Reverse Mentoring

I have always considered myself somewhat tech savvy. I have the phone with e-mail, drag my laptop wherever I go, can’t watch regular television now that I have Tivo and have even begun texting; it’s the only way to keep in touch with my nieces and nephews. Anyone who knows me and is at least a decade younger than me is having a laugh at my expense right now. They would say LOL, which by the way I thought stood for Lots of Love (for those who don’t know, it stands for “Laugh Out Loud”). Here I thought people were telling me regularly how much they cared about me – ha!

With all of my years in relocation and understanding of home sale programs, tax law changes, and capital gains, I still find myself needing to refer to a cheat sheet whenever I need to scan a document. The reality is I am probably a bit behind the curve in the tech world and falling further behind everyday. But thankfully, I know I am not the only one. Our office alone has employees whose ages span over 50 years and based on what we hear about the boomers working longer, I expect this number to grow.

One of the concepts that I have been hearing lately is the idea of reverse mentoring. The intent is to match some of your seasoned employees (a nice way of saying older) with your younger (truly tech savvy) employees. While I have not yet implemented this idea, I think it would work to connect a few people, outline the areas in which they feel they would like further learning and then have them meet weekly for 90 days or so. Actually, now that I write this, it doesn’t seem too challenging. I think I will go ahead and get it started; no time like the present. I will be sure to post the feedback and let you know if I received any interest.