NEW YORK, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- EZRA, the digital coaching platform, has set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title alongside Microsoft for the most people to complete a business coaching programme in one year after engaging with 4,816 Microsoft employees in virtual coaching sessions.
The programme was designed by EZRA to make career development the primary reason for employees to stay at Microsoft. While it achieved World Record status along the way, the tangible business results and effect on the people involved are staggering:
- Core career behaviours increased by 34% including:
- 51% increase in ability to define career steps
- 37% increase in articulating goals
- Increases in ambition, skill development, and network-building in 27% of participants
- Career confidence rose by 14%
- Participants gaining greater awareness of available resources (+16%) understanding of internal options (+16%), and confidence to apply for new roles (+13%)
- Career conversations with managers also improved by 15%
And the quality stayed consistent: Microsoft employees gave EZRA coaches an average rating of 98%.
Nick Goldberg, founder and CEO, EZRA says: "Microsoft is making career development the number one reason for people to join and stay. And we're proud to help them do it. We've worked with Microsoft for four years and know each other well. This programme is a great example of how we work with global companies to give them a customised, yet scalable, experience."
"A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title shows that we're achieving something nobody else is."
The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for "The most people to complete a business coaching program in one year" was presented at an EZRA and Microsoft event on AI upskilling in London on April 28th.
Ready for those record-breaking numbers?
In one year EZRA:
- Coached 4,816 Microsoft employees
- Ran 13,704 individual coaching sessions, an average 430 a week across 80 countries
- Engaged with 294 of EZRA's International Coaching Federation Accredited coaches
Panos Malakoudis, coaching centre of excellence lead at Microsoft, says: "Our career coaching programme is an industry first, offering personalized support to over 70,000 employees worldwide. What sets this programme apart is its approach to democratizing coaching and supporting employee development within large organisations. With EZRA's support, we're redefining the standard for integrating learning with work, and making career development a priority for our people."
How does this help Microsoft achieve their goals?
EZRA runs the 1:1 coaching part of Microsoft's wider in-house coaching programme. They offer their teams internal and external coaching, group and individual sessions and the chance to qualify as coaches themselves.
In total, the tech company is offering a 12-week coaching programme to 70,000 people. These sessions are all supplemented with exercises and advice held on Microsoft Teams, an added element which 83% of people are finding valuable.
Results of EZRA's 1:1 coaching at Microsoft:
- 18% more people understand their career options in the company
- 38% more people can define the next step in their career
- 13% more people feeling confident to apply for an internal job
- 11% more people can see a long-term future at Microsoft
- 68 internal coaches achieved ICF Level 1 certification, bringing the total to 115
About EZRA
A leading global virtual coaching and learning provider, EZRA is revolutionizing the way businesses approach employee development by leveraging the power of behavioral science to break down barriers and make professional coaching accessible to everyone.
Through its global network of over 2,000 world-class, accredited coaches, EZRA has already helped thousands of companies and teams across 127 countries quantifiably improve performance, employee retention and promotion rates with more than 600,000 sessions delivered. Companies using EZRA today include AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Kraft Heinz, Microsoft and Spotify.
Established in 2019, EZRA is the coaching arm of LHH, part of The Adecco Group, the world's leading talent advisory and solutions company.
To learn more about EZRA, visit: https://helloezra.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft and the Microsoft Logo, are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.
Media Contact: Megan.Wilton@helloezra.com
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