Workplace engagement is stagnating. According to research firm Gallup, just 33% of employees were engaged at work in 2023—the smallest increase from 32% in 2022. Disengagement costs employers in the United States approximately $1.9 billion in lost productivity annually. However, mentoring is an effective solution to improve employee engagement, which is why we’re discussing the best mentoring software for employee success in this article.
Research shows that employees who have a mentor report higher levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, compensation and promotions. Organizations can maximize the many mentoring program benefits for both employers and employees when investing in tools like mentoring software.
Mentoring Software 101
Every organization will have different needs and realities when starting a mentoring program. When an organization decides to use mentoring in the workplace, various mentoring styles may better suit one organization over another. Here are four different, but common types of mentoring styles.
- Traditional one-on-one mentoring programs—where a junior employee is matched with a mentee who is more experienced in their career.
- Mentoring circles—where employees support each other in tackling a common issue or learning a new skill together.
- Group mentoring—a mentor is assigned to mentor a small group of employees. This is a great option for organizations where the number of mentee demands outweighs the mentor supply.
- Reverse mentoring—where the junior employee mentors a senior employee on aspects of the workplace the junior employee has more experience with, such as technological practices or diversity, equity and inclusion.
-
No matter what mentoring programs the company chooses to launch, investing in a mentoring platform can help set the company up for success. The best mentoring software can automate labor-intensive tasks, organize and track the relevant metrics and showcase what’s working well for the company and what they might need to tweak and work on.
Features of the Best Mentoring Software Platforms
The best mentoring software should alleviate the burden that launching a company-wide mentoring program can bring. No matter your organizational needs, pay attention to the following features when choosing mentoring software.
Matching
This is a make-or-break component of mentorship, and often the most time-consuming. Compatible mentors and mentees have mutually beneficial relationships that can lead to higher engagement and job satisfaction, while incompatible mentors and mentees will likely lead to the opposite.
The best mentoring software platforms should incorporate a rigorous matching element with criteria relevant to the organization’s goals and reality. The best software platforms should automate the matching process and provide superior results.
Integrations
A great mentoring platform should be easily integrated with the tools that you already have in your organization—whether that be a calendar, video communication or electronic messaging. This avoids creating additional work or unnecessary administrative time.
Reporting
Tracking and reporting is an important part of any successful mentoring program. The right mentoring platform should provide relevant metrics that allow companies to assess what’s working and what isn’t. In addition, it should provide data points that can generate a report to assess the program’s return on investment (ROI).
Ease of Use
Mentoring software should be intuitive and easy to use. Look for tools that don’t have a steep learning curve so that users don’t have to spend a lot of extra time learning the tools on top of their daily responsibilities.
Scalability
Many organizations might want to launch a mentorship program at a small scale before committing to rolling it out company-wide. The right software should allow them to do that so that they can evolve and scale at their own pace.
Support
Mentoring software should make the management of mentoring programs easier, not harder. And when things go wrong, companies need to be confident that the customer support team can fix it promptly.
Personalization
The ideal mentoring software should provide the ability for companies to standardize their programs while allowing room for personalization. Whether that be a flexible interface or the ability to add and remove features, companies should be able to tailor the tool to their needs.
5 Best Mentoring Software
If you’re in the market for mentoring software, the following are five of the best options in the market.
Chronus
Best For: All-around mentoring software and DEI-centric initiatives
Chronus Mentoring Software provides an employee-driven, industry-leading and innovative solution that can be tailored to your organizational goals and needs.
Chronus’ key standout feature includes MatchIQ®—which is based on an AI-powered, proprietary algorithm that matches participants with impactful mentors. Built-in features like personalized recommendations and a range of matching options also increase the chance of an optimal match.
Chronus also provides seamless integration with a range of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), inlcuding popular scheduling and digital communication platforms. The software provides access to real-time data and metrics such as program match rates and activity engagement levels. This allows your organization to track your progress to maximize your results and provide ROI reports to company stakeholders.
