Natasha Clarke, People Director, Aptus, was recently shortlisted in the HR Leader category of the North West Leadership Awards. Here she talks about the benefits of reverse mentoring and why ongoing learning opportunities at all levels are essential.
We took on our first apprentice in 2011 and since then 70 have come through our business, recruited in business administration, finance, multi-utility, warehousing and other key roles. Out on site and in our offices, we have people, including these apprentices, who are completely new to the sector, just starting their careers, working alongside those that have been immersed in the construction sector for decades.
Whilst different generations of workers can have vastly different values and work styles – there can be a 50-year age gap between our teams working together on site – as a business this can be hugely beneficial. Whilst of course there can be challenges when people have very different ways of working, in my experience, the benefits far outweigh any downsides.
Reverse mentoring
Whilst we don’t have a structured reverse mentoring programme in place, as a business we work hard to encourage the transferring of skills from those new to our business, to those who have been with us for years, and vice versa. This informal mentoring has been a powerful tool for fostering innovation and enhancing knowledge transfer.
Set objectives
Before embarking on a reverse mentor programme, be clear about what you want to achieve. It may be that you want to introduce a formal programme, linking people up over the long term and introducing incentives such as bonuses or reward certificates – or you could informally encourage opportunities for team members to interact and learn from each other. In my experience, this route can be more effective as it allows relationships to develop naturally. It could be as simple as encouraging team members to interact at lunch time, by providing regular team lunches in a communal room, or encouraging interaction during coffee breaks.
As many of our team are out on site most of the day informal sessions can take place during break times, and there are plenty of opportunities for younger team members to shadow experienced colleagues. Digital tools are also used to provide quick digital training sessions, with younger mentors supporting their less digitally-savvy colleagues.
