Why Using an Intranet Page as a Mentoring Portal Doesn’t Work

Using an intranet page as a mentoring portal? It’s time to rethink your strategy and boost engagement properly.

If you’re relying on an intranet mentoring portal, it is time to face a hard truth. A static list of mentor names is not a mentoring strategy. It is a digital noticeboard pretending to be a program and it is likely doing more harm than good.

You might think giving people access to mentors is enough. But without structure, support, and measurement, you are not building capability. You are building confusion.

Here is why an intranet mentoring portal does not deliver and what to use instead if you want a mentoring program that actually works.

Table of Contents

• What Is an Intranet Mentoring Portal?
• Why Static Intranet Pages Fail as Mentoring Tools
• How Intranet Mentoring Reinforces Bias
• Why Mentees Don’t Feel Safe Reaching Out
• No Tracking = No ROI or Insight
• Why Intranet Mentoring Creates Admin Burnout
• How Unstructured Mentoring Fizzles Out
• Intranet Page vs Mentoring Platform: Comparison Table
• What to Use Instead: Brancher
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Intranet Page?

Before anything, let’s take a look at intranet pages. 

An intranet page is a private web page that sits within your organisation’s internal network. It’s only accessible to employees and is typically used to share resources, tools and updates that help people navigate internal processes.

In most organisations, the intranet acts like a digital HQ. It might be built in SharePoint, Confluence, or a custom platform your IT team manages.

What Does an Intranet Page Usually Include?

Here’s what you’ll typically find on an intranet page:

• HR policies and documents
• Employee directories
• Internal announcements or events
• Links to payroll, leave systems and learning hubs
• Forms, templates and program information

Some HR teams also use it to host mentoring profiles. That usually means a list of available mentors and maybe some downloadable guides or an expression of interest form.

Can You Use an Intranet Page as a Mentoring Portal?

An intranet page gives access, but not structure. Listing mentor profiles or uploading a PDF doesn't create meaningful engagement. There's no evidence-based matching, no tracking, no support for mentees or mentors, and no way to see what’s actually working.

Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t use an intranet page as a mentoring portal:

A Directory Is Not a Mentoring Program

An intranet list of mentors doesn’t build relationships. It gives people somewhere to click—then leaves them hanging. No structure, no reminders, no guidance, no accountability.

And it shows in the data. According to studies, most mentoring relationships fail due to a lack of structure and planning. Without a framework, most mentoring never gets past the first meeting.

When there’s no strategy, there’s no momentum. Mentees don’t follow through. Mentors guess what to do. Relationships fade out before they’ve even begun.

A static page might feel like a quick fix. But if it’s not guiding people, supporting relationships or generating outcomes.

It Fuels Bias and Overloads Certain Mentors

When you rely on people self‑selecting mentors from a static intranet directory, bias takes over. Staff choose those they already know and trust. That means the visible, senior names get overwhelmed while quieter performers get overlooked.

According to studies, mentoring programs increase minority representation at management level by 9 % to 24 % and boost promotion and retention rates for women and minorities by 15 % to 38 % compared to those without mentoring.

Yet, a Harvard Business Review study revealed that 71 % of executives pick mentees of the same gender or race as themselves, reinforcing existing inequities.

That means the very voices you aim to elevate remain silent, while your D&I goals stall.

Static lists exclude many and overload a few. Emerging talent stays invisible. And your program becomes a visibility game rather than a development engine.

To avoid burnout and inequity, you need strategy; not just names.

Mentees Don’t Feel Safe Reaching Out

When there’s no structure, mentees second-guess every move.

They’re unsure who they’re allowed to approach. They don’t know what to say. And they’re afraid of wasting someone’s time or getting it wrong. So they do nothing.

Research shows that only 37% of employees feel comfortable approaching a senior leader for informal mentoring without a structured process in place.

That hesitation costs you. High-potential employees miss growth opportunities. Inclusion efforts stall. And you lose the exact people mentoring is supposed to support.

If you want people to lean into mentoring, you need to remove the guesswork. A list of mentor names won't do that. A supported system will.

No Tracking Means No Insight or ROI

If your mentoring program lives on a static intranet page, you have no idea if it’s working.

You can’t see who’s participating, how often they meet, or whether it’s driving any actual change. And without that data, you can’t report progress, optimise the program, or justify its value to leadership.

A Deloitte study found that organisations with data-driven talent strategies are twice as likely to improve their leadership pipelines and three times more likely to outperform their peers in HR outcomes.

If you’re running mentoring blind, you’re running it at risk. You can't improve what you don’t track. If mentoring matters to your business, you need the visibility to prove it.

It Requires More Admin Work in the Wrong Places

A static intranet page might feel low-maintenance for HR, but it pushes all the admin onto your people.

Mentors are left chasing mentees. Mentees have to figure out next steps on their own. There’s no automation, no reminders, and no scheduling tools to keep things moving.

