Society in Poland is ageing and the number of workers is decreasing. This worrying and continuous process forced employers to find a new way to manage the staff. In order to maintain high skills and knowledge in employees, intermentering was created, i.e. mutual transfer of knowledge and experience between employees of different ages.
However, there are more advantages to intermentoring than just expanding competences. These include, among others, building loyalty to the employer, avoiding training costs, team integration, increasing the work of older people and breaking stereotypes about workers of different ages. See how you can use this management method in your company and why it can pay off.
Strengths of Older and Younger
Research shows that the professional and social skills acquired by older workers are a unique resource of human capital for the company, which neither younger workers nor newly recruited people have. Older workers with competence in their work are very efficient.
They highly value the good of the employer and strongly identify with the company. In addition, people with longer working experience are valued for patience, loyalty, and experience. They can organize working time better than young people, but they also lack flexibility to adapt to multi-project and multi-task work.
Young workers, on the other hand, are more creative, have the initiative, but lack need mentors and sense of what they do. They usually use foreign languages (especially English) to a satisfactory degree as they have learned from an early age.
Their additional advantage is that they are well aware of technological innovations, as evidenced by research (the most efficient computer users are employees below the age of 35 years). Their knowledge of office packages, communicators and postal programs is desirable in most companies.
In addition, youths boast about the feisty and speed of action. On the other hand, their weaknesses are difficulties in interpersonal contacts, lack of self-discipline and low work ethics.
Why do we need intermentoring?
Research shows that over 84% companies do not exploit the potential of their employees (cf. M.C. Mankins, R. Steele, Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance, “Harvard Business Review” 2005, July–August, hbr.org/Directive 2005/07/turning-great-strategy-into-great-performance).
This is largely because business is increasingly based on information technologies and innovation. For generation Y, or people below 35 They are already daily bread, whereas individuals 50+ (The baby-boomers generation) unfortunately absorb only a fraction of this knowledge.
Meanwhile, most companies hold a lot of positions, including management ones. Thus, they often manage with no idea of tools that could make work much easier.
Meanwhile, young, often their subordinates, are well aware that they are not exploiting their potential, but their lack of social competence makes it difficult for them to agree with the rest of the team. Often they cannot communicate even with their peers, and as a result, they quickly lose their motivation.
Implementation of intermentoring can change this situation and significantly increase the productivity of the company
How to implement intermentering
Actions to exchange competences between generations require identification of gaps and company needs. This can be done, for example, through the competence management platform intermentoring.civitas.edu.pl or on your own, interviewing employees.
A group should then be created to work in the intermentoring system, with one of the most important assumptions which must guide us, is that in the group everyone is a partner to each other. It is very important to view intermentoring as a partnership, not giving or giving favors.
The leader who directs the project must be impartial and only administer actions to ensure that they run smoothly. Meetings of different age groups can be held, for example, once a week, at the company's headquarters, so that they do not disturb the rhythm of the work too much.
Companies that implement them note that they are an excellent alternative to external training. Savings from such a solution can be allocated to e.g. benefit schemes, which will further motivate employees to share their knowledge.
Many generations – better understanding of customer needs
Intermentoring is ideal for companies offering a variety of services to their customers. The diversity of the team in organisations in terms of gender, age or origin can translate into a better understanding of the diverse needs of consumers.
This innovative method of managing employees of varying age can be implemented in any company, regardless of the type and size of the company. Implementation takes place on the basis of resources held by the company, both human and technological. Differentiation can be made an asset and used consciously for the benefit of employees and the company itself.