Mentoring programs are becoming more commonplace within modern organizations—with the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies boasting mentorship opportunities as a part of their talent strategy. 

The benefits of offering a mentoring program go far beyond simply providing opportunities for employees. A strategic mentoring program can be the catalyst for long-term business success. 

When effectively executed and measured, mentoring programs can drive core business goals, including productivity, performance, and even profitability. However, in order to assess the true ROI and uncover the wide-reaching impact of mentorship, organizations need to go beyond surface-level metrics to understand all the indicators of success that come with mentorship.

Keep reading as we discuss how a strategic mentorship program can drive business goals—and how you can successfully measure the metrics that prove it. 

What makes a successful mentoring program? 

We know mentoring can be incredibly valuable for businesses and employees alike, which is why many organizations opt to offer a mentorship program in the first place. But companies often set up mentorship programs just for the sake of having one in place.

As a result, the program doesn’t necessarily align with broader business goals.

“I think oftentimes HR departments tend to implement programs just because it's what's done. The “let's just do it because that's what we do” mentality just doesn’t work for the ever-evolving needs of today’s workplaces.” - Michelle Rojas, Associate Director of DEI at Spring Health

While having any mentoring program is a good start, the best (and most effective) mentoring programs are strategically planned to maximize business outcomes from the get-go.

Here are some signs that your mentoring program is set up for success and will make an impact on your business:

• You have a defined goal and purpose. It’s impossible to reach a goal if you never clearly define the goal to begin with. And in the case of mentorship, simply having a program shouldn’t be the ultimate goal. Setting larger goals and objectives that ladder up to your overall business will position your mentorship program to make an impact on business priorities. 

• You have clear metrics. A successful mentorship program should have measurable metrics that tie back to your business goals. This includes both the leading and lagging metrics that we’ll cover in more detail further below.

• You have buy-in from key stakeholders: If leaders and executives aren’t fully committed to your mentorship program, it can be challenging to get the rest of the organization to participate effectively.

• You have resources in place to support your program: Whether that’s a dedicated program manager or the right mentorship software, a successful program requires resources to help you administer mentorship at scale.

“Anything that's left to an accident in business usually doesn't work. And so sometimes when we're doing these [mentorship] programs internally, people will say, “oh, let's just have it be leader led, or, let's let it be organic.” And I say to them, in what universe do we launch a strategic initiative and say, we're going to let it be an accident? So I would just kind of say, for those of us that care about talent development, care about inclusion, we need a strategic framework. We need measurement.” - David Simmonds, SVP, Global Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer at Canada Life

Tying mentorship success to organizational success

Mentorship doesn’t just drive value for individual employees but it has the potential to generate an ROI that impacts the entire business. 

In the modern workplace, we can’t only look at traditional performance metrics. A recent Deloitte analysis summarizes it best: to really improve performance, you need to consider the human factors at play. Are employees engaged? Do they feel supported? Are they learning and growing?  

This is where mentorship comes in. It directly addresses those "human" needs that lead to more engaged, motivated, and skilled employees. 

However, when program managers aren’t able to tie the impact of mentorship to business-critical metrics, it’s easy for it to get deprioritized—which further devalues the impact of mentorship. 

When measuring the success of talent programs, we often just look at KPIs that are tied directly to the program itself. We track leading indicators like how many people sign up, complete the program, or leave feedback. But these numbers alone don't tell us the whole story. They're like counting the number of seeds planted, but not checking to see if anything actually grew.  If you look at these metrics in a vacuum, you get zero insight into the holistic effect that mentorship can have on business performance.

To truly understand the impact, you need to connect the dots between mentorship and the things that really matter to the business: Are employees more productive? More engaged? Are they staying with the company longer? These lagging insights are the real indicators of success.

Mentorship provides the fertile ground for employees to grow and thrive. This, in turn, leads to a more engaged, productive, and loyal workforce. But to see those results, we need to measure the right things.

