Reverse Mentorship Is About Relevance, Not Ego

Communication among multi-generational employees can be complex. With as many as four generations working together, age differences and work sensibilities are bound to be varied. When you hear the word “mentor” or “coaching,” you may think of them as necessary tools to mobilize the younger generation to engage in the workforce.

However, sometimes older generations need mentoring, too, and it can come from an unlikely place: younger employees. Just as there are a multitude of skills older generations can teach younger ones, there is also some knowledge to be gained from the fresh outlook of millenial employees.

The Young Teaching the Old

This style of career coaching is called “reverse mentoring,” and it was made popular by the chairman and CEO of GE, Jack Welch. It serves as a useful tool to teach older employees a few tricks that they might not be able to pick up as easily on their own. Alan Webber, co-founder of Fast Company, realizes that employees in their forties and fifties may not have the same perspective on the future as the younger generation. Younger employees bring with them a fresh set of eyes and an expertise with rapidly evolving technology. Consider how reverse mentoring can help even the wiser generation:

They learn information they wouldn’t get from other places. The younger generation knows what’s hip and what’s trendy. They have new ideas and a fresh outlook, and they can teach the generation that came before how to recognize new ways of thinking.

The Millennial Perspective

Millennials are often better at explaining new technology to a generation that didn’t grown up with it. Online classes and tutorial websites are great for learning how to use new technology, but reverse mentoring provides a faster, hands-on approach. Millenials grew up using technology almost as an extension of themselves. If more veteran employees are struggling to use social media or other technology, the younger generation can provide one-on-one training.

Collaboration creates a fresh perspective. The differing viewpoints of each generation work fantastically together in this aspect. Reverse mentors bring creative new endeavors to the table, while traditional values temper creativity with practicality. Together, they can come up with well-balanced ideas to market new products or capture a new audience.

These two groups will feed off of each other’s energy. Just as veteran employees learn new perspectives and creative approaches from a reverse mentor, they millennials are learning tricks from those with years of experience. It’s a symbiotic relationship that strengthens employee engagement, and ultimately, the success of the company.

How to Do It Right

Reverse mentorship will only work if it’s executed properly. Any amount of hesitance or miscommunication on either side could send the whole thing into a downward spiral. The key is to balance two very different energies. While a reverse mentor might teach an employee with seniority how to use social media, the more senior employee may need to teach them how to maintain professionalism while using it. Emphasize the value of collaboration: new ideas, advanced skills.

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Additional resources:

• Reverse Mentoring: What it is and Why it is Beneficial
• Reverse Mentoring: The Big Benefits to Learning From Younger Employees
• Why You Need a ‘Reverse Mentor’ at Work

The Ultimate Workplace Hazard: Communication Breakdown

The evolution of the workforce has reached a point that has never been seen before: four separate and very different generations of employees working together under one roof. While this can be great for combining traditional wisdom with fresh ideas, it can also lead to some performance disruptions.

Amidst the tech-savvy skills required for new jobs and the rash of changes, younger co-workers find themselves butting heads with older, established co-workers. Before the internet, nepotism was the largest disruptor to the career ladder. Today, technology changes the very nature of offices, job descriptions, and duties. Understandably then, most managers may have a problem with finding ways to get everyone to just get along.

Start with Communication

As with everything in life, communication is the keystone to a thriving living or work environment. In the office, however, the means through which you communicate are just as important, a fact made even more apparent with the differences in generations.

Each generation grew up communicating in different ways. Senior employees grew up with rotary phones, Baby Boomers value face-to-face conversations, and the youngest generation prefers e-mail, text, and social media. Providing your employees with multiple ways of communicating will encourage them to actually want to communicate.

Address the Dress Code

Differing generations also tend to disagree on formality within the work place. Baby Boomers, and even some Gen Xers, grew up in a time where suits and ties were required in the work place. A well-pressed suit and a firm handshake signaled a hardworking employee. Nowadays, younger generations have grown up in a casual atmosphere, where physical appearance doesn’t necessarily dictate work ethic.

To older generations, an informal atmosphere and casual dress may seem disrespectful. Get everyone on the same page as to what is acceptable attire in the workplace. If older employees know that casual dress is okay and should not be considered disrespectful, they may be a bit more accepting. Likewise, if younger employees understand where their older mentors are coming from, they’re much less likely to view them as stuffy and out-of-touch.

Understand Work Ethic and Motivation

All generations have different values and different motivations. Generally, senior employees are more work-driven because that’s how they were raised. Baby Boomers tend to work for personal growth and development. Gen Xers often see their careers as a series of challenges to overcome. And the youngest working generation, the millennials, are often categorized as people who simply work to pay the bills.

Digging deeper, the factors that actually motivate different generations to work vary just as much. While some generations are motivated by success and a job well done, others are motivated by flexibility and guidance. Once you understand the differences between work ethic and motivation, you can communicate with your employees based on their individual needs and encourage them to recognize each other’s.

Learn more about career strategies with CAREER COACHING. Click here.

Additional Resources:

• How To Communicate In The New Multigenerational Office
• Tackling the Challenges of the Multigenerational Workforce
• Leading the Four Generations at Work
• 8 Tips to Communicate With 4 Different Generations in the Workplace

Why Millennials Need Career Coaching

People known as millennials, those born in the late 1980s up to the 2000s, seem to be looking for a greater work-life balance than previous generations. They are motivated by different factors than the generation before, and much different factors than the Boomer generation, who will be entering retirement over the next few years.

Businesses need to keep up with changing career coaching trends. What worked for Baby Boomers will probably not work for millennials. Learning exactly what motivates a millenial and how businesses can cater to those needs will help make the most of their employees’ abilities.

The Work-Life Balance

An even balance between work and life is the top priority of most millenials, studies show. Nearly one third of surveyed millenials say that balancing their personal lives and their work duties has become a challenge over the past five years, and they want that to change. Almost half of all millenials are working more hours than previous generations, leaving very little time for personal responsibilities and family.

Millennials are actively seeking flexibility in where and how they work. In fact, most employees would be willing to take a pay cut if they were allowed to telecommute. This is important for a couple of reasons.

For one, millenials currently outnumber the amount of other generations of employees in the workforce. Additionally, turnover rates with millenials are high: if they’re not happy, they have no qualms about seeking employment elsewhere. Businesses can’t afford to lose money on high turnover rates.

What’s The Issue?

Baby Boomers and Generation X employees still set the standard for the way that companies are run. Many employees in these generations adhere to traditional values: less than half of Baby Boomers have a spouse who works full-time.

The remaining Boomers have spouses that either don’t work at all, or work part-time jobs. This means that someone is always there to take care of personal responsibilities and family duties. It seems that there is a gap in understanding the problems that plague today’s workforce.

How Do We Fix It?

Technology and coaching. More and more employees are able to work from home and are more than willing to do so. One of the top reasons millenials quit jobs is because of a lack of flexibility. Millenials want a flexible work option, but they also desperately want to make a real difference in the workplace.

Career coaching is designed to find what motivates employees and build upon it. Many millenials are not familiar with their soft skill set and don’t know how to identify their strengths. When they’re not given the motivation they need to succeed or can’t identify the skills needed to get there, they look for something else.

At the end of the day, most millenials want a little bit of guidance, a lot of flexibility, and the opportunity to express their strengths. If you can give them that, they will reward you with talent and resourcefulness.

Click here to learn more about Career Coaching.

Additional Resources:

• Millennials want a work-life balance. Their bosses just don’t get why.
• Millennials Want Work-Life Balance Too. Here’s How They Can Get It
• Millennials value greater flexibility, appreciation, team collaboration and global opportunities