As the world’s leading global risk broker and the largest reinsurer, Aon employs over 37,000 people in 120 different countries worldwide. Aon’s Leadership Model, one of its three core initiatives, strives to provide a consistent, calibrated leadership standard designed to guide talent development and evaluate performance.
The Leadership Model charges employees with five challenges:
- Deliver Distinctive Client Value,
- Develop Unmatched Teams,
- Build Differentiated Capability Through Innovation,
- Deliver Business Results with Excellence,
- Live Our Values
To help ensure consistency within its development practices and ensure its staff is up to its leadership model's challenges, Aon identified mentoring as a core development strategy.
Aon partnered with Triple Creek Associates to implement Momentum through Mentoring (MTM), a web-based mentoring process. They began in 2006 with a pilot program of 179 mentees and 340 mentors across three domestic programs. After initial pilot success, Aon is currently working throughout 2008 to expand the program to all U.S. business units and programs in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil. The 2009 rollout focuses on exposing web-based mentoring to all Aon business units worldwide. Currently, there are over 700 mentees and 1000 mentors in the program.
Initial survey results, along with anecdotal feedback, were overwhelmingly positive and helped provide the business case for expanding the program throughout Aon. Specific results will be shared during the presentation.
By establishing clear ownership, Aon was able to ensure that the following five critical success factors were leveraged into strengths:
- Securing and sustaining senior stakeholder support
- Developing the right user mindset among mentees and mentors; that is, setting proper expectations for the process and expected results
- Integrating mentoring with other development initiatives
- Expanding mentoring momentum by leveraging early results into program promotion and expansion
- Measuring program success to demonstrate the program's positive impacts and continue to support the business case for mentoring.