At a glance
9% vs 7%
of mentoring participants changed job level, against the broader company
12% vs 14%
turnover among mentoring participants against the broader company
1,800+
active users across the company's programs, up more than 10% in a year
- Segment: Global information services company, with mentoring run by local program leaders and supported centrally
- Industry: Information services
- Location: Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific
- Employees: More than 20,000
- Programs: Locally run one-to-one mentoring; mentoring circles around shared interests
The Challenge
Every new mentoring cohort started with separate forms, spreadsheets and uploads. At this global information services company, local leaders own their mentoring programs and decide who joins, while one central program administrator handles the platform, communications, data and metrics for all of them. Collecting participant information and moving it between systems took time from both.
Admissions needed a shared view. The people running each program had to review applicants together, weigh them against the mentors available and decide who joins before matching. With participants spread across three regions, matching also had to reflect each person's development interests and whether two people could realistically meet.
Once people enrolled, the team had little sight of what happened next. A registration count could not show whether conversations were useful or how people felt about the program.
Why Chronus
The company kept its mentoring in Chronus and moved applications into it, in place of separate forms and spreadsheets, because one platform lets local leaders keep their programs while the central administrator manages intake, matching and feedback in one place.
- Admissions everyone can see. Applications stay inside the mentoring platform, so everyone responsible for admissions reviews the same applicants and manages intake against the mentors available.
- Matching that fits each audience. Each program can use the matching approach that suits its people, rather than one method for everyone.
- Circles alongside one-to-one mentoring. Mentoring circles let employees learn from a wider group of peers instead of relying on a single mentor.
- Feedback on individual sessions. Meeting feedback shows how each session went, not just how many people signed up.
I can see how individual sessions go, and how people feel about the whole program. It's been phenomenally helpful.
Mentoring program administrator
The Solution
Local programs, central support
Program leaders run their own mentoring programs and cohort decisions, and the central administrator supports the platform and communications around them. A daily HR data feed keeps participant information current. One recent cohort was prepared with about 40 mentors and as many mentees.
Applications in the platform
A business team's mentoring program now takes applications directly in Chronus. Administrators see incoming participants together instead of chasing separate forms, and enrollment works as intended. The administrator wants to reuse the setup for another mentoring program.
Structured matching where it helps
In one track, the team moved from open mentor selection to structured cohorts with administrator-supported matching. Other programs keep the approach that suits their own participants.
Circles led by their members
Mentoring circles bring larger groups together around shared interests. Circle leaders meet every quarter to trade ideas. Some circles have grown to close to 100 members, with about 20 people at a typical meeting, depending on schedules.
The Impact
Participants change job level more often and leave less often
- 9% vs 7%: share of mentoring participants who changed job level, against the broader company
- 12% vs 14% turnover among participants against the broader company: participants left at a lower rate
Enrollment without the forms
Taking applications in the platform cut the administrative handling for the business team that started using it, and admissions staff now see who is coming in as it happens.
It's all housed in Chronus now, because that worked really well for that team. It was a massive time saver for them.
Mentoring program administrator
Sessions participants rate as useful
- Every circle meeting-feedback response in one summer review, about 30 in all, rated the session helpful, and about one in seven called it a breakthrough
- 9 in 10 circle midpoint respondents found the discussion topics very useful
- 87% satisfaction across survey questions, all programs combined
- In the track that moved from open mentor selection to structured matching, the administrator saw satisfaction rise
Growing participation
- More than 1,800 active users across the company's programs, up more than 10% on the year before
