“As a mentor or mentee, there's always something to learn and something to give,” says Sara Rahmani, vice president of people experience and DEI at software company Chronus. "The nice thing about reverse mentoring is that it really puts a concentration on what someone—who might normally be a mentee in a traditional format—has to teach someone older or more senior.”
The potential benefits of a strong reverse mentorship program becomes more evident as Gen Z is projected to make up 50% of the workforce over than next 10 years, Concordia St. Paul University data shows.
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson last year started a reverse mentoring initiative and found that 88% of their senior leaders viewed it as a “positive and unique personal experience.” Cosmetic company Estee Lauder also kicked off its own reverse mentorship program and reported that it was well received, particularly by its younger staff.