REVERSE MENTORING: WHO IS TEACHING WHOM?
Brenda Davis is sitting in her office, expecting a knock on the door. Davis is a marketing manager at FutureFashion, a company where she has worked for 30 years. She is about to meet with Jennifer Garcia, a 21-year-old college graduate who recently joined the marketing team. This will be the third in a series of monthly mentoring meetings between the two women. Over the years, Davis has often mentored young employees, sharing with them her knowledge and advice. The current meetings, however, are different: Garcia is the mentor, and she is sharing her own expertise – the latest uses of digital media.(lines 1–7)
The type of mentoring that Davis and Garcia are engaged in is known as "reverse mentoring." As the name implies, this approach involves a switch from the traditional direction of mentoring, where older, experienced staff members mentor younger ones. The term was introduced in the 1990s by Jack Welch, CEO of the company General Electric (GE). At that time the internet was relatively new, and Welch realized that younger employees knew much more about using it than their older colleagues. He therefore arranged for 500 executives at GE to be paired with junior employees, who taught them digital skills. As a result, the new technology was adopted throughout the company.(lines 8–15)
Today, too, businesses might use reverse mentoring to ensure that all relevant staff are familiar with the latest technologies. "Think, for example, of the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past five years," says economist Jeff Bryson. "To stay ahead of competitors, a company needs a workforce that can quickly adopt new AI technologies. Having younger employees as mentors can be a great way to make that happen. These employees already worked with AI at school or in college, and have the confidence to deal with any new developments. So they can help older colleagues continuously update their AI skills."(lines 16–22)
According to Bryson, reverse mentoring also enables companies to rethink traditional ways of doing things. "For example, when companies want people in their 20s or 30s to buy their products, their marketing teams can no longer rely on TV, radio, or online commercials," he says. "Instead, they need influencers* to recommend the products on social media. This requires marketers to have many skills, such as identifying the most suitable influencer to advertise a particular product. Older marketing staff can learn these skills from colleagues in their 30s or younger. These young people have been using social media for much of their lives and are very familiar with this type of advertising."(lines 23–30)
Many reverse mentoring meetings are not only about the teaching of skills. They often lead to friendly conversations that go beyond the company's business activities. For example, the younger participants might explain why they think the company's relations with the local community should be improved. Surveys show that such conversations result in a greater understanding between workers of different generations. It has also been found that junior mentors remain in a company much longer than young workers who do not feel their input is valued. "Clearly," says Bryson, "reverse mentoring can be beneficial to any company that adopts it."(lines 31–38)