Mentoring at Delivery Hero: How it all began
Delivery Hero’s mentoring program will be turning 4 years old this year. In this article we reflect on how it all started, what has been built and what is next for the program.
A grassroots initiative
The program simply named ‘Mentoring at DH’ started in early 2020 as a grassroots initiative from the employee resource group, Women Heroes. The idea was all about mentoring women and underrepresented groups at Delivery Hero. This idea was one of the most upvoted projects by the newly established female community and was shown so much support.
3 volunteers from across the company put themselves forward to lead the community - looking for an opportunity to build something meaningful and connect with other like minded employees across the business. In the past, similar initiatives had faded pretty quickly, but the community's enthusiasm about the initiative continued to grow and is now even stronger, almost 4 years later.
The Vision: Empowering female Heroes in their personal and professional growth by exchanging experiences and building relationships
The pilot was launched in September 2020 with just 16 mentors and 16 mentees participating. Initially, mentees were offered a list of potential mentors and asked to pick their top 3 options based on their experience and backgrounds.
There was a varied selection of mentors from across the company, both men and women, from different seniority levels, all eager to share their expertise and support other Heroes. With the COVID-19 pandemic conquering the world outside and hyper-growth adding to the workload inside the office, some of the most senior leaders in the company were committed - finding time in their packed agendas to prepare and run sharing sessions for our mentoring community on different topics. These topics ranged from communication skills to impostor syndrome!
The feedback from the pilot exceeded all expectations, both mentors and mentees loved it and we were inspired to continue rolling it out across the company. As the project team grew and new members joined, the program developed - now with its own logo, growing Slack community, regular educational events and plenty of support materials to inform others about the details of the program.
Onboarding new technology
In March 2021, the program was launched officially across the company with 40+ mentees and 38 mentors participating. However, the growing popularity also brought along challenges - for example, it was taking the team hours to successfully match mentees and mentors manually, with a few participants dropping out in the process.
The team quickly realized that in order to scale, they had to automate matching and communication. After checking different providers, the team settled on MentrocliQ, a mentoring platform that today not only helps with the matching and communication management, but, most importantly, allows us to measure the impact and collect data.
Finding your perfect match
In order to fine-tune the algorithm and collect consistent data, the team had to establish a consistent approach to matching. Initially, mentees would simply choose 3 preferences from the pool of mentors, but with the number of participants constantly growing year on year, this process was no longer feasible.
Potential mentees were asked about their pain points and growth aspirations. Here are just some of the examples that the team took into account:
“I would like to be promoted to a senior position within the next 1-1.5 years, but I often get feedback that I lack confidence ... I know I have the knowledge, I just need to learn how to represent myself in a serious and powerful way to get promoted!”
“I want to change my career from product to data but I don’t know where to start?”
“I started my data engineering career less than 2 years ago without a background in software engineering. I have many insecurities that come from thinking that my background is not good enough to be a "real data engineer".
“I want to be more efficient, increase my visibility, think about career paths changes and stay active and present.”
Trying to create consistency, whilst simultaneously addressing unique growth challenges, the team clustered all the different topics under four main pillar with a range of sub-categories, and asked both mentors and mentees to choose up to 5 categories across all the pillars.
The process worked well and matches were made based on the categories that participants chose. Many success stories began to emerge quickly - mentees were changing or enhanced their career track, with many growing into leadership positions.
2 years later
After 2 years of running a program specifically for female Heroes and underrepresented groups, the initiative was opened up to everyone working within Delivery Hero Central in October 2022 and the new chapter began.
Receive articles like this
Tags
Find out more about Delivery Hero
We operate in around 70 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa and are also pioneering quick commerce, the next generation of e-commerce.
Read moreRoles you might be interested in
Salary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Data & Analytics
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are looking for Staff Data Scientists (all genders) to join the Ad Tech data science team in our mission to deliver consistently amazing experiences. You will be a thought leader, driving innovatio
Reference
18e60c49-5fe2-4550-9ebd-7cc274cb82fb
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Barcelona, Spain
Job Category
Software Engineering
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Barcelona
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for a motivated and eager-to-learn Junior Software Engineer to join the Global Feature Store team at GlovoThe Feature Store is a key component of Delivery Hero’s Machine Learning
Reference
035fddad-5ab5-40be-a856-04063353df46
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Product Management
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for a Senior/Principal Data Product Manager to join the Item Discovery Domain on our journey to always deliver amazing experiences. Be part of redefining how customers experience
Reference
7bc37021-ca53-4dbe-bb79-79b89b6c075d
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Strategy
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
Head of Workforce Planning & People Projects We are seeking an experienced leader in People Strategy and Workforce Planning to drive our talent and organizational initiatives as we continue to expan
Reference
9d556cc7-10ad-4bee-a146-152f67582f46
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Product Management
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for an Associate, Product Manager II - User behavior Tracking to join the central Data Platform tribe within Tech Foundations vertical on our journey to always deliver amazing ex
Reference
31480ac6-2ddb-4794-b4b9-aef7044f8a3d
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Product Management
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for a Product Manager to lead our Stock Management team for Marketplace Operations on our journey to always deliver an amazing experience. Be part of redefining how customers exp
Reference
7b5564dd-2aaf-438b-96c8-93c3e5fe0ea9
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Students
Job Type
Intern
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for a highly motivated Working Student to be joining our Global food services tribe on our journey to always deliver amazing experiences.Be part of the team that shapes Delivery
Reference
ff656b44-10a3-43f3-b71f-4d4e0f05fd5a
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Software Engineering
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for a Senior Software Engineer (Android) - Quick Commerce to join the Pelican squad, on our journey to always deliver amazing experiences and contribute to the creation of our n
Reference
3e8e7f00-cd1c-4a1a-ad80-f4077c92cf57
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Students
Job Type
Intern
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for an Intern (full-time, 6 months) to join the Logistics, Product Operations Team on our journey to always deliver amazing experiences. In our Logistics Team, you’ll tackle
Reference
9286edcf-301d-4bca-9b03-e9039f8b41b7
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeSalary
Location
Berlin, Germany
Job Category
Data & Analytics
Job Type
Full-time
Location
Berlin
Remote working
On-Site
Brand
Delivery Hero
Description
We are on the lookout for Staff Data Scientists to join the AdTech data science team (machine learning) on our journey to always deliver amazing experiences.As part of our Vendor Team, you’ll be the d
Reference
0b6acc00-64aa-4c47-bd32-e8014776ed66
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Author
John DoeAuthor
John DoeArticles you might like
.jpg)
Teaser
EventsBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
05/23/2025
Summary
We officially kicked off our Leadership Principles Spotlight Series (and the bar was definitely set high!) We had an energizing session that was dedicated to our first principle, ‘Own It’, where

