DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE
Program Coordinator Capacity Test
Executive Summary
Coordinator capacity is exceeded when match week pushes past 40 hours, response SLAs slip, and reporting is deferred repeatedly. Map time spent on matching, email, scheduling, and reporting for two weeks—if matching and data wrangling exceed 50% of hours, tooling or headcount must change before the next cohort. Capacity tests prevent heroic burnout from being mistaken for sustainable ops.
Key Takeaways & Benchmarks
- Time-study two representative weeks including peak tasks
- Categorize work: strategic vs repeatable manual labor
- Calculate founders and mentors supported per coordinator FTE
- Identify top three tasks to automate or eliminate
- Define escalation trigger when weekly hours exceed threshold
Frequently Asked Questions
How many mentors per coordinator FTE?
Roughly 80–120 active mentors with modern ops software; 30–50 without.
Should coordinators own match decisions?
They should own approval and exceptions, not manual scoring of every row.
When is hiring the right answer?
When strategic work (mentor relations, leadership reporting) is crowded out by manual matching labor even after tooling.
Next Step for Your Mentor Program
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