track what worked and what needed to be improved, we conducted quantitative and qualitative research. This information will be helpful for our future mentorship cohorts. Below are some highlights.
LEARNINGS
- We were able to match 60+ pairs, 200% over our initial goal
- An average score of 4.48 (out of 5) from both mentors and mentees rating the quality of their experience
- 84% of mentors said they would recommend the program
- 90% of mentees said they would recommend the program
- Around 8% of those admitted to the program reported that the mentoring relationship didn’t work out based on a mismatch of interest
- Some mentors/mentees were MIA, and the pair didn’t go well
- Some mentors/mentees preferred to have a say on who they get matched to.
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About Ladies that UX Seattle
We are a group of enthusiastic ladies who inspire, empower and support each other in a safe and casual environment. We encourage womxn who work in or are interested in the field of User Experience to join us to form a family of ladies that UX Seattle. We are an inclusive group that welcomes everyone with a supportive and respectful mindset to join.
Check out our meetup page to see information about future events.
https://www.meetup.com/Ladies-that-UX-Seattle/
We are also on Slack, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
If you have any ideas or suggestions for our events/programs, we would love to hear from you!
Send us an email at LTUXSeattle@gmail.com.
