Reverse Mentoring: When and Why Should It Be Used?
First popularized by Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, reverse mentoring is the concept that everyone plays a valuable role in the success of a company.
Reverse Mentoring
Why Reverse Mentoring?
Senior leaders possess valuable tribal knowledge and decades of experience. But understanding millennial employees, shifts in their workforce and the latest technology trends can be challenging. More and more, companies are turning to reverse mentoring, a model that pairs more experienced employees with younger employees in a 1-1 or in a group setting, to strengthen senior leaders and executive teams. Both employees and leaders benefit, with leaders gaining a more nuanced understanding of the millennial workforce and picking up skills that their tech-savvy colleagues consider second nature, while junior millennial employees gain valuable macro-level insights and perspectives.
- Enable knowledge sharing between boomers, millennials and Gen Zers
- Deepen connections between employees and senior management
- Foster feedback more fully across departments and functions
“Reverse-mentoring programs provide Millennials with the transparency and recognition that they’re seeking from management. “
Software for Reverse Mentoring
Match Participants Efficiently
Senior managers tend to be busy, but Chronus lets you make the most of everyone’s time, including your own. Users can import data from LinkedIn to quickly setup profiles while MatchIQ® technology makes it easy to find the best match based on your program’s unique and specific criteria.
Provide Focus with Guided Plans
Reverse mentoring needs to be an efficient use of senior leaders’ time in order to maintain a high level of executive engagement. Chronus makes it more efficient for program administrators to provide high-level guidance for participants with guided plans that provide a framework for the relationship, encouraging productivity and continued learning.
Measure Reverse Mentoring Impact
When a mentoring program includes executives, proving program value is essential. Software makes collecting and compiling program metrics a low effort task with easy-to-use tracking tools and built-in surveys to measure knowledge transfer and make sure program goals are being met.
Additional Resources
Can Reverse Mentoring Programs Build Inclusive Workplaces?
Even with a sense of urgency and the best of intentions, achieving an inclusive workplace isn’t always easily or quickly done. That’s why some organizations are turning to an old format turned new.
Mentoring Program Growing Pains: When’s the Right Time for Software?
Not every mentoring program needs software, but as your program evolves, you’ll likely encounter mentoring program growing pains that software can soothe.