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Back in 1999, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (GE), brought the concept of reverse mentoring into the HR zeitgeist.
Whilst in London, Welch heard the CEO of a global finance company describe how they sought out mentorship from the “brightest young person under thirty in my organization.”
Within 48 hours, Welch “tipped the organization upside down,” pairing 500 senior executives with junior employees. He hoped GE’s youngest and brightest workers would similarly share knowledge with the company’s senior leaders about technology.
25 years on, reverse mentorship programs have become an increasingly popular program within companies, thanks to their ability to drive leadership development, uncover areas for improvements to inclusion, and engage employees of all generations.
A reverse mentoring program at Estee Lauder, for example, includes over 350 leaders and 680 reverse mentors across the globe, and according to an EVP of its Global Supply Chain, it “absolutely influences our approach to engaging, supporting, and investing in our people.”
Proctor & Gamble’s reverse mentorship program is another famous example. By pairing senior leaders with employees with disabilities, the consumer goods company discovered internal videos were not accessible to those with hearing difficulties and corrected the issue by adding captions.
The list could go on. Undoubtedly, reverse mentorship programs are an excellent way to engage younger workers with myriad further benefits – making them a helpful tool in the battle to engage Gen Z workers.
Reverse mentorship programs: An answer to Gen Z difficulties?
Gen Z’s emergent role in the workforce has presented employees with a difficult task. With new expectations and norms for work, Resume Builder found that 74% of managers and business leaders report Gen Z as more difficult to work with than other generations.
Some employers are trying to get around the challenge of engaging and integrating Gen Z by avoiding them altogether. A 2023 survey from Intelligent.com found 38% of 800 US managers, directors, and executives avoid hiring recent college graduates, opting instead for older employees.
Thinly veiled ageism aside, it also won’t work. Expecting that ignoring the problem will make it go away is naïve. With Gen Z set to make up 27% of the workforce by 2025, and Gen Alpha bringing up the rear with no doubt equally stringent demands for employers, finding ways to engage Gen Z cannot be avoided. Enter the role of reverse mentorship programs.
These schemes are proven when it comes to engaging younger generations. BNY Mellon Pershing, for example, found it boosted its retention rate to 96% for 77 millennial employees who took part in a three-year reverse mentorship scheme from 2013 to 2016.
Whilst other factors will also have contributed to the figure, it points to the fact this scheme helped younger employees feel more connected to the organization.
Gallup finds that 54% of Gen Z employees are disengaged, the most of any generation, predominantly due to feelings of disconnection from their older colleagues and a lack of career development. Reverse mentorship programs offer a clear solution to rebuilding this connection.
Why are reverse mentorship programs 'Gen Z coded'?
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Such programs are a pure form of employee listening, with the added benefit that they result in more inclusive decision-making that takes Gen Z experiences directly into account. Reverse mentorship schemes directly appeal to the frustrations of Gen Z workers who can often feel they are overlooked and underappreciated.
When company leadership is making business-critical decisions, from individual policies to broader transformations, therefore, they cannot neglect to give Gen Z a seat at the table. “I don't have any meetings where it's just Gen X and boomers trying to decide the future fate of anything,” explains Dan Black, Global Talent Attraction Leader, EY. “How could you possibly know or decide what is best for any particular function without actually talking to people who are experiencing it in real-time?”
Black, for example, has two reverse mentors, both Gen Z, who give their impression on the latest technology and keep him sharp on digital developments, but also offer insight and advice on the strategies and policies EY rolls out, including how it could improve on past decisions.
The Proctor & Gamble program is another example of how reverse mentoring can give groups a bigger influence over business policy, culture, and structure, and it is no different for Gen Z. By having a greater voice in the company, they become more connected to the business and more satisfied with the workplace they have helped to co-create.
Beyond this, reverse mentorships also offer Gen Z workers strong career development opportunities. Alongside networking with company leaders, the relationships can give younger employees exposure to training, mentorship, and decision-making responsibilities they might not otherwise be afforded. Effective reverse mentorship programs can be a compelling recruitment and retention tool for a generation that prioritizes career development.
With these benefits in mind, it's time - in the words of Gen Z - to enter your reverse mentorship era.
