In 2020, they completed 665 personalized coaching sessions. More than 45 of those sessions focused on pandemic-relevant topics, such as navigating uncertainty and working parents. At the end of 2020, measurements showed that:

• 90 percent of students said working with a coach made them more effective at their jobs
• 97 percent of students said BetterUp was a valuable use of time
• 100 percent said their coach helped them make meaningful progress toward their goals

They also improved their skills in coaching by 15 percent, recognition by 14 percent, and relationship building by 9 percent. They succeeded in enhancing the psychological resources that help them better cope in times of change, posting a 15 percent increase in cognitive agility, 11 percent increase in self-compassion, and 10 percent increase in focus. Overall, they rated their BetterUp experience a 9.2 on a scale of 10.

Based on the results, the University of Iowa is exploring additional opportunities to integrate coaching into the curriculum, programming, and research partnerships.

BetterUp launched in 2013 to deliver on a mission of unlocking greater potential, purpose, and passion in people. With a patent on its mobile coaching platform, BetterUp is helping expand the reach of coaching – often only accessible to the very top levels of an organization – to individuals at all levels and places in their lives, says Angela Lindberg, Ph.D., who leads strategic partnerships at BetterUp.

BetterUp uses three key pillars as the foundation to achieve its aim. “Science, coaching, and technology are what drives our engine,” says Lindberg.

Applying science and research to all it does, BetterUp draws on the talents of PhDs in organizational psychology, psychology, medicine, and related fields, as well as tapping experts, such as organizational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant. Based on the science and research, it takes a holistic approach to development, looking at overall well-being, including basics like sleep and nutrition and their relationship to performance.

“It’s not just about developing inspiring leadership behaviors,” says Lindberg. “It’s also about how you are thriving as an individual and taking care of yourself – showing up so you can show up for others.”

A strong focus on positive psychology helps in promoting a mindset of growth and in supporting changes in behavior. BetterUp collects data throughout the process, which helps both in determining coaching impact and in defining areas for ongoing research and measurement.

How does the coaching process work? It starts with the assessment, which BetterUp uses to carefully select coach options from its pool of 3,000 coaches throughout the world. It offers three coach options to the participant, who makes the final selection.

“A successful coach-match is critical to an effective coaching journey and BetterUp invested heavily in this area,” says Lindberg. “We are 97 percent accurate in predicting that participants will still stay with their selected coach for three months or longer, but if at any time an individual wants a rematch or new perspective we can accommodate.”

With the annual license to use the BetterUp Platform, participants gain unlimited access to coaching for six or 12 months. Generally, coaches and participants meet once a week for 30 minutes. “But if there is a rough week, there may be a need for back-to-back sessions,” she says. Unlimited on-demand and extended network specialists coaching is also available.

BetterUp coaches come with extensive C-suite experience, and companies, such as NetApp, look to those coaches to boost leadership capabilities.

While Larry McAlister, vice president global talent at NetApp, wasn’t a great advocate of coaching, his perspective changed dramatically when he began working with BetterUp.

"I had bad experiences with coaching in my background," says McAlister. “I realize it wasn’t the coaching profession….it was how companies are using coaches. Go fix this person – they’re bad, make them better with a coach. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

His experience with BetterUp led him to a much different conclusion. “What BetterUp has helped us do is realize with the tool, the easy platform, the ROI numbers, and the advancement of themes, we can actually help people go from good to great.”

For the company, that means improved job performance and increased productivity. But it also has a ripple effect. “It starts permeating. They’re better at helping others succeed, so there’s exponential growth. At the top level, we can really show how engagement, growth, turnover, the common KPIs {key performance indicators} improve.”

Success stories like those have led to fast growth for BetterUp, now with 500 employees and multiple locations worldwide. “In September 2021, we hit a significant milestone of delivering more than one million coaching sessions to date,” says Lindberg.

In early October, BetterUp announced the close of its $300 million Series E fundraise. This round brings the company’s valuation to $4.7 billion and total funding to $600 million, making BetterUp the largest mental health and coaching company in the world.

Better-Up discovered EMBAC through its work with several EMBAC members and looks forward to sharing BetterUp’s advantages with members, she says. It also continues to pursue innovations, expanding its coaching options to include coaching circles with peers and building out executive cloud coaching.

“We want to make sure in all we are doing we are achieving our mission,” she says. “BetterUp is in the business of offering a transforming, life-changing product.”

For more information about BetterUp, contact Angela Lindberg at sales@betterup.co or visit www.betterup.com.

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