The Bridge Foundation Professional Pipeline

Golan Mandel

Co-Presenters: Britney Guaman, Carlos Herrera, India Hubbard

College: College of Business and Public Management

Major: BS.GLOBALBUSINESS

Faculty Research Mentor: Kocoglu, Ipek  

Abstract:

Purpose: As retirement ages in America increase, so does the range of ages participating in the US workforce. Simultaneously, innovation sparks change in managerial standards. Previous research has demonstrated the success of reverse mentoring – a type of training where junior employees play the role of “mentor” for members of senior management – in bridging intergenerational gaps, depending on its implementation. This study examines the impact of reverse mentoring on perceived skill development and employee satisfaction.Methods: This study uses a mixed-methods approach to examine how members of different generations perceive reverse mentoring and its potential benefits in the workplace. This study aims to establish a correlation between age and attitude towards reverse mentoring based on survey data from 49 participants. Interviews were conducted to provide more insight into participants’ responses.Conclusion: Participants had positive attitudes towards reverse mentoring regardless of generation (average OS of 102.7). However, this study did not disprove the null hypothesis, and could not establish any association between age and Opinion Score.Significance/Novelty: This study expands the existing body of reverse mentoring research and provides upper management with deeper insight into the workplace preferences of employees. These findings serve as guidelines for maximizing employee retention and satisfaction through management systems. This research was conducted for course credit within three months. Certain aspects of reverse mentoring – primarily those related to long-term impact – could not be measured within the allotted timeframe. Future research should collect longitudinal data on companies and employees to measure the impact reverse mentoring has on overall business performance.