Diversity and Inclusion is a core value at Microsoft. We started the Microsoft Reach mentorship program 2 years ago, driven by this very core value. It was a grassroot effort, but it gained sponsorship from the leadership along the way as more mentors joined and had successful sessions.This program pairs students with mentors within the Microsoft's Design and Experience organization who can provide career advice, networking opportunities, and preparation for students as they enter the competitive job market to work at any company.Turazo has really provided a reliable technology platform and very amazing customer services to help us to be laser-focused and to follow through on our charter.

I love that Turazo allows Teams integration. When we first starting using Turazo, using Teams was not an option and we needed to use the built-in video call tool. Although the quality of the video were good, it was simply not as convenient as being able to hop on a call in Teams directly. We loved that the Turazo team really heard our feedback and acted fast to release new features to make the experience more intuitive. At the end of the day, the easier the software it is to use, the less burden there is on mentors and mentees to take precious time out of their day to learn and troubleshoot the software, and ultimately, the more likely they are going to come back. Thank you Turazo and the team!

One of the biggest pain points that our mentors have is they are unable to block their calendar for days when they will be out of the office. There are some workarounds that we can use currently. For example, mentors can let us know they will be on vacation for the next 2 weeks and on the back end, we can pause them and reactive them when they return. Because it requires manual actions, it can really be time-consuming.

Customization, Salesforce integration, ability to carefully and efficiently manage mentor interactions

Reporting data could be made more comprehensive but I believe these features are on the way. Also, in-network communications are clunky. However, with Salesforce integration neither of these potential impediments are an issue since the customer can create their own tailored communications and performance dashboards.

Good way to connect with professionals outside of your physical network.

Lots of technical difficulties - audio and video did not work properly either time.

The InstaViser team is responsive to all customer needs and is proactive in helping customers to use the software. The program is clean and attractive and overall relatively easy to use.

The functionality of the software and the customer service provided are both successfully designed to make the best use of both mentor and mentee valuable time. Access to mentors is provided in specific categories of expertise and interest and mentors are prepared in advance of sessions enabling them to offer best possible advice in short periods.

The initial set up for the mentor seems challenging to some.

InstaViser customer service worked hard to help us with a successful implementation, and listened to us as we suggested ways to make the tool more useful. Their team is high integrity, easy to work with, and helped us understand ways to optimize our use with existing features we may not have otherwise figured out.

Simple interface, very clear how to use. InstaViser does a great job of focusing on the mentor/learner relationship. Intuitive function and excellent tools to stimulate system use.

Certain features were in development when we began, but this was expected, and InstaViser's focus on customer service made all the difference.