How can focus groups evaluate the effectiveness of a mentoring program?

1 What are focus groups?

Focus groups are a qualitative research method that involves gathering feedback from a representative sample of your mentoring program participants. They can be conducted in person or online, depending on your resources and preferences. Focus groups can help you understand the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of your mentors and mentees, as well as identify the strengths and weaknesses of your program design, implementation, and outcomes.

2 Why use focus groups?

Focus groups can provide you with rich and detailed insights that other evaluation methods, such as surveys or interviews, may not capture. For example, focus groups can generate new ideas and suggestions for improving your program, explore the underlying reasons for participating, highlight the benefits and challenges from different perspectives, enable interaction and dialogue among participants to stimulate deeper reflection and learning, and validate or challenge the findings from other data sources.

3 How to plan focus groups?

Prior to conducting focus groups, it is essential to plan and prepare the necessary elements. These include objectives that align with program goals and evaluation criteria, as well as participants who are diverse and balanced in terms of mentor/mentee roles, seniority, experience, and background. Additionally, stakeholders such as managers, sponsors, or HR staff may be invited. Aim for 6 to 10 participants per group, with at least two focus groups per segment for reliability and validity. A facilitator is required to lead the discussion, ask relevant questions, and manage the group dynamics. They should be neutral, skilled, and familiar with the program. An assistant or recorder can take notes, observe, and support the facilitator. Logistics such as time, date, location, format of the focus groups should also be arranged for convenience and preferences of the participants. If online focus groups are conducted, a reliable platform and audio-visual equipment should be available. Consent forms and incentives should also be provided for their participation.

4 How to conduct focus groups?

During the focus group session, it's important to introduce yourself and the purpose of the session, explain the ground rules and expectations, and obtain their consent. To help break the ice, ask introductory questions or activities that help the participants get to know each other and feel comfortable. Ask open-ended, probing, and follow-up questions that elicit their opinions and experiences about your program. Use a semi-structured guide that covers your main objectives, while allowing some flexibility and spontaneity. Encourage participation, interaction, and diversity of views while avoiding leading, dominating, or judging the responses. Monitor the time, pace, and tone of the discussion, intervening when necessary to clarify, summarize, or redirect the conversation. Finally, thank the participants for their time and explain how their feedback will be used.

5 How to analyze focus groups?

After the focus group session, you should analyze the data and report the findings. Transcription of audio or video recordings into written text is a great place to start. You may need to use software tools or manual transcription, depending on your budget and accuracy needs, as well as translate the text if the focus group was conducted in a different language. Coding is another technique to identify and label key concepts, categories, and patterns that emerge from the focus group data. Here you may need to use software tools or manual coding, depending on your complexity and depth needs. Additionally, interpretation can explain the meaning and significance of the codes and how they relate to your objectives and program. Software tools or manual interpretation can be used here, depending on your creativity and insight needs. Lastly, reporting should present findings and recommendations from your focus group analysis in a clear, concise, and compelling way. Different formats such as text, tables, charts, or graphs can be used here depending on your audience and purpose. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to include some quotes, examples, or stories from the focus group participants to illustrate points and add credibility.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?