Liberty’s Reverse Mentorship Program is a unique program which pairs employees together and the junior employee (co-op/intern) is the Mentor and the senior leader is the Mentee, which is unlike any traditional mentorship programs. The Mentor/Mentee’s discuss topics which junior employees’ value, including current trends, social media, emerging technology, and the impact of the topics to our business.
I had the opportunity of being part of this unique program in the fall 2021 work term, where I was paired with a Greg Schumacher, Director of Human Resources. We were able to discuss various topics like employee turnover, employee retention and engagement and what steps should managers take to ensure their team is motivated and engaged. This was a great opportunity to discuss these topics with an experienced HR Director and was able to provide my view on these topics. I feel this program is a great opportunity for co-op students to connect with senior industry leaders and fosters an environment of continuous learning.
I was able to connect with Kaitlyn Nash, currently working as a Corporate Communication Coordinator, who had been a part of this program in the summer of 2020. I got her view on this unique program at Liberty from a co-op perspective.
She expressed her opinion by saying: “I had the pleasure of being a part of the Reverse Mentorship program in the summer of 2020 during an eight-month co-op term. I found my experience to be informative, respectful, and extremely valuable, not only for my professional development but also for my personal growth. I was paired with someone I wouldn’t typically ever have the chance to sit down with and discuss topics that were of interest to me. As a co-op student, it can be a bit daunting to meet with a leader of a company, but during our first meeting, titles were inconsequential, and we were just two people discussing an array of topics. I felt listened to and understood while sharing personal experiences. I hope many other co-op students can experience this program as it was empowering and fostered an environment of open dialogue where humility and curiosity were accepted”.
I was also able to connect with Wally Malicki, Director of Engineering at Liberty, to get his view on the reverse mentorship program. As a senior leader who took part in this program, he expressed his views saying: “An interesting approach – call it an experiment – for how to work with, interact, and grow our Co-op/Internship students, was introduced last year at Liberty Power: Reverse Mentorship. Our organization onboards quite a few students and at all times of the year; deploying the Reverse Mentorship concept was identified as a way to improve the process. After taking a few moments to wrap my head around it, I concluded that it was brilliant!
Reverse mentorship temporarily reverses the student/employer traditional roles: the student becomes the mentor, and the employer (a manager) becomes the mentee. It allows the employer to discover how to be better, by listening to, and learning from the student. It’s an open forum: any topic is game. As a Director, receiving direct feedback allows for rapid adjustment of operational and relationship models, and that results in a mutual benefit: A better experience for the student, that drives better performance of their assigned duties, which in turn results in more value for the employer. In some ways, it’s a manifestation of situational leadership. Asking questions and being open to learning (from anyone) is always a good thing – while giving the students an open forum to drive change and improvement, is a clear win-win. I thoroughly enjoyed the program and appreciated the clearly demonstratable benefits that it brought”.
I was also able to connect with Greg Schumacher, Director of Human resources with Liberty, who I was paired with for the fall 2021 work term. Greg expressed his views about the program by saying: “I am extremely pleased as I have had the opportunity to participate in the reverse mentorship program. The benefits of hearing different and fresh perspectives are immeasurable. As a leader, it is imperative to continually adapt and change, and this program gives a leader viewpoint that are not easily seen otherwise. Continuous learning is critical to effective leadership and listening to new ideas and implementing changes based on those new ideas can make a world of difference for a team and advances the business in creative and prosperous ways. I highly recommend this program to any leader who desires to move their team, and subsequently our business, to the next level”.
Overall, I feel the reverse mentorship program helps our leaders in gaining fresh perspectives, understanding what the junior employee feels and ensuring continued personal development. On the other hand, our co-op students can connect with experienced leaders, give their perspective and opinions on certain topics and gain confidence in talking and presenting in front of leaders. I feel this a great initiative and I hope many future co-ops get the opportunity of experiencing this as it would help in their personal development.
Apoorva Kadam
Talent Acquisition Co-op