Reverse Mentoring: Evonik's Pilot Program Adapted Globally
Education and learning are the key drivers for advancing company growth and employee development at Evonik. In our Reverse Mentoring Program, junior employees get the chance to mentor more experienced employees.
Cross-generational and cross-cultural learning are a source for innovation and personal development. Evonik’s Reverse Mentoring Program, piloted in 2019, has given employees the opportunity to develop their skills and to broaden their knowledge by encouraging less experienced employees to mentor more experienced employees all over the world, thus resulting in mutually enriching relationships.
Following the successful pilot, the Reverse Mentoring framework has been adapted for 2020 at a local, regional and global level. Two sites in Evonik‘s North American region, Parsipanny, NJ and Mobile, AL, have adapted the program for their local employees. The Nutrition and Care segment has also adapted the program to offer participants further options to register as a mentor or mentee in the traditional or peer mentoring format. These adaptions encourage the scalability of the program and run in parallel with each other, all aiming for the same goal of offering development opportunities to Evonik’s diverse workforce.
The global exchange between employees in Reverse Mentoring not only leads to the acquisition of new abilities and competencies, but is also intended to broaden the horizon of our employees far beyond their work. “When I was first introduced to the Reverse Mentoring Program, my first thought was: How can I help someone much more experienced than I am?” - Camila and her mentee Thalita soon found out though, that reverse mentoring goes both ways. While Thalita had the chance to share her expertise of effectively using ‘LinkedIn Tools’, Camila supported her by providing her with valuable materials in return. Through their time in the program, Thalita and Camila became learning advocates for each other and had the chance to grow professionally as did others: “The Reverse Mentorship program thrives on that very principle of fostering respect and understanding. Even things as small as the role reversal, experienced employees being called mentees and inexperienced employees as mentors, highlights a priority of mutual respect and learning.
At Evonik, we want to offer our employees the best circumstances for personal growth and development. Want to find out yourself? Then join our team now!
