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Mentor or Tormentor?

Lots of agencies use mentorship programs for Gen Y workers. Big mistake.

By ZACH PATTON

Attracting young workers to state and local government jobs isn't easy — and neither is keeping them there. Governments understandably want to hang on to young talent, ensuring that Generation Y workers remain a part of the team. To do that, many agencies turn to mentorship programs. But that can be a big mistake.

"Career ladders and mentoring are old-fashioned ways of thinking based on an old-fashioned organizational chart," says Bruce Tulgan, the author of several books on managing younger workers and an expert on the Gen X and Gen Y workforce. "Mentoring is overused. You tell a young person, 'I'm your mentor,' and they'll say, 'We'll see about that.'"

Mentoring, say Tulgan and other experts on Gen Y employees, just reinforces a regulated, stratified career path that alienates young workers. "It's the kind of stuff people come up with when they haven't really talked to young people," Tulgan says.

But that doesn't mean you should ignore new workers. On the contrary, Tulgan says Gen Y workers need more feedback than any other group of employees. "Don't leave them alone. Grab ahold of them and don't let go."

The key is figuring out the best way to engage each employee on an individual, ongoing basis. That means talking to them every day or every other day, asking what they need in order to do their job, and finding out what goals they're interested in achieving. That sort of tailored, personalized interaction will be much more effective at retaining Gen Y employees than an organized, official, department-wide mentoring program.

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