Teaser
EventsBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
05/14/2025
Summary
At Delivery Hero, we’re always on the hunt for exceptional talent, especially when it comes to tech! Sometimes the best way to find candidates is through our current employees - the amazing Hero

Teaser
People & TeamsBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
05/14/2025
Summary
Thinking about relocating for work? Whether you're moving solo, with a partner, or bringing your whole family, Berlin could be the right place for you.At Delivery Hero, we understand that reloca

Teaser
DE&IBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
04/14/2025
Summary
On April 3 we hosted an exciting day for students as part of the annual Girls’ Day & Boys’ Day initiative. These events are much more than just a fun day off school! They’re an opportunity to br

Teaser
DE&IBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
04/10/2025
Summary
March was a month of celebration, empowerment, and growth at Delivery Hero, as we came together to honor Women’s Month with our annual event - Women Connect!Aimed at fostering equity, allyship,
.png)
Teaser
NewsBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
04/10/2025
Summary
Over the past few years, we’ve been on an exciting journey to become the world’s leading delivery platform. Along the way, we’ve built a family of unique brands, each with its own story and stre

Teaser
DE&IBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
03/12/2025
Summary
As we dive into Women’s Month this March 2025, we’re not only celebrating women, we’re celebrating the amazing work of our Women at Delivery Hero Employee Resource Group (ERG.) This group is a m

Teaser
EventsBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
12/18/2024
Summary
At Delivery Hero, we know how to throw a party- and our end-of-year company celebration is always one to remember! This year, our legendary event took inspiration from the dazzling, high-energy

Teaser
Sustainability & CSRBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
10/28/2024
Summary
It’s that time of year again—October! Which means ‘ Hero Month’ to employees at Delivery Hero! For those of you who don’t know, Hero Month is a month-long celebration dedicated to giving back.Th

Teaser
DE&IBrand
Delivery HeroPublish date
10/28/2024
Summary
As October draws to a close, we’re thinking about Black History Month and celebrating the coming together of the Black Heroes Employee Resource Group. This is a special time for us to reflect on
Jobs you have shown an interest in