Let's delve deeper into the key indicators of a thriving corporate mentorship program, explore how these contribute to broader business objectives and KPIs, and uncover tips for evaluating your program's success.

‍📌 READ MORE: Building a Connected Workplace: The Role of Strategy and Data

How to measure and track mentorship program success 

Here are some steps and best practices to improve how you’re measuring and tracking your corporate mentorship program’s success.

1. Align with business priorities

Strategic mentorship programs require clearly defined objectives. Without a roadmap outlining desired outcomes, it becomes challenging to identify the appropriate metrics and strategies for achieving those goals.  

Here are some key business metrics and KPIs you might consider—depending on your program goals—to measure the impact of your mentorship program on business performance: 

• Employee engagement: A Gallup study found that low employee engagement has cost the global economy as much as US$8.9 trillion. And employees with mentors are twice as likely to be engaged than their peers, so employee engagement can be a huge indicator of program success. There’s no one hard-and-fast way to measure employee engagement, but it’s often measured through a series of engagement scores and surveys.

• Employee net promoter score (eNPS): This is a measure of how likely an employee is to recommend your organization to someone else. Generally, higher eNPS scores correlate with higher employee engagement. 

• Employee productivity: A rise in employee productivity leads to increased revenue and gives your organization a competitive advantage. Organizations with engaged employees have reported as much as 22% higher productivity. For every business, employee productivity is defined a bit differently. However, as a general rule, it’s a measure of employee input versus output. 

• Internal promotion rates: Mentorship not only boosts the employee experience by providing additional growth opportunities, but it enables companies to build robust internal talent pipelines and identify future leaders. More internal promotion not only reduces hiring costs and retains top talent but also prevents loss of institutional knowledge.
• Time-to-promote: This is the time that it takes to promote individuals within an organization. When employees see potential growth opportunities on the horizon, they’re more likely to stay motivated and stay at the company longer.

“I really wanted to see the impact of a program like this on promotion rates, specifically of underrepresented talent. On a monthly basis, I share workforce data with the 10KC team for them to analyze and synthesize that impact, and reshare it with me.” - Michelle Rojas, Associate Director of DEI at Spring Health

📌 READ MORE: 10KC Innovator: Spring Health and Michelle Rojas Improve Employee Promotion and Retention with Mentorship

• Employee retention: It’s well-known that it costs more to hire a new employee than it does to retain an existing one. The great news is that retention rates are proven to be significantly higher for mentees (72%) and mentors (69%), compared to just 49% for employees who did not participate in a mentoring program. As your employee retention increases, the average employee tenure should also rise.

“The labor market is really challenging. And for really strong talent and specialized talent, they can get what you're offering in many organizations. But if they have a really deep sense of connection and belonging in the company that you work for, that's what's going to hold them.” - Manisha Burman, EVP and CHRO, CI Financial

• DEI goals: Look for an increase in the percentage of diverse-identifying employees in senior leadership and managerial roles, or an increase in promotion rates in underrepresented employee groups. When mentorship programs are successfully connecting diverse groups of employees and creating inclusive connections, you’re more likely to drive long-term DEI goals.

• Customer satisfaction: Keep an eye on key customer metrics such as customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores. A thriving company culture, nurtured through mentorship, directly impacts customer satisfaction. High-performing companies are more likely to meet customer needs and expectations. This drives better customer lifetime value and a more loyal customer base. 

• Profitability: Of course, the ultimate goal of any organization is to generate profit. Mentorship is a strategic investment in human capital that yields significant financial returns. By cultivating a high-performing and engaged workforce, organizations can enhance operational efficiency and drive revenue growth, ultimately strengthening the bottom line.

2. Set the right mentorship program goals 

Now that you know what broader business goals your program must be aligned to, it’s time to set relevant mentorship program goals that influence them. 

For example, let’s say that your overall organizational objective is to improve employee collaboration across all departments. 

It will be tough to immediately measure your mentorship program’s impact on overall company collaboration. This means you can set micro goals and metric targets within your mentorship program that can serve as the leading indicators.

