How DAMA Uses Mentorloop to Scale Mentoring and Build Australia’s Data Community
with Jenny Oliver,
Mentoring Program Manager,
DAMA
Mentorloop Impact Award Winner 2024 & 2025
Since adopting Mentorloop, DAMA Australia has transformed its mentoring program from manual spreadsheets to a scalable, thriving community of data professionals. With over 100 one-to-one matches and dozens of group loops, members now enjoy seamless connections, stronger engagement, and valuable career development opportunities. The program not only boosts mentee confidence and mentor leadership skills but also builds a collaborative culture across the Australian data profession, with demand so high that there’s already a waitlist for next year.
The Data Management Association (DAMA) Australia exists to build capability, community, and leadership in the data profession. Through certifications, events, and mentoring, DAMA helps data professionals at every stage of their careers to connect, learn, and grow.
From Spreadsheets to a Scalable Program
Before Mentorloop, DAMA’s mentoring program was ad hoc and difficult to manage. Matching mentors and mentees meant endless spreadsheets, long email chains, and inconsistent engagement. Progress was hard to track, and reporting was almost impossible—making it difficult to demonstrate the value of mentoring to members and sponsors.
"Before Mentorloop, our mentoring was ad hoc and inconsistent. It was hard to scale and hard to keep people engaged"
The team knew they needed a more professional, scalable way to deliver mentoring that reflected the standards of the data community they represent.
Transformation with Mentorloop
Since adopting Mentorloop, the program has seen transformational growth.
- 100+ one-to-one loops matched.
- Dozens of group loops on important topics like data governance.
- Over 50% of participants now take part as both mentor and mentee.
- Mentoring Quality Score of 4.7, well above the global benchmark.
Importantly, DAMA has been able to scale while maintaining quality. Automated onboarding, customisable profiles, and in-platform analytics have freed up the admin team’s time—so they can focus on people, not processes.
“Mentorloop has really freed up our time to focus on our people, not our processes.”
Real Stories, Real Impact
The true impact of the program is best seen in the stories coming out of it. Mentors and mentees are forming lasting professional connections, tackling skills gaps, and supporting each other through challenges.
One turning point came when DAMA introduced group loops. Instead of relying solely on one-to-one relationships, mentors could run sessions with multiple mentees at once, sparking lively conversations and continued collaboration well beyond the sessions themselves.
The result? A culture of knowledge sharing and leadership that strengthens the data community across Australia.
What’s Next
With momentum building, DAMA is already planning to expand. A waitlist is already in place for the next program, and the organisation has its sights set on growing across New Zealand and beyond, creating a global community of data leaders.
“Mentoring isn’t just about pairing people up. It’s about creating a space where knowledge flows freely, mentors and mentees feel equally valued, and everyone learns something new.”
Jenny Oliver
Mentoring Program Manager, DAMA
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"Mentorloop has transformed our program—freeing us from spreadsheets and admin so we can focus on people. The result is a thriving community where mentors and mentees share knowledge, build confidence, and grow together."
– Jenny Oliver, Mentoring Program Manager, DAMA
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