Tips for Mentoring Millennials in the Workplace

How would you describe Millennial employees? Some might say they have a reputation of job hopping. In fact, Gallup estimates that millennial turnover costs the US around $30.5 billion each year. However, recent research reveals that millennials are actually changing jobs at lower rates than Boomers and Gen X did at the same age. 

Findings indicate that this high rate of job change is a reflection of an age group not a certain generation. Younger employees (even those in their 30s and 40s) are more likely to leave an organization than older employees who have obtained leadership positions or are nearing retirement. The top reason people change jobs today is career growth opportunities.

The issue of retaining younger employees still stands. How do organizations retain Millennial and Gen Z employees? 

79% of Millennials believe that mentorship programs are crucial to their career success. That’s a large percentage and one that organizations should be paying attention to. But is it enough just to have a mentoring program for your millennial workforce? We don’t think so.

Millennials don’t just want any mentoring program; they want a modern mentoring program that helps them advance their career. 

In addition to improving retention rates, offering mentoring to Millennial and Gen Z employees also help with recruitment efforts. Having programs that promote career development for employees are seen as a benefit. 

4 Tips for Mentoring Millennials

1. Take mentoring online
   Give Millennials options. A great way to do this is through Virtual Mentoring. This not only gives your Millennial workforce different options to communicate, but also gives them access to a larger selection of mentors.

2. Rethink the relationship
   Millennials desire connection. Give them the chance to work with multiple mentors and/or mentees. This collaborative generation wants to gain knowledge from every resource possible and crave feedback from managers as well as peers. Millennials find this in Group Mentoring.

3. Invite them to contribute
   Provide the opportunity to share knowledge. Millennials aren’t just there to learn, they want to teach others as well. Due to their vast knowledge of technology, Millennials make a great resource for teaching older generations about leveraging technology in their job functions. This can be achieved by implementing Reverse Mentoring.

4. Make mentoring timely
   Give Millennials the opportunity for instant gratification. Younger generations have grown up in the age of information. Google is never far away when a question arises. Speed mentoring and flash mentoring programs are great options for encouraging quick exchange of knowledge in a timely manner.

If you’re considering implementing a mentoring program we are ready to help. Our experts have decades of experience supporting organization’s mentoring programs through our consulting workshops and mentoring software. Book a demo today.