Some leading indicators of mentorship program goals and milestones for improving collaboration might include:

• Achieve X% program adoption and X number of cross-departmental connections via mentorship pairings.
• Ensure that X% of participants indicate that they gained valuable knowledge opportunities for collaboration after completing the program.
• Reach an X% increase in the number of employees who feel more connected after participating in the program compared to those who did not participate. 
• Increased cross-departmental project involvement, which can indicate a greater willingness to collaborate and share knowledge across different teams.

3. Set individual mentor and mentee goals

Naturally, mentees and mentors are at the heart of every mentoring program. If these critical participants don’t feel like they’re achieving personal wins, then they won’t be invested, and the program will likely fail.  

So, in addition to setting your overall business and program goals, it’s also worth looking at the individual goals that mentors and mentees hope to achieve along the way. Help guide participants to set goals for success. Throughout the program, there should be structured opportunities for participants to check in and update program managers on their progress and achievements. In addition to post-session check-ins, you can automate more in depth surveys on a monthly or quarterly basis, depending on the length of the program.

If participants are on track to reach their goals, consider it a good sign of program success. If not, then it’s probably time to dig in further and find out what isn’t working.

Some individual goals might include: 

• Perceived career development: Identifying career paths, exploring growth opportunities, and developing strategies for advancement. This can increase motivation and retention.

• Skill enhancement: Acquiring specific skills or knowledge related to their role, such as leadership, communication, or industry-specific expertise.

• Increased confidence and resilience: Building self-confidence, assertiveness, and the ability to navigate challenges and setbacks.

• Expanded perspectives: Gaining new insights and perspectives through knowledge sharing and exposure to different experiences.

• Network growth: Expanding their professional network within the organization to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.

• Enhanced sense of belonging: Feeling valued, supported, and connected to the organization and its culture.

4. Monitor and measure program health along the way

With ever-evolving business priorities, it’s all too common for mentorship programs to be treated as a task on an HR checklist instead of an ongoing priority.

However, when you don’t track and monitor your progress along the way, you’ll likely miss valuable insights to maximize impact.  Regularly evaluate program-level metrics to ensure your mentorship program is effectively engaging employees. 

Here are some leading indicators to evaluate the health of your mentorship program: 

• Sign-up or acceptance rate: Percentage of total employees who sign up for your mentorship program when invited to participate. This is a sign of how valuable employees find your program upfront. 

• Program engagement rate: This is the number of participants who are actively engaging in their experiences, mentoring conversations, and events. If you’re seeing low engagement numbers, it could be a sign that employees are struggling to get value from the program. 

• Program completion rate: Determine how many mentors and mentees complete the full program or meet all the program requirements. If you’re seeing a significant drop-off, it’s likely that employees are struggling to keep up with the program or aren’t getting value out of it.

• Employee feedback rate: How many employees are providing feedback after completing the program? Low rates of feedback can indicate a lack of enthusiasm for the program.

• Mentorship satisfaction: If employees feel like they’re getting the value out of their mentoring matches and conversations, it’s a good sign that your program is making a positive impact.

• Employee program recommendation: The number of employees who would recommend the program to their peers can indicate if employees feel satisfied with their program experience.

Gather real-time feedback through brief post-session surveys, allowing you to gauge the quality of mentoring interactions and identify areas for program optimization. This iterative approach ensures your program remains relevant, valuable, and drives continuous improvement.

5. Gather qualitative feedback

As you’ve gathered by now, quantitative metrics are important, but they only tell part of the story. 

As you’re well aware, your people will always be your most valuable source of information, which is why you should get qualitative feedback from participants to get a sense of what is working and what needs to be iterated on for future programs. 

