Proposal: Updates to the Mentor Program

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@devinmaeztri and I have been working on ways to make our current mentorMentor Someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. program more flexible and inclusive, and here is our proposal.

The goal is to define the information around existing and new roles so contributors know what to expect when signing up. Then, to have a balanced set of tasks that get the necessary work done without making it overwhelming.

Updated Expectations, Requirements, Etc. for Our Contributor Roles

The information in the blue boxes below applies to all mentorsMentor Someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues..

Basic Information for Mentors

Mentor Roles

To better support the community, we are proposing that we add three new roles to our Mentor program. Two would operate similarly to our WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Mentors: MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. Mentors and do_actiondo_action do_action hackathons are community-organised events that are focussed on using WordPress to give deserving charitable organisations their own online presence. Learn more on doaction.org. Mentors

The third addition would be Mentor Advocates, or Community Guides. This third role would oversee the mentor program as well as take on event mentorship responsibilities if they choose. If Community DeputiesDeputy Community Deputies are a team of people all over the world who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and generally keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about deputies in our Community Deputy Handbook. are moved into this role as Community Guides, then we would also be able to consider dividing up tasks like vetting.

Combining our DeputiesDeputy Community Deputies are a team of people all over the world who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and generally keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about deputies in our Community Deputy Handbook., Super DeputiesSuper deputy Super Deputies are Deputies who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule., and Mentors into one program with a single-application Contributor Ladder is being discussed in this post. You are welcome to leave your thoughts. And note, regardless of what’s decided, our suggested updates can flex to fit either contributor option.

Mentor Tasks

Similarly to above, all mentors will perform the common tasks in this blue box:

• Answer questions from meetup organizers when you can. If you don’t know the answer, follow the Help Path
  • Offer advice on procedure
  • Share knowledge based on past experience organizing
• Keep up-to-date on what’s happening in the Community Team
  • Learn about new tools, developments, and decisions made by the Community Team
  • Participate in the monthly Community Team meetings
  • On the third Thursday, attend the monthly asynchronous Slack check ins

Additionally, each role will also have a unique set of tasks, which are listed below. Currently the resource are available for all of the proposed tasks. Many of the future tasks would be simple to add if deputies are moved into the mentor oversight role.

Meetup Mentors	Proposed tasks: – Check in with your list of meetup organizers at least 1x/year to determine the meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. status (possibly at least once over video) – Update the Meetup spreadsheet with the status of your meetups – Assist in finding new meetup organizers as needed Possibly future tasks: – Do an initial vetting of Meetup applications using a new list/process (without access to HelpScout or the tracker) – Process Venue Support requests (if it can be done outside of the tracker, possibly a first round)
do_action Mentors	Proposed tasks: – Check in with your list of meetup organizers at least 1x/year to determine the meetups status (possibly at least once over video) – Update the Meetup spreadsheet with the status of your meetups – Assist in finding new meetup organizers as needed Possibly future tasks: – Do an initial vetting of do_action applications using a new list/process (without access to HelpScout or the tracker)
WordCamp Mentors	Proposed tasks: – Check in with your WordCamp organizers at least 1x/month – Report about your WordCamp’s progress both as part of the monthly Community Team meeting and on the monthly Make/Community Post Possibly future tasks: – Help check venue agreement including the terms and conditions before signed by WordCamp CentralWordCamp Central Website for all WordCamp activities globally. https://central.wordcamp.org includes a list of upcoming and past camp with links to each. – Do an initial vetting of WordCamp applications using a new list/process
Mentor Advocates or Community Guides	Additional requirements: – Successfully held two of the individual mentor roles – Consistently worked toward the good of the community – Participates regularly in Community Team discussions and decision making – Completed ALL organizer-related courses and finished the tests Proposed tasks: – Answer the questions of other mentors when you can. If you don’t know the answer, follow the Help Path. Support other mentors as they vet applications Report about your WordCamp’s progress both as part of the monthly Community Team meeting and on the monthly Make/Community Post Possibly future tasks: – Assign tasks for vetting – Vet meetup, do_action, and WordCamp applications as they come in – Process Venue Support requests (if it can be done outside of the tracker, possibly a first round) – Vet new mentors – Onboard new mentors

Now it’s your turn.

We’d appreciate feedback on these ideas. While we hope to begin implementing many of them as soon as possible, it’s good to remember that this is an organic project that will evolve over time. Things can be tried and undone or adjusted as needed down the road.

Please leave your thoughts below by 28 March 2023.

If you’d like to learn more about Combining Roles to Create a New Contributor Ladder, follow that link. Add your feedback to that conversation, too!

#mentors, #mentorship, #mentorship-programs, #updates