Additionally, the software is built with a DEI-focused lens in mind with the capability to scale and evolve with your organization. Chronus powers hundreds of mentoring programs across some of the world’s largest organizations across a range of industries including Amazon, McGraw Hill, Shell and NBC Universal. More than 300,000 people have used Chronus mentoring software
Qooper
Best For: Startups and small organizations
Qooper mentoring software provides an enterprise-grade mentoring solution to streamline your mentoring experience. Its smart matching algorithm solution can suggest mentor matches, which are based on selected criteria that you can assign ‘match weights.’
The software can also integrate with a range of HRIS databases and communication tools and provides a platform to consolidate your training and development in one place. You’ll also have access to the company’s ATD or CIPD-certified trainers who can provide mentor-mentee training based on your organizational goals.
The software also provides the capability to track progress via live analytics. More than 300 organizations have used Qooper to launch their mentoring initiatives, including Weill Cornell Medicine, VF Corporation and Trimble.
Together Platform
Best For: Customer service and support
Together platform is a user-friendly mentoring platform with 24/7 dedicated IT and admin support. The software automates the matching process via an algorithm that you can customize based on your organizational goals.
The platform integrates with a range of HRIS databases, alongside scheduling and communication platforms. Its AI technology also allows participants to create their own mentoring journey while providing recommendations on discussion points and topics based on prior discussion notes. Together provides the program’s ROI by generating reports on signups, participation rates, session feedback, pairing relevancy and more. Together serves leading organizations globally in a range of industries, with customers like Coca-Cola, AstraZeneca and Urban Outfitters.
MentorcliQ
Best for: Ease of use
MentorcliQ is a solution designed for your mentors and mentees to get the most out of a virtual mentoring program. This software allows you to run multiple programs on one interface, with a matching algorithm that you can customize and weigh depending on your company’s needs. Participants can take advantage of the structure and guidance that the software provides to improve their chances of success.
MentorcliQ integrates with a range of HRIS, scheduling, and digital communication platforms. It provides on-demand resources including training programs for mentors, automated support for users, as well as a best-practice guide for administrators. It has been used by organizations with 200 to 200,000 employees, including the FDA, Bacardi and The Clorox Company.
Guider
Best For: Learning & employee development
Guider is a mentoring software that provides mentoring and peer learning solutions tailored to your organization’s human resources (HR) and learning and development (L&D) goals. Its mentor-matching algorithm makes recommendations based on skills, and development areas, while allowing mentees to make the final choice.
Guider integrates with a range of HRIS tools, communication platforms and learning management systems. The software also provides centralized reporting that incorporates metrics at all levels of the organization, from specific users to across the company. It powers over 100 organizations including LVMH, FIFA and Deloitte.
How to Choose the Best Mentoring Software for Your Organization
Ultimately, the best mentoring software for your organization will be specific to each organization. To make an informed decision, it’s important to consider the following factors:
Budget: Most software providers offer pricing upon request and typically operate on a yearly or monthly subscription basis. In many cases, the cost will depend on the number of active users. Some providers charge per active user, while others may provide a set fee if the number of active users falls within a certain range. For example, companies that have less than 100 active users may pay a certain amount per month, while those with 1,000 to 5,000 users may pay a different amount.
In addition to budget, consider the payment frequency and pricing model that work for your organizational needs.
Program scale: The best software programs can evolve and scale with your company, although certain software may be better suited for companies of specific size. Consider how your mentoring program might grow in size, and what additional features or capacities you may need as a result.
Mentoring goals: Consider what you ultimately hope to achieve with your mentoring program. While most good mentoring software allows for versatility and can be tailored to your specific goals, they excel in different areas. Some software may be best if your goal with mentorship is primarily training and development and upskilling, while others are more conducive to DEI-centric initiatives.
Personalization and additional features: Every software will provide a different degree of personalization and customization, as well as its own unique additional features. Consider which one suits your company’s mentoring goals and plans as it scales and evolves.
Conclusion
Choosing the best mentorship software is crucial for the success of your organization’s mentoring program. By carefully considering factors like ease of use, budget, scalability and platform compatibility, you can ensure that your program meets the diverse needs of mentors and mentees. With the right software in place, your organization can effectively facilitate mentorship, encourage professional growth and drive overall success.
