Reverse Mentoring – Unorthodox or Invaluable?

Embracing a millennial-driven workplace is inevitable for employers, with the demographic set to make up 50% of the global workforce by 2020. The seasoned expertise of older generations shouldn’t be undervalued, but how can businesses best capitalise on the generational shift taking place?

Some businesses are discovering the answer in a new workplace trend – reverse mentoring. This emerging business initiative partners older executives, typically Baby Boomers and Generation X, with younger, more tech-savvy, Millennials.

Reverse mentoring flips old-fashioned corporate structures on their head and encourages high-level executives to turn to younger employees for assistance with rapidly-changing business technology.

ANZ Bank Chairman David Gonski uses reverse mentoring to upskill on social media technology, and has rolled-out formal reverse-mentoring schemes throughout the organisation for the past 18-months. So far, the program has linked 70 senior ANZ executives with younger social media ambassadors.

Andrew Lafontaine, senior director of human capital strategy and transformation at Oracle also supports reverse mentoring and says exposing Millennials to senior leadership teams gives them invaluable skills and insight.

“Reverse mentoring harnesses the talent of rising stars, and increases how connected the organisation is – by forming unlikely relationships and exposing employees to areas of the company outside their normal daily routine,” he says.

Both parties benefit as younger staff engage with C-level executives where they otherwise might not have the chance. It also exposes an older generation to colleagues who have grown up with technology, who use it socially and expect to use it extensively in the workplace.

So how should your organisation embrace reverse mentoring and keep up with the impending Millennial workforce?

Reverse mentoring has occurred organically in the past, but it’s not enough to rely on motivated Millennials and progressive executives to form their own relationships. Creating a structure around the process will help, but the change needs to come from the top to ensure management teams are onboard and invested in the initiative.

Encourage mentoring relationships to be formed across departmental lines so employees are not only picking up generational insights, but are also learning about other areas of the business and seeing how roles quite different from their own impact on the organisation.

Most of all, create a collaborative work environment, where the contributions of all employees are valued and recognised. To feel comfortable sharing their skills and expertise, no matter what generation they are from, employees need to feel their advice and insights are respected and will be properly considered by their mentoring partner.