Close

Traditionally, you think of mentorship as a new staffer being paired with a more experienced employee. But what if we said there’s been a new twist in the mentorship dynamic? Yep, programs are going away with the outdated arrangement for a more modern approach called reverse mentoring.

Research shows that adopting reverse mentoring creates a moreinclusive and open workplacefor employees.It’s why more and more companies like General Electric, Caterpillar, and Heineken are adopting this new process.

But how does reverse mentoring exactly work? And is it better than traditional mentorship? We take a look at how businesses put reverse mentoring into practice and whether it’s better or worse for your career.

Benefits of Reverse Mentoring

It might seem hard to wrap your head around the idea of a less experienced, potentially younger employee imparting knowledge to an older employee. However, many companies are embracing this change because they realize seasoned staff members can gain wisdom and insight from newer employees.

Some benefits of reverse mentoring include:

Why Leadership Coaching Is the Career Hack You Never Knew You Needed

What Makes a Successful Reverse Mentoring Program?

As with any workplace initiative, the more planning and forethought you put into it, the more likely it becomes successful. Here are some key strategies that can help start or grow your reverse mentoring program.

Decide on Your Outcomes

Before you start, decide what you want the outcome to be. What do you want your newer employee mentors to get from this program? What do you want upper-level employees to take from the experience? What goals have been set for each person involved, as well as the goals for the company?

You’ll also want to clearly outline the parameters for the program and your plan of implementation. How many months will this mentoring relationship last? What tasks or jobs will mentors and mentees do? And how will you communicate these details to your staff? Create a plan to train personnel on both sides of the mentoring relationship, so they will clearly understand the expected level of participation and what they should get out of this experience.

Develop Clear Defined Metrics and Measurable Goals

What’s Your Leadership Style?

Conclusion

As with any workplace initiative, it takes a lot of planning and patience. The key is seeing the ultimate end goal, and what it means to each participant and the company as a whole.

“Reverse mentoring is important in the workplace because supports a culture ofcontinuous learningand democratizes who is ‘allowed’ to impart wisdom upon others in the organization,” Rudolph explains. “It breaks the assumption that more senior employees don’t have anything to learn from junior level staff.”

2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cantalupo, G.Does Mentoring Still Matter for Fortune 500 Companies?Forbes.May 19, 2022.Raju, S. A., Ching, H.-L., Jalal, M., Lau, M. S., Rej, A., Tai, F. W. D., Tun, G., Hopper, A. D., McAlindon, M. E., Sidhu, R., Thoufeeq, M., & Sanders, D. S. (2022).Does reverse mentoring work in the NHS: A feasibility study of clinicians in practice.BMJ Open,12(11), e062361. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062361

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cantalupo, G.Does Mentoring Still Matter for Fortune 500 Companies?Forbes.May 19, 2022.Raju, S. A., Ching, H.-L., Jalal, M., Lau, M. S., Rej, A., Tai, F. W. D., Tun, G., Hopper, A. D., McAlindon, M. E., Sidhu, R., Thoufeeq, M., & Sanders, D. S. (2022).Does reverse mentoring work in the NHS: A feasibility study of clinicians in practice.BMJ Open,12(11), e062361. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062361

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Cantalupo, G.Does Mentoring Still Matter for Fortune 500 Companies?Forbes.May 19, 2022.Raju, S. A., Ching, H.-L., Jalal, M., Lau, M. S., Rej, A., Tai, F. W. D., Tun, G., Hopper, A. D., McAlindon, M. E., Sidhu, R., Thoufeeq, M., & Sanders, D. S. (2022).Does reverse mentoring work in the NHS: A feasibility study of clinicians in practice.BMJ Open,12(11), e062361. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062361

Cantalupo, G.Does Mentoring Still Matter for Fortune 500 Companies?Forbes.May 19, 2022.

Raju, S. A., Ching, H.-L., Jalal, M., Lau, M. S., Rej, A., Tai, F. W. D., Tun, G., Hopper, A. D., McAlindon, M. E., Sidhu, R., Thoufeeq, M., & Sanders, D. S. (2022).Does reverse mentoring work in the NHS: A feasibility study of clinicians in practice.BMJ Open,12(11), e062361. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062361

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?