That creates confusion, wasted time, and inconsistent experiences. Over time, people check out.

According to McKinsey, ineffective workplace tools can reduce productivity by up to 20% — especially when tasks like scheduling and follow-up are manual or unclear.

Real example: After implementing Brancher, one large Australian government agency reported a 80% reduction in time spent managing mentoring logistics. Automated nudges, scheduling, and content support freed up HR, mentors, and mentees to focus on relationships - not admin.

If you want mentoring to scale, the process has to run in the background. Otherwise, it just becomes another burden people quietly drop.

Unstructured Relationships Fizzle Out

Without structure, mentoring relationships lose steam fast. No goals. No frameworks. No accountability. Just vague check-ins that lead nowhere.

Conversations dry up. Mentees disengage. Mentors feel like they’re wasting their time. And before you notice, the program collapses in silence.

Research from the Association for Talent Development (ATD) found that mentoring programs with structure and training are twice as likely to succeed compared to unstructured ones.

Structure is what turns good intentions into real outcomes. Without it, mentoring becomes just another nice idea that quietly fades away.

If you’re serious about capability building, culture and retention, mentoring needs more than just a static link on your intranet. It needs structure, support and insight.

That's where purpose-built platforms like Brancher come in. They turn mentoring from a passive initiative into a powerful, measurable program that grows with your organisation.

RELATED: Why Brancher Mentoring Software is a Game-Changer for Organisations

Why Brancher is Better:

If you’re done managing mentoring through spreadsheets, emails and static intranet pages, Brancher is built for you. It solves every problem traditional approaches create without adding to your admin load.

• Smart matching removes bias: Brancher’s AI-driven matching algorithm pairs mentors and mentees based on values, personality, and goals; not popularity. Reported 98% match satisfaction across clients.
• Massive admin time savings: Organisations implementing Brancher report up to 80% reduction in admin time thanks to automation of scheduling, nudges, feedback collection, and reporting.
• Self-service, always-on platform: Participants can onboard, match, and engage anytime; perfect for large, remote, or distributed workforces.
• Guidance and resources built-in: Structured frameworks, talking points, goal-setting tools, and e-learning modules support both mentors and mentees to stay on track.
• Real-time dashboards and metrics: Program managers get visibility into engagement, progress, and outcomes; enabling them to prove ROI to leadership.
• Scales without burnout: Matching spreads demand evenly; automated reminders and resources keep people engaged while reducing pressure on a small pool of mentors.
• Sustainable culture and measurable outcomes: Brancher has helped clients achieve measurable results in leadership development, retention and engagement.

If you’re ready to evolve mentoring from a well-intentioned pilot into a reliable, scalable capability builder; you’ll want to work with Brancher.

Related: Top Mentoring Software Compared

Intranet Page vs Mentoring Platform: Comparison Table

TL,DR: An Intranet Page as a Mentoring Portal Doesn't Work

If you’re serious about building capability, retaining talent, and driving real cultural change, you need to stop treating mentoring like a tick-the-box initiative. A list of names on an intranet isn’t a mentoring strategy. It’s a bottleneck.

You wouldn’t manage performance or e-learning through a static web page  - you’d have a purpose built tool. So why rely on an intranet page as a mentoring portal to deliver something as important as people development?

If you want a mentoring program that actually works (one that’s inclusive, measurable, and scalable), partner with a platform built for it.

Brancher gives you the tools, structure and support to run mentoring programs that deliver real outcomes across your workforce. Explore Brancher and see how mentoring becomes a strategic advantage, not a spreadsheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What should a mentoring program include beyond matching?

A successful mentoring program should include onboarding, goal-setting, conversation guides, regular nudges, and support for both mentors and mentees. It also needs built-in tracking and feedback mechanisms so you can measure engagement and outcomes. Without these, mentoring efforts often lose momentum quickly.

2. Why do mentoring programs fail in large organisations?

In large organisations, mentoring often fails due to lack of structure, poor visibility, and over-reliance on manual admin. If there's no system to track engagement or scale support, the program becomes inconsistent and unsustainable. Most failures are due to operational gaps, not lack of interest.

3. Can mentoring be automated without losing personal connection?

Yes. The right mentoring platform automates admin like matching, scheduling, nudges, and tracking; not the human connection. This frees up time for meaningful conversations while keeping the relationship supported and on track.

4. How do I measure mentoring ROI?

Mentoring ROI can be measured through improved retention, internal mobility, leadership development, and employee engagement. A good platform provides real-time analytics on participation, session quality, goal progress, and outcomes. These metrics are crucial for reporting value to leadership.

5. What’s the risk of not modernising our mentoring approach?

Sticking to outdated methods like static lists or manual tracking risks low engagement, burnout, and lack of impact. It also undermines your D&I, capability, and retention goals. If you can't measure or scale it, mentoring won’t deliver the value your business expects.