4. Build Your Group Matching Rules

Building Your Group Matching Rules:

The next step in building your Group program is to create Group Matching Rules.

Matching rules are very similar to adjusting your pairing algorithm in 1-on-1 programs, however, the key difference in a Group program is deciding on the maximum number of mentees a group can have at any given time.

Group Size: this rule is the only rule unique to Group programs. Here you can set the maximum amount of Mentees you would like in each group. Currently, the minimum amount of mentees in a group is 2, and the maximum is 100. The default Group Size is set to 3 mentees per group, however, you can change this to however large you would like your Groups to allow for:

Next, similar to a pairing algorithm, we have Matching Restriction Rules and Matching Recommendation Rules. 

Matching Requirement Rules are what we typically consider "hard" rules that must be met in order for a matching recommendation to be made by the algorithm. In other words, users must meet these requirement rules to be matched into a group together. If they don’t meet these requirements with other users, they will not be allowed to be matched into a group together. For example, you might want all group members to be from the same division within your company.

• These rules can enforce two different types of conditions: either a response Matches or Does not Match.
• For example, you could have a rule that states a Mentee's Response to What is your current role? Matches the Mentor's Response to What is your current role?
• This means that if the mentee and mentor's answer to "What is your current role?" is the same answer (i.e. matches each other), the algorithm can pair the users together in a group, based on this rule alone. 

To edit any of these rules, click on them. To add a new rule, click on the + Add Rule button under the respective type of rule you'd like to create.

There are two specific requirement rules that you should consider before inputting any of your custom rules. 

• Timezone differences: you might want to consider requiring that group members be within a certain amount of hours away from each other depending on their time zones. To implement this, you can click on the Timezone Difference rule, check the box, and select the number of hours of difference you want to enforce. For example, if you select 4 hours, the mentee and mentor can only pair if they have less than or equal to 4 hours of timezone difference.

• Reporting Lines (employeeID and supervisorID Data Required): Checkmark the box under this rule to enable a restriction if you do not want direct reports paired with their manager, manager's manager, or anyone who reports to the same manager. Be sure to click the Save button once you've made your selection.

Best Practices:

• Try and limit the number of Requirement Rules. The more there are, the more strict the matching opportunities for your users. Reducing the number of these rules will empower your mentees and mentors more in the matching decision process by opening up the number of potential groups for them.
• Consider whether one of your Requirement Rules could be a Recommendation Rule with a higher weight instead if the rule does not need to be strictly met for all of your groups.
• Explore using a custom weighting scale to increase the level of granularity of your recommendation rules outside of the standard 1, 3, and 5 priority scale.

Matching Recommendation Rules on the other hand are typically considered "soft" rules. These rules are not mandatory for users to be matched into a group, but they instead work to improve the strength of recommended groups to users. For example, you might want a group to have similar interests, but it is not mandatory that they do. With these rules you can give each one a different level of priority; the higher the priority, the more influence the rule has when matching users in a group. Be sure to prioritize what is most important for your program, as this will be the basis of how we present top matching recommendations. These numbers assist with tipping the scale so that there are fewer chances of a tie where 2 or more mentors share the same match percentage for a mentee. You may also create a custom weight if needed. 

Be sure to always click the blue Save button after creating or editing each of your rules. Once you have adjusted each of your Pairing Rules accordingly, be sure to click the blue Next button in the bottom right corner.

To continue building your Group program, head over to Step 5 - Setup Program Access

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