Some questions you can ask in surveys to gather feedback:

• Did this program / session meet your expectations? (open ended)
• I feel more connected to our people and culture. (multiple choice scale) 
• I feel better equipped to succeed in my role. (multiple choice scale) 
• I have deepened my understanding of our business, vision, and/or goals. (multiple choice scale) 
• I would recommend this program to a colleague. (multiple choice scale) 

As with many organizational surveys, keeping it anonymous can help you get more open and honest communication from participants who may otherwise be nervous to provide any negative feedback.

For participants who express positive feedback, explore their willingness to become program advocates. Their enthusiasm can be a powerful tool for promoting the program's value and encouraging broader participation. Conversely, a reluctance to advocate may signal that the program isn't fully meeting participant needs or enabling them to achieve their goals. 

READ MORE: How to Use Mentorship Survey Program Questions to Evaluate Program ROI 

6. Measure impact on business metrics and KPIs

While qualitative feedback offers valuable insights into the participant experience and perceived value, it's crucial to go beyond anecdotal evidence and quantify the impact of your mentorship program on key business metrics. This data-driven approach helps you demonstrate tangible ROI and build a compelling case for continued investment.

💡 Remember: The impact of mentorship on business metrics is often a lagging indicator. It takes time for the knowledge, skills, and connections gained through mentorship to translate into measurable outcomes. Be prepared to analyze data over a longer period, such as quarterly or bi-annually, to reveal meaningful trends.

Here's how to effectively analyze your mentorship program data:

• Establish a baseline: Before launching your program, gather baseline data on your chosen metrics. This creates a benchmark for comparison and helps you isolate the impact of your mentorship program.

• Track consistently: Collect data on the chosen metrics at regular intervals (e.g., quarterly or bi-annually) to monitor progress and identify trends.

• Isolate the impact: Compare the performance of mentorship participants to a control group of non-participants. Use statistical analysis to determine the significance of any observed differences and attribute those changes to the program's influence.

For example, if your goal is to improve employee retention, track the retention rates of both participants and non-participants over a year. If you observe a significantly higher retention rate among mentees, you can confidently link this positive outcome to your mentorship program.

By diligently measuring and analyzing the impact of your mentorship program on business metrics, you can provide concrete evidence of the program's positive ROI, gain support for continued investment, and scale your program for even greater success.

📌 READ MORE: How 10KC Helped Spring Health Scale Mentorship and Decrease Attrition of Diverse Talent by Over 50%

7. Scale your program with a corporate mentorship software 

It’s rare for any talent strategy to nail it the first time around, especially if you’re doing everything manually. Despite their proven benefits, social learning programs like mentorship often face challenges in measurement and scalability. This can deter organizations from fully embracing their potential, hindering widespread adoption. 

The good news? Platforms, like 10KC, makes it possible for you to execute and measure mentorship programs just as rigorously as more traditional learning programs and ladder them up to critical company objectives.

When you deploy mentorship programs at scale with 10KC, you benefit from:

• Personalized learning pathways: Align mentorship with the business outcomes you care about by creating customizable learning experiences that accelerate skill development, productivity, and performance.

• Smart-matching at scale: Create strategic mentorship matches based on employee goals, interests, and skills that move your business forward. Then visualize connections across your organization so you can address any gaps in employee networks.

• Custom content and learning: Drive organizational objectives with discussion guides that ensure conversations focus on the skills and knowledge that matter.

• Data dashboards and reporting: From participation to engagement, track the KPIs and metrics that matter in real time, so you know you’re on track to reach your mentorship and business goals. Plus, take advantage of automated surveys to gather employee feedback every step of the way.

Elevate your mentorship programs from check-the-box to transformative

As we've explored, a well-designed mentorship program can be a powerful catalyst for organizational success. By aligning program objectives with key business goals and diligently tracking both leading and lagging indicators, you can unlock the full potential of mentorship.

Remember that successful mentorship programs don't just happen; they require strategic planning, ongoing monitoring, and continuous optimization. By actively engaging leadership, fostering a culture of feedback, and leveraging the power of mentorship software, you can create a program that drives meaningful results for both your employees and your organization.