REVERSE MENTORING
Accelerate your business with these expert tips on "Reverse Mentoring" - take a look and discover this TIP!
Reverse Mentoring is the process in which a young person mentors a senior professional, bringing their points of view closer together and increasing the level of understanding between them. commitment and cooperation between generations. The development of new technologies has forced us to adapt to the new ways of working and the needs of eminently digital entrepreneurs and users. And, although we try to ride this technological wave, there are some professionals who need a push to adapt to the new way of thinking and doing things, and that is when Reverse Mentoring appears in companies.
WHAT IS REVERSE MENTORING?
The Reverse Mentoring (+) is one of the major business trends of the immediate future. This figure consists in the fact that, contrary to what is usual, it is the younger employees who guide and orient the more senior ones in certain disciplines such as all those related to technology or social networks. In other words, in a way, this figure inverts the natural order that the master-disciple relationship has followed throughout the history of humanity.
It is necessary that the boss is predisposed because it is an effort of personal change - Psicóloga laboral
THE GENERATIONAL MIX
Actually, Reverse Mentoring was pioneered in the 1990s as one of General Electric's learning dynamics. Back then, was used to learn from the Internet. But, today There is one fact that makes this technique particularly suitable for the continuous improvement of people in the organisation. In today's companies, there is no project or team that does not include at least one representative of all four generational groups:
- Baby Boomers.
- Generation Z.
- Millenials.
- Generation Z.
Up to four different generations coexist in companies. Decision-makers are over 40 years old without taking into account that the consumer is of a different generation. The manager needs the accompaniment of a young person to guide him/her in his/her decisions.
Ex: carrefour failed in its online sales because it did not take into account the differences. "The new generations work for a living, they don't want more hours even if you pay them more....".
Currently, in some organisations, 4 different generations are living together. Baby boomers, Generation X, Millenials (Y) and Generation Z currently make up the majority of the labour force. Reverse mentoring has become essential for cohesion among professionals.
GENERATIONS IN THE WORK CONTEXT:
- Baby boomers. 1946 -1964. Analogue, many "digitally illiterate".
- Generation X. 1965 - 1979. Digital immigrants.
- Generation Y. 1980 - 2000. Digital natives.
- Generation Z. 2001 - 2010. Digital natives.
These are generations with different interests, priorities and ways of working, but with much to contribute to each other.
KEY ELEMENTS REVERSE MENTORING
RECEPTIVE ATTITUDE:
At Rent-A-Car, they used this practice for cross-generational training. That is, the baby boomers mentored the millennials, with the aim of objective of identifying employees for internal promotions.
MEETINGS TO DISCUSS PROGRESS:
At PwC's firm, it was the millennials who met with executives on a monthly basis to show the importance of inclusion and diversity.
TRAIN THE TRAINERS:
Regardless of who delivers the training, mentors need to be trained, to be comfortable and to make the practice of Reverse Mentoring a success.
SAFETY OF EQUIPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT:
In the case of PwC, they claim that this practice helped them to share with managers the experience in the company.
Experts say that Reverse Mentoring promotes diversity, social skills development and learning. The The general objective of Reverse Mentoring is to bring the managers of a company closer to the new generations of professionals. with those collaborating in your organisation, e.g. millennials, in order to create greater synergies and bring more and more value to the organisation.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF REVERSE MENTORING AND WHAT IS IT FOR?
- Bridging the generation gap.
- Harnessing the competences of each generation and creating a global competence.
- Breaking paradigms.
- Raise awareness of the diversity in society and learn how to adapt the organisation to catch up.
There are already many success stories of well-known companies: General Electric, Henkel, Novartis, ING, Barclays, Carrefour...
APPLY THIS TIP
TASK
NOW THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT REVERSE MENTORING, REFLECT ON THIS QUESTION:
- Do you see it possible in your company for young people to mentor older people?
CASE STUDY OF A NEW COMPANY WISHING TO INTRODUCE REVERSE MENTORING
Suppose a new technology company has been founded by a group of young entrepreneurs, who have noticed that some of their older employees may be having difficulty adapting to new technologies and ways of working that are common in the industry.
To address this problem, the company decides to implement Reverse Mentoring. They select a group of young employees, who are tech-savvy and familiar with the latest trends and tools.
These young mentors are paired with more senior employees, including managers and executives, to guide and mentor them in specific areas, such as the use of new applications or software tools, the implementation of new digital marketing techniques, among others.
Junior mentors meet regularly with their senior mentors to show them how to use these tools and explain new trends in technology. In addition, youth mentors listen to the needs and concerns of their senior mentors and provide them with personalised guidance and support to address these challenges.
In a short time, the company begins to see the results of the Reverse Mentoring programme. Veteran employees are improving their knowledge of technology and adapting to new ways of working more quickly, which improves efficiency and productivity in the company. In addition, young mentors are developing leadership skills and learning to work with people from different generations and hierarchical levels.
IN THIS CASE STUDY
The technology company has successfully introduced Reverse Mentoring to address the challenges of adapting to new technology and ways of working. Through this programme, senior employees have improved their technology skills and knowledge, and young mentors have gained leadership and collaboration skills that are valuable for their professional growth.
QUIZ
After the question and before think of yourself.
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