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Making the Most of Mentors: Why using Baby Boomers to mentor Millennials has more benefits than you think.
Making the Most of Mentors
Why using Baby Boomers to mentor Millennials has more benefits than you think.
By: Mike McDonough
Mentoring teams between Millennials and Baby Boomers have become more and more
popular in the insurance industry and across the country. Most see this as a regular way
to pass down knowledge from one generation to the next. While that’s certainly a benefit,
there are many more advantages that you might not consider when pairing off your
seasoned employees with promising young talent in your organization. Below are just a
few of the additional perks you’ll see from forming these cross-generational groups.
Revitalized Boomers
Most Baby Boomers aren’t just looking to coast into retirement. They want new
challenges and experiences to accompany them through the twilight of their careers.
Becoming a mentor to a younger worker offers leadership, mentoring and coaching
opportunities for these more experienced workers. They’ll be testing a new set of skills
and benefit from a renewed sense of purpose since they’ll be molding younger members
of your workforce. This will help your veteran employees feel valued and challenged,
even if they’ve been in the same role with your company for years. By expanding their
role and valuing their leadership abilities, you could retain them for a few more
productive years before they head to retirement.
Tech Training
But it won’t just be the Millennials learning from the mentorships. With technology rapidly
evolving, your Baby Boomers will likely benefit from dealing with a digital native on a
day-to- day basis. Millennials bring an inherent understanding of IT and mobile tech to
the workforce that most Boomers and Gen X-ers are lacking. Imagine how much more
productive and efficient your Baby Boomers could be if they knew all the tools and
resources that have evolved in the past few years? From mobile apps and social media,
to simpler things like email tricks and Excel training, making more people in your office
tech savvy is never a bad idea.
Millennial Retention
Studies show that most Millennials will hold 4-6 jobs by the time they’re out of their
twenties. And the reason isn’t laziness or a lack of commitment. Most young
professionals come out of college with more skills and ambition than ever before, but
without training and mentoring from their employer, these young workers may feel like
they’re underutilized and undervalued. So when another company shows interest, they
won’t think twice about making the jump for what they see as a better opportunity.
Pairing young, ambitious employees with Baby Boomers, especially those on an
executive level will make Millennials feel more in tune, valued, and aware of where they
could go in your company. Plus, exposing your senior leaders to fresh faces could help
your team gain insight into new ideas and career paths for your next wave of talent.
You’ll also benefit from training your own people, because so many other companies are
neglecting that part of employee development – leading to concerning and costly talent
gaps down the line.
When you take a look at all the benefits that arise from Boomer/Millennial mentorship
programs, it’s easy to see why more and more organizations are embracing the idea.
Incorporate your Gen X-ers into these groups and you’ll see even more progress and
advantages across all levels. By partnering your senior leaders with up-and- coming
talent, you’ll be able to keep both in your organization longer – all while challenging both
in new and interesting roles.
