Fostering a culture of support within the UQAM community with the help of Elo

UQAM is one of Elo’s partner-builders.

Eager to support their approximately 270,000 graduates in their career path, the university launched a virtual mentoring program via the Elo mentoring platform in November 2018. Initially an initiative from the University Alumni’s office, the mentoring program was exclusively for uqamian graduates.

Over time, the objectives of the mentoring program evolved following the realization of significantly increased distress among students. According to Magda Furaso, President of UQAM, “the year 2020 has only accelerated this trend”. The UQAM Alumni Office, therefore, re-evaluated the accessibility of its mentoring program, in order to make it available for all students suffering from isolation in the pandemic current setting.

After initially offering their mentorship program exclusively to graduates, Chloe’s team was ready to take it to the next level. It was at the same time that the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit. “Obviously, the pandemic prompted us to act quickly to expand our virtual mentoring program.” It was originally intended as an initiative to reduce the level of psychological distress among students, but it has evolved into an ideal platform to facilitate the virtual re-entry of students and staff in remote settings.

At the start of the 2020 school year, the pandemic had Quebec universities migrate their teaching classes online. The usual warm and eventful back-to-school as we knew it was no longer part of the story.

When you go back to school virtually, it’s easy to lose your bearings and become isolated. “Making our mentoring program available to the UQAM community has allowed us to create a community of support and sharing for graduates, students and staff alike.”

In September 2020, the UQAM Mentoring program became available to all students, graduates and staff members of the University. A must in these turbulent times, which lead to questioning and reflection on career choices for most of the UQAM community.

Expanding the virtual mentoring program to the entire UQAM community also allowed for building bridges with international students. “Our mentoring program with Elo allows us to connect with students and alumni we might have lost touch with.”

“With the pandemic, many students have been forced to attend classes from home. Whether in France, the United States, etc….” In the context of the pandemic, Elo allows the UQAM community to be active, to help and support each other, regardless of their geographical location. “People are more engaged with the university and feel they are part of a community.

“For us, it was important to trust a Quebec-based mentoring software, but especially to trust our former graduates.” Indeed, Elo is a mentoring platform conceived and designed by UQAM graduates Catherine Légaré (Ph.D. Psychology, 2005) and Lyne Maurier (B.A.A. Tourism Management and Intervention, 1994).

The choice of Elo was also motivated by the digital aspect of the solution. With more than 38,000 students, 280,000 graduates, and 5,200 staff members, the UQAM Alumni Office needed a digital solution that would fit the scope of their online mentoring program.

A digital solution involves many features such as matching algorithms. These are essential for a mentoring program of this magnitude.

Indeed, the UQAM mentoring program powered by the Elo mentoring software is greatly appreciated by mentors and mentees. As soon as the mentoring program was expanded, the reception was excellent.

With experience, Chloe has found that mentors can sometimes be reluctant to participate in a virtual mentoring program for fear of committing to an overwhelming schedule. Fortunately, the Elo mentoring platform allows mentors to control their own schedules and choose how many mentees they want to mentor.   

“Mentors feel they have the freedom and flexibility to participate in the mentoring program. This is a huge advantage when recruiting.”

Elo mentoring software not only provides flexibility and autonomy to mentors but also allows for customization of its clients’ mentoring spaces. “With Elo, we can customize our mentoring space to our image. For us, it was a must to create a sense of community around our mentoring program. With the start of the virtual school year, the importance of building a community is felt and appreciated by both mentors and mentees.”

In collaboration with Elo’s team of experts, the UQAM Graduate Office was able to customize several aspects of their mentoring program in time for the start of the 2020 school year. Elo’s experts worked to customize their mentoring space (series of coaching emails to students, customization of mentoring goals on the Elo platform, customization of participant categories, etc.) to allow the Graduate Office to offer a mentoring space that reflects their image and meets the mentoring needs of students.

Since the expansion of the mentoring to students and staff, the program has continued to grow. A success supported by data that has skyrocketed since the start of the 2020 school year. “The fact that we have a digital solution and that it allows for the autonomy of our participants greatly increases our enrolment and engagement rate.” In fact, in just a few months, the number of registered mentors has increased by 173% and the number of registered mentees has increased by 76%. Not to mention that the number of matches has increased by 56% following the opening of the program to the entire UQAM community.

To promote the expansion of the mentoring program to students and staff, Chloé’s team put in place various promotional actions. The association with different partners at UQAM was by far one of the most strategic actions. The Alumni Office organized collaborations with different departments within UQAM and associations such as the Association des femmes en affaires de l’UQAM. These various collaborations allowed the UQAM mentoring program to gain visibility while attracting high-level mentors.

The UQAM Alumni Office now has a powerful tool in hand to foster a community of mutual support and sharing for both graduates, students and staff. Motivated, determined and enthusiastic, Chloe has been growing the program since November 2018. This expansion to the wider UQAM community is greatly appreciated in these more challenging times.

Would you like to start a virtual mentoring program? Discover Elo, the turnkey mentoring platform that makes it easy for organizations to launch and manage a mentoring program.

With over 20 years of experience in the mentoring world, our experts are here to help you every step of the way. In addition, program coordinators, mentors and mentees benefit from personalized coaching.