Tag Archive for: mentoring

Organizations who want to maximize their marketing communications need to consider two major assets they already have in-house: younger people with knowledge of social media and mobile web and more seasoned employees who understand the organizational brand, the marketplace, and the clients.  Together they could communicate like gangbusters.  But for many reasons, they often don’t connect.

Consider changing that by offering a mentoring program in your work community.  And not just around the areas of primary market or mission.

So for example, while many law firms have a mentoring program related to practice areas, what they could really use is pairing younger and more experienced attorneys for the purposes of marketing the practice groups.  The older attorneys have loads of contacts and knowledge about client needs. They have been involved with local charities and chambers of commerce for years and have a personal brand in the community. They can make introductions and give the lay of the land to newer attorneys.

Younger members of the firm are on Facebook and Twitter. They know how to download apps for mobile web.  They have good ideas about how to make your website more useful. They may understand more about online communities and how to engage them. They may also be involved with charities, but in a different way through groups like www.crowdrise.org.

The most successful organizations–and also nonprofit boards–pair these groups together both formally and informally to get the best of both worlds.  Consider a retreat where pairs consider ways to reach new clients/donors.  Send them out together to social functions on behalf of the firm.  Offer them seats together at conferences and workshops and encourage the cross-pollinization. Have a younger staffer help a seasoned one with Twitter or Facebook posts on behalf of the organization.  Let the more experienced team member coach a younger one on how to engage a new client or donor.

In talking about diversity, we often forget how age-ist our corporate cultures can be. It’s time for a change!