Mentorship That Scales: How We Transformed Learning at Wellabe

When I joined Wellabe nearly two years ago, I walked into an organization filled with passionate, purpose-driven people. What struck me most wasn’t just the talent or commitment to excellence — it was the stories. Stories of employees who had experienced real personal and professional growth through one-on-one mentorship. The impact was clear. The problem? Only a small fraction of our people were able to participate.

We had the most essential ingredient for a thriving mentorship program: really great humans. But we were stuck. Our entire process was manual. Matching mentors and mentees relied on spreadsheets, best guesses, and hours of coordination. We were pouring 20 to 30 hours a year just to get the program off the ground — and that didn’t include follow-ups or tracking progress. We had 400 employees, but could only serve 26 through mentoring each year. That was our cap. And it was unacceptable.

Mentorship should be for everyone.

So, we changed everything.

Why we chose Together

I’d used Together mentoring software at a previous organization, and I knew what it could unlock for us: a scalable, flexible, people-centered mentoring platform. From the start, Together gave us what we needed most:

• Template programs that helped our cross-functional teams launch initiatives without needing to build from scratch. ‍
• Seamless integrations with our HRIS and Microsoft Outlook, eliminating friction and driving participation. ‍
• Flexible admin tools, from hands-on to fully self-serve program options.
• And most of all, a stellar customer support team that listens, acts fast, and feels like a true partner.

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And it’s just fun to use. The platform encourages exploration, pairing, and interaction. We wanted mentoring to feel like an opportunity — not another item on a to-do list. Together helped us make that a reality.

Scaling for all: 4 mentoring programs, one goal

Mentoring should be different things to different people. At Wellabe, we realized quickly that not everyone needed a long-term, senior-to-junior match. Some people wanted to connect casually. Others needed support navigating leadership or onboarding.

With Together, we scaled our one legacy program into four:

1. Grow — A traditional career mentoring track focused on long-term development. ‍
2. Connect — Monthly, randomized 30-minute coffee chats for cross-functional relationships. ‍
3. Emerging Leaders — Cohort-based mentorship for a high potential development program. ‍
4. Culture Colleagues — A 90-day onboarding buddy system for new hires.

Each of these is designed to meet employees where they are. From new hires getting acclimated to high-performers preparing for leadership, we now offer mentoring that supports every stage of the employee journey.

The results: Real impact, real stories

Since launching Together, the outcomes have been powerful:

• 4x increase in participation: We’ve grown from 26 to over 100 engaged mentoring participants. ‍
• 23-point engagement lift: Our 2024 employee engagement survey jumped from 69% to 92% favorability. ‍
• Retention remains strong: Even during organizational change, our voluntary turnover holds steady at just 6.4%.

And the stories? They’re better than ever. I still remember seeing two employees walking out for lunch together — a mentor and mentee from our Grow program. They didn’t work on the same team. They might never have connected without the program. But there they were, learning and growing together. That’s the culture we want to build.

We’ve also seen new hires describe our culture as “a breath of fresh air.” And our Culture Colleagues — those volunteers helping onboard newcomers — have told us just how rewarding their experience is. Many ask to do it again. When mentoring is done right, it’s not just helpful. It’s energizing.

What’s next: Mentoring as a business driver

Mentorship at Wellabe isn’t a side initiative anymore. It’s a strategic driver of engagement, culture, and performance. And we’re just getting started.

Here’s where we’re going next:

1. Skills-based mentoring

We’re aligning mentorship with employee skills development — helping employees grow in areas that matter most to the business. This will be key to our upskilling and cross-training strategies moving forward.

2. People analytics integration

We’re working toward a future where our mentoring data syncs with our broader talent systems. Imagine matching mentors not just by interest, but by skill gaps, growth paths, and long-term goals.

3. Group and rotational mentoring

We’re exploring structured, curriculum-based mentoring experiences for rotating roles or teams. These group-based programs will help us scale learning while preserving the personal connection mentoring is built on.

Mentorship will remain a central component of our talent strategy. It opens doors that would otherwise stay closed.

Advice to my fellow L&D leaders

If you’re building or rebooting a mentoring program, here’s what I’ve learned:

• Start with what’s already happening. Where are relationships forming naturally? What can you support with a bit of structure and tech
• ‍Hyperpersonalization is key. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work. Let mentoring mean different things to different people. ‍
• Don’t wait for perfection. Our first Connect cohort was small. But we learned, adapted, and expanded. Start with the obvious use case, then scale.

At the end of the day, mentoring works. We just needed a better way to let more people in and do it even better.

Together helped us get there. Read the full story of how Together helped us scale personalized development at Wellabe.