Case Study: Teladoc
The Challenge
Teladoc Health is a multinational telemedicine and virtual healthcare company. With approximately 6,000 employees spread across the globe, about 90% of Teladoc’s workforce operates remotely. This lack of face-to-face interaction created an urgent need for connection. Employees were eager for ways to form relationships, learn from one another, and find a sense of community that physical office spaces naturally fostered.
In addition to the challenges of remote work, Teladoc had experienced rapid growth, driven by a series of mergers and acquisitions. Integrating teams from diverse backgrounds and defining the company’s culture and identity—all while being a telehealth company in the midst of a global pandemic—proved to be another challenge.
The L&D team at Teladoc recognized the importance of creating a program that would empower employees to interact with colleagues across the organization, regardless of location, and to facilitate knowledge-sharing. That’s where mentorship came in.
The Solution
Mentorship was already happening ad-hoc across the organization in various groups, signaling a natural desire for structured guidance and support. The L&D team wanted to formalize this into a mentorship program that would make these benefits available to the entire workforce, helping to foster a cohesive, resilient culture at Teladoc. The L&D team partnered with Together, a mentorship platform that provided the necessary tools to handle registration, matching, tracking, and scheduling.
Teladoc' s pilot program
The Teladoc team started with a targeted pilot initiative in their women’s resource group. The group had already been organizing informal mentorship activities, but managing the process manually presented logistical difficulties. Together took an administrative burden off this group, allowing the L&D team to focus on driving engagement and supporting participants rather than handling logistics.
Scaling to an evergreen model for company-wide impact
Based on the success of the pilot, Teladoc moved forward with a vision to expand the program, transitioning from a 6-month, cohort-based model to an evergreen (“always-on”) program. This approach allowed for continuous engagement by enabling employees to join or leave the program at any time based on their evolving needs and career goals.
Preparing for success: Starting with mentor recruitment
Understanding that mentorship program success depends heavily on the availability of qualified mentors, Teladoc strategically focused on mentor recruitment before launching its evergreen program. By securing a diverse pool of mentors first, they ensured that when mentees joined, they would immediately have access to valuable connections.
Launching the MELD program: Building a culture of continuous learning and connection
With mentors recruited and the infrastructure in place, Teladoc officially launched its company-wide mentorship program under the name MELD, which stands for Mentor, Engage, Learn, and Develop. The program was accessible to all employees globally, encouraging widespread participation across different countries and departments.
One of MELD’s key features was its dual approach to mentorship. Traditional mentor-mentee relationships were encouraged, but the program also supported peer connections through Together’s Colleague Connect tool, providing an additional pathway for employees to connect whether they sought advice from a senior mentor or peer-level support.
The Together platform enabled employees to select their own mentors based on shared skills, goals, or career interests. This self-led process empowered participants to take ownership of their mentorship journey, creating a more meaningful and engaging experience
The Results
The MELD program has enabled employees at Teladoc to shape their mentorship experience to fit their individual needs. By offering flexibility in both the nature of relationships and duration, MELD has created a “choose your own adventure” model of professional development.
Overview
Industry
Year founded
Number of employees
Technology used
Program Overview
Geography